Mapping How Aging Affects Different Brain Cells

 How will your competent? doctor use this to ensure your brain isn't aging inappropriately? OH, DOING NOTHING! So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor, do you?

Mapping How Aging Affects Different Brain Cells

Summary: New research shows that not all brain cells age equally, with certain cells, such as those in the hypothalamus, experiencing more age-related genetic changes. These changes include reduced activity in neuronal circuitry genes and increased activity in immunity-related genes.

The findings provide a detailed map of age-sensitive brain regions, offering insights into how aging may influence brain disorders like Alzheimer’s. This research could guide the development of treatments targeting aging-related brain changes and neurodegenerative diseases.

Key Facts:

• Uneven Aging: Hypothalamic neurons and ventricle-lining cells show the greatest age-related genetic changes.
• Gene Activity Shifts: Aging reduces neuronal circuit genes but increases immunity-related genes.
• Therapeutic Potential: Mapping age-sensitive cells may inform treatments for aging-related brain diseases.

Source: NIH

Based on new brain mapping research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), scientists have discovered that not all cell types in the brain age in the same way.

They found that some cells, such as a small group of hormone-controlling cells, may undergo more age-related changes in genetic activity than others.

The results, published in Nature, support the idea that some cells are more sensitive to the aging process and aging brain disorders than others.

Like previous studies, the initial results showed a decrease in the activity of genes associated with neuronal circuits. Credit: Neuroscience News

“Aging is the most important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and many other devastating brain disorders. These results provide a highly detailed map for which brain cells may be most affected by aging,” said Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute on Aging.

“This new map may fundamentally alter the way scientists think about how aging affects the brain and also provide a guide for developing new treatments for aging-related brain diseases.”

Scientists used advanced genetic analysis tools to study individual cells in the brains of 2-month-old “young” and 18-month-old “aged” mice.

For each age, researchers analysed the genetic activity of a variety of cell types located in 16 different broad regions — constituting 35% of the total volume of a mouse brain.

Like previous studies, the initial results showed a decrease in the activity of genes associated with neuronal circuits.

These decreases were seen in neurons, the primary circuitry cells, as well as in “glial” cells called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, which can support neural signaling by controlling neurotransmitter levels and electrically insulating nerve fibers.

In contrast, aging increased the activity of genes associated with the brain’s immunity and inflammatory systems, as well as brain blood vessel cells.

Further analysis helped spot which cell types may be the most sensitive to aging. For example, the results suggested that aging reduces the development of newborn neurons found in at least three different parts of the brain.

Previous studies have shown that some of these newborn neurons may play a role in the circuitry that controls some forms of learning and memory while others may help mice recognize different smells.

The cells that appeared to be the most sensitive to aging surround the third ventricle, a major pipeline that enables cerebrospinal fluid to pass through the hypothalamus.

Located at the base of the mouse brain, the hypothalamus produces hormones that can control the body’s basic needs, including temperature, heart rate, sleep, thirst, and hunger.

The results showed that cells lining the third ventricle and neighbouring neurons in the hypothalamus had the greatest changes in genetic activity with age, including increases in immunity genes and decreases in genes associated with neuronal circuitry.

The authors noted that these observations align with previous studies on several different animals that showed links between aging and body metabolism, including those on how intermittent fasting and other calorie restricting diets can increase life span.

Specifically, the age-sensitive neurons in the hypothalamus are known to produce feeding and energy-controlling hormones while the ventricle-lining cells control the passage of hormones and nutrients between the brain and the body.

More research is needed to examine the biological mechanisms underlying the findings, as well as search for any possible links to human health. 

The project was led by Kelly Jin, Ph.D., Bosiljka Tasic, Ph.D., and Hongkui Zeng, Ph.D., from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle. The scientists used brain mapping tools — developed as part of the NIH’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative – Cell Census Network (BICCN) — to study more than 1.2 million brain cells, or about 1% of total brain cells, from young and aged mice.

“For years scientists studied the effects of aging on the brain mostly one cell at a time. Now, with innovative brain mapping tools – made possible by the NIH BRAIN Initiative – researchers can study how aging affects much of the whole brain,” said John Ngai, Ph.D., director, The BRAIN Initiative®.

