http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/140929-krakauer-medicine-stroke-neurology-rehabilitation/
His presentation "Motor Recovery After Stroke in Mice and Men"
at a Johns Hopkins University seminar on brain science research got off
to this start: "If you have a stroke in the United States in 2014,
you're better off if you're a rodent than if you're a human being."
It was arresting, glib, and, based on what Krakauer has
learned through experiments with rats and mice, true. When receiving
intensive therapy in a stimulating environment—through interaction with
toys, chutes, mirrors, rodent friends, interesting areas to explore—lab
rats get better faster. Though humans unquestionably get excellent care
at the time of a stroke with the delivery of clot-busting drugs and
surveillance for complications, in Krakauer's opinion, standard
post-stroke care for humans is intolerably backward.
Current rehabilitation therapies are medieval, Krakauer, a
professor of neurology and neuroscience at Hopkins, told the audience of
science writers. "It's time for a revolution."
A Rebel With a Cause
John Walter Krakauer
is 47 years old and wears narrow rectangular blue eyeglasses that
confer a kind of wry, postmodern look. The tone (British in accent) is
by turns ironic, questioning (science, he says, is all about doubts and
questions—not methodology), and supremely self-assured. To his patients
he is compassionate, respectful, and accessible. He does not wear a
white coat when making rounds and will unhesitatingly order a neurology
resident who is more focused on email than on the patient to leave the
room. (Related: "Virtual Dolphin on a Mission".)
More at link.
I love this approach, but it is too late for me, since I am 3.5 years post stroke. In May 2013 I only had 10 days of in-patient rehab at sub-acute stage, because that was all my insurance would pay for at $2 grand a day! I was at one of the best rehab places in Portland Oregon and I saw nothing beyond the simplest games with wooden blocks & gym equipment. Dr. Krakauer's assessment of stroke rehab is right on. Pathetic!
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