Longer treatment urged for traumatic head injury
A forceful blow to the head can trigger a "Pacmanlike" enzyme to gobble up important structural proteins in the brain for up to one month afterward -- weeks longer than previously suspected, according to a University of Florida Brain Institute researcher.The finding, based on studies in rats, suggests that treatment for traumatic brain injury must take into account tissue damage that continues to occur long after an accident. Although a number of studies recently have assessed therapies for traumatic brain injury, currently no effective treatment exists.
"Emergency room medical personnel often talk about a golden hour, that if you don't get a person into treatment within the first hour or so after an injury, a lot of damage has been done to the patient," said Ronald L. Hayes, director of UF's planned Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Studies. "With traumatic brain injury, the thought has been that treatment within the first two days is critical."
But data from Hayes' lab suggest this critical period may extend much longer.
"In our studies, we've found that a biochemical storm that is initiated with an injury continues for at least a month. The implication is that we may need to treat these patients over a much longer period than anyone had ever imagined," said Hayes, who recently reported his findings on the action of calpains at the annual meeting of the National Neurotrauma Society in Miami Beach. Calpains are a type of protein-destroying enzyme found in cells throughout the body.
Automobile crashes, gunshot wounds, sporting accidents and other incidents cause an estimated 52,000 brain injury deaths each year in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. An additional 70,000 people -- with men outnumbering women 2 to 1 -- suffer a blow that results in substantial ongoing difficulties with communication tasks, coordination, memory and thinking. An estimated 5.3 million people are permanently disabled.
Because of the lasting consequences of brain damage, lifetime costs for care and rehabilitation for a person with a severe injury range from $600,000 to $1.9 million, according to NIH.
Lower-fat holiday food a wise choice for waist
Holiday food doesn't have to be full of fat, cholesterol and added calories to be festive.
Using gravy from meat drippings, margarine instead of butter, low or no-fat mayonnaise, and pie made out of low-fat ice milk instead of whipped cream will help keep you from adding unwanted pounds around the holidays, according to the DeBakey Heart Institute at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
A meal of turkey, stuffing, candied yams, broccoli with cheese sauce, rolls and others goodies can total thousands of calories and hundreds of grams of fat. But a feast of turkey, corn, pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes without butter can result in a meal with a few as a 1,100 calories and 33 grams of fat.
Dirty needles pose risk of hepatitis C virus
People with hepatitis C can pass the potentially fatal virus on to others in a number of different ways.
"Things like dirty tattoo needles or sharing IV drug needles with someone who is infected with the virus can increase the risk of exposure," said Dr. Rise Stribling with the Liver Center at Baylor College of Medicine and the Methodist Hospital in Houston. Helping someone who is bleeding can also put
someone at risk.
Hepatitis C is a virus that is primarily transmitted through blood or blood exposure and causes inflammation of the liver. The virus could be in a person's system for 20 to 30 years before they develop cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. It takes about 80 to 90 percent of the liver to be affected before a person would see changes in the way the liver works.