“This study shows that examining the brain more globally can provide scientists with fresh insights on how the brain ages and how neurodegenerative diseases may disrupt normal aging activity.” 

Funding: This study was funded by NIH grants R01AG066027 and U19MH114830.

About this aging and brain mapping research news

Author: Christopher Thomas
Source: NIH
Contact: Christopher Thomas – NIH
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Brain-wide cell-type specific transcriptomic signatures of healthy aging in mice” by Kelly Jin et al. Nature

Explainable AI-driven decision support system for personalizing rehabilitation routines in stroke recovery

 Artificial intelligence is completely useless until we get EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS CREATED! Are you that blitheringly stupid you can't see that? You're using the tyranny of low expectations to ignore what survivors want!

You'll want 100% recovery when you are the 1 in 4 per WHO that has a stroke!

Since the goal of all stroke survivors is 100% recovery this is putting the cart before the horse! What fucking stupidity!

Send me hate mail on this: oc1dean@gmail.com. I'll print your complete statement with your name and my response in my blog. Or are you afraid to engage with my stroke-addled mind? I would like to know why you aren't solving stroke to 100% recovery, and what is your definition of competence in stroke? Swearing at me is allowed, I'll return the favor.

Explainable AI-driven decision support system for personalizing rehabilitation routines in stroke recovery

• Sergio Martínez-Cid,
• David Vallejo,
• Vanesa Herrera,
• Santiago Schez-Sobrino,
• José J. Castro-Schez &
• Javier A. Albusac 

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Abstract

The technological revolution driven by advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is radically transforming various sectors, with healthcare among the most positively impacted. This article is situated within the context of such transformation, highlighting the contribution of AI in supporting professionals dedicated to the physical rehabilitation of stroke survivors. Our study focuses on the design of a Decision Support System (DSS) integrated within a comprehensive remote rehabilitation framework, consisting of two interconnected applications: one for the therapist, designed to define routines and monitor patients, and another for the patient, enabling autonomous rehabilitation exercises at home. This DSS employs fuzzy logic, significantly enhancing its scalability and interpretability. We propose a system capable of automatically suggesting personalized adjustments to a patient’s rehabilitation routine based on their performance. Our approach can offer physiotherapists considerable time savings by automating routine adjustments, thereby allowing them to allocate more attention to personalized patient care and complex case analysis. Furthermore, this system incorporates principles of Artificial Intelligence (XAI), providing justifications for its suggestions. This affords therapists a stronger basis for validating or rejecting the proposed modifications by the artificial system. The paper presents a case study where a stroke patient’s rehabilitation routine is automatically adjusted by the system, demonstrating the applicability and benefits of our approach. The routine generated by the artificial system is compared with the routine that a physiotherapist could potentially assign and modify manually when monitoring the progress of a stroke patient. Finally, the findings of a preliminary evaluation with patients and therapists in a hospital are also discussed.

Plasma proteins associated with the brain age gap

 You'll have to have your competent? doctors get this to make sure they have EXACT PROTOCOLS TO PREVENT THIS AGE GAP POST STROKE! 

Plasma proteins associated with the brain age gap

• Erik C. B. Johnson 

Nature Aging (2025)Cite this article

• 12 Accesses

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Accelerated brain aging is a risk factor for dementia, and resilience to normal brain aging is associated with cognitive preservation. Liu and colleagues explore plasma proteomic changes associated with brain aging and identify peaks of brain aging-related protein changes in middle-aged or older adults.

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Cardiac Rehabilitation for Persons with Stroke: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

 I'd fire anyone working on cost rather than getting recovery protocols created.

You'll want those 100% recovery protocols when you are the 1 in 4 per WHO that has a stroke!  

The latest here:

Cardiac Rehabilitation for Persons with Stroke: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Jessica Ruff, Belinda Udeh, and Susan Linder https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9094-9740 linders@ccf.orgView all authors and affiliations

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https://doi.org/10.1177/02692155241302765

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the cost-effectiveness of a cardiac rehabilitation program in individuals with stroke compared with customary care.

Design

A Markov model was created using a 30-year time horizon, with cycle lengths of 1 year to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a cardiac rehabilitation program in persons with stroke. Input parameters were based on recently published literature. Health states were defined as degree of disability evaluated by the modified Rankin scale score. Costs were based on recent cost-effectiveness analyses and inflated to 2024 US Dollars using the medical care component of the US Consumer Price Index.

Setting

Outpatient ambulatory setting

Participants

Persons with mild disability after ischemic stroke

Intervention

A model comparing cardiac rehabilitation versus usual care was created.

Main Measures

Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were used to measure the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation versus usual care. The cost-effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation versus usual care was compared with respect to incremental costs, incremental effectiveness, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).

Results

Cardiac rehabilitation was the superior strategy, resulting in higher incremental effectiveness of 3.28 QALY at an increased incremental cost of $5704. The ICER was $1740/QALY. A two-way sensitivity analysis of these variables had no change, with cardiac rehab remaining the optimal strategy.

Conclusions

While numerous studies and systematic analyses have reported compelling evidence of the clinical benefits of cardiac rehabilitation for patients with stroke, the current study contributes to the existing body of literature, demonstrating that cardiac rehabilitation is also cost-effective in the stroke population.

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A Review of Rehabilitation Devices to Promote Upper Limb Function Following Stroke

 Ask your competent? doctor if any of these devices have gone from 'may improve' to WILL IMPROVE! 8 years and your doctor STILL DOESN'T KNOW THE ANSWER!

How fucking incompetent can you be and still be employed? 

A Review of Rehabilitation Devices to Promote Upper Limb Function Following Stroke

Jacob Brackenridge 1 , Lynley V. Bradnam 2,3 , Sheila Lennon 2 , John J. Costi 1 and David A. Hobbs 1, * 1 Medical Device Research Institute, School of Computer Science, Engineer- ing and Mathematics, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 2 Discipline of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; 3 Discipline of Physiotherapy, Graduate School of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia 

Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, 2016, 4, 25-42

Abstract: 

Background: 

Stroke is a major contributor to the reduced ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADL) post cerebral infarct. There has been a major focus on understanding and improving rehabilitation interventions in order to target cortical neural plasticity to support recovery of upper limb function. Conventional therapies delivered by therapists have been combined with the application of mechanical and robotic devices to provide controlled and assisted movement of the paretic upper limb. The ability to provide greater levels of intensity and reproducible repetitive task practice through the application of intervention devices are key mechanisms to support rehabilitation efficacy. 

Results: 

This review of literature published in the last decade identified 141 robotic or mechanical devices. These devices have been characterized and assessed by their individual characteristics to provide a review of current trends in rehabilitation device interventions. Correlation of factors identified to promote positive targeted neural plasticity has raised questions over the benefits of expensive robotic devices over simple mechanical ones. 

Conclusion: 

A mechanical device with appropriate functionality to support the promotion of neural plasticity after stroke may provide an effective solution for both patient recovery and to stimulate further research into the use of medical de- vices in stroke rehabilitation. These findings indicate that a focus on simple, cost effective and efficacious intervention solutions may improve rehabilitation outcomes.

Coffee Intake May Elevate Central Obesity Risk But Does Not Significantly Affect Metabolic Syndrome, Study Finds

 FYI, I'm doing lots of coffee to prevent Parkinsons and dementia.

Coffee Intake May Elevate Central Obesity Risk But Does Not Significantly Affect Metabolic Syndrome, Study Finds

Study estimates about a quarter of Indian population can access stroke facility in an hour

The solution is 100% recovery protocols! NOT more stroke centers! They are already complete failures: Why would you install more failures?

1. tPA full recovery? Better than 12%?
2. 30 day deaths? Better than competitors?
3. rehab full recovery? Better than 10%?

SOLVE THE PROBLEM FOR ALL STROKE SURVIVORS! Not just a tiny bandage over the gaping maw of failure that is the current stroke situation in India!

 Study estimates about a quarter of Indian population can access stroke facility in an hour 

Roughly a fourth of the Indian population has access to a rehabilitation centre within an hour of experiencing an ischaemic stroke -- caused when a blood clot affects supply to the brain, a study has found. The research, published in the International Journal of Stroke, also estimated that there is less than one ischaemic stroke centre per million population.

Ischaemic stroke is the most common, accounting for about 70-80 per cent of all strokes in India, according to a September 2024 study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.

In the recent study, researchers, including those from the US' Ascension Health and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Hyderabad, found that a total of 566 stroke centres equipped with the 'intravenous thrombolysis method of treatment (which breaks up blood clots) were spread across 26 states and union territories.

Of the 566, over 60 per cent (361) were found to be also equipped with endovascular therapy for stroke patients, considered superior.

Typically, an ischaemic stroke patient was 115 kilometres away from the nearest intravenous thrombolysis treatment centre and about 130 kilometres away from the nearest endovascular therapy centre, the researchers found.

Further, a little over 26 per cent of the Indian population can access intravenous thrombolysis centre in under an hour, while about a fifth can access endovascular therapy centre, the team found.

For the analysis, data on "intravenous thrombolysis capable (IVT-C) and endovascular treatment capable (EVT-C)" stroke centres were collected in March 2021 from medical devices and pharmaceutical industry providers. Time taken to drive to the nearest stroke care centre was estimated using the application 'Google Distance Matrix API'.

"Access within one hour to an IVT-C and an EVT-C centre was available to 26.3 per cent and 20.6 per cent of the Indian population, respectively," the authors wrote.

"The average stroke centres per million (SCPM) population was 0.41 and 0.26 for IVT-C and EVT-C, respectively," they wrote.

Further, "median (typical) distances to the nearest IVT-C and EVT-C centres were 115 kilometres and 131 kilometres, respectively."

The authors said establishing stroke facilities equipped with intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular treatments in poorly served regions in India(Which won't get them 100% recovered! That is the only goal for all stroke survivors, if you would listen to their requirements!) is urgently needed to increase access and improve outcomes for stroke patients.

Roughly a fourth of the Indian population has access to a rehabilitation centre within an hour of experiencing an ischaemic stroke -- caused when a blood clot affects supply to the brain, a study has found. The research, published in the International Journal of Stroke, also estimated that there is less than one ischaemic stroke centre per million population.

Roughly a fourth of the Indian population has access to a rehabilitation centre within an hour of experiencing an ischaemic stroke -- caused when a blood clot affects supply to the brain, a study has found. The research, published in the International Journal of Stroke, also estimated that there is less than one ischaemic stroke centre per million population.

Roughly a fourth of the Indian population has access to a rehabilitation centre within an hour of experiencing an ischaemic stroke -- caused when a blood clot affects supply to the brain, a study has found. The research, published in the International Journal of Stroke, also estimated that there is less than one ischaemic stroke centre per million population.

What Is Slow Running and Does It Work?

 What is your competent? doctors EXACT PLAN to accomplish this for you?
NO plan? So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor, do you?

What Is Slow Running and Does It Work?

If you’re a runner, there’s a good chance you might be training for an upcoming race or just looking to increase how quickly you can cruise around your neighborhood during a run.

Your need for speed probably includes tracking your stats (What is your RPE? What should your weekly mileage be?) and thinking about all the different ways to be faster (Are your shoes lightweight? Should you add sprints into your routine?).

And while there are several methods and strategies when it comes to running, have you considered running slower?

Similar to how it feels to jog, the idea behind “slow running” (also known as low-intensity running) is that by slowing your pace, you can log more run miles and train your body in a variety of ways, such as building your endurance, strengthening your muscles, heart and lungs.

Overall, you’re allowing your body to adapt to the stress of running and prevent injuries, which will help accomplish your goal of running faster later.

“There’s a lot of evidence to show the incredible aerobic changes we can have with slow running,” says cardiologist Tamanna Singh, MD.

Dr. Singh, a runner herself, shares the benefits of slow running and gives us some tips on how to slow run.

What is slow running?

“The best way to identify slow running is to equate it to a subjective sensation of a jog. A jog is a perfect way to visualize a run where you’re very easily carrying a conversation. There’s no huffing and puffing between two or three words. If you wanted to sing to a song you’re listening to while you’re running, you could,” says Dr. Singh. “It’s an effort that you could sustain essentially forever.”

What slow running means in terms of speed and pace is different for each runner.

“For example, for someone who typically runs an 18- to 20-minute 5K, their slow pace is going to still be a little faster than someone who perhaps runs at a 25- to 30-minute 5K pace,” she adds.

When you finish your slow run, you may even feel like you can keep going instead of feeling tired and out of breath like you would on a normal run. Your slow run should feel comfortable and not too challenging.

The idea isn’t to completely stop pushing yourself on runs. It’s more about being strategic with your training. You want to have a good mix of intensity — most runs should be slow, while other runs should be where you push yourself to run fast.

A good rule of thumb? About 80% of your runs should be slow running and the other 20% should be faster.

“It depends on what you’re training for, your running experience and your injury experiences,” clarifies Dr. Singh.

And if you’re someone who tracks their heart rate zones, Dr. Singh says that you want to stay in zone two for the majority of your run.

“Zone two running is basically usually around 55% to 65% of your max predicted heart rate.”

Benefits of slow running

Not sold on the idea that slow running will help you train for that upcoming race or to just increase how fast you run?

Slow running benefits include:

• Builds your endurance.
• Adapts joints, ligaments, tendons and bones to stress from running.
• Perfects your form.
• Strengthens your muscles.
• Strengthens your heart and lungs.

Sure, you might be able to run a nine-minute mile right now, but can you keep that pace up for five miles or 10 miles?

By incorporating slow running into your routine, you can improve your stamina and resistance to fatigue.

And that’s thanks to improving your mitochondria function. Mitochondria can be found in almost every cell in your body and produces 90% of your body’s energy. Mitochondria process oxygen and convert food into energy.

“We can increase mitochondrial density by running slowly, running aerobically,” explains Dr. Singh. “We can also develop capillary beds or beds of little blood vessels, which then help us increase the amount of oxygen delivery to your muscles. By improving oxygen delivery or essentially increasing the energy that you can deliver, you’re able to increase the time between the start of your run and the timing of fatigue.”

While slow running helps with your endurance, it also helps retrain your muscle fibers. If you run longer distances, your body needs to be able to sustain that effort. By strengthening your muscles through slow running, you’ll be able to maintain a faster pace for a longer time.

For example, say your slow runs are around a 10-minute mile pace. During those runs, you can easily sing your favorite song.

“Building the endurance and the cardiac efficiency is what helps you then start to slowly get a little faster on your slow runs,” says Dr. Singh. “What you’ll notice over time — and it’s not over a couple of days or a couple of weeks, but over the course of a couple of months or up to a year — you’ll notice that your slow pace is faster than the prior 10 minutes per mile.”

And the idea is that by incorporating slow running into your training, you’re less likely to sustain injuries.

“If you watch people sprinting compared to someone who’s jogging, you can visibly see the change and the difference in impact of the foot to the ground,” she continues. “The amount of power you need in your legs and the force of impact is going to be far greater if you’re sprinting or running fast versus if you’re running slow.”

Over time, that wear and tear on your body can take a toll.

“The demands on the body are much higher, the risk of injury is much higher the faster you go,” notes Dr. Singh. “Slow running will help you stay healthy for longer. There’s a place for fast efforts and a place for learning how to run fast and how to train your muscles to run fast. But there’s space for keeping miles easy to protect yourself from injury.”

Tips for slow running

“The first thing you need to do is throw your ego out the window. That’s the hard part,” relates Dr. Singh. “It’s going to freak you out how slow you’re going. One way to think about it is don’t even think about it as slow running. Tell yourself the purpose of this run is to increase your mitochondrial density, the purpose of this run is to improve your efficiency, the purpose of this run is to improve and enhance the ability for you to deliver oxygen to your legs when you’re running.”

Here are some other slow running tips:

• Ignore your watch. You probably use a smartwatch to track all kinds of data related to your health. “Just remember that your body is what is giving the feedback to your watch — it’s not the other way around,” stresses Dr. Singh. “So, if your watch is giving you anxiety, if looking down at your pace is causing you to have freak-out moments, leave your watch at home.”
• Have a run buddy. “It can be incredibly helpful, especially if you and your buddy run at similar paces,” says Dr. Singh. “Set your intentions: We’re going to catch up on what’s been going on this week. I think that’s a phenomenal way to learn and understand what slow running is. And time flies when you’re having a good conversation.”
• Set your intentions. Start out each run thinking about what you want to accomplish. “Sometimes, I’ll focus on running a specific amount of time versus a specific number of miles,” says Dr. Singh. “That takes the stress out of getting a certain number of miles, which means I won’t try to run faster to get the mileage done.”

Bottom line?

Looking for a personal testimony on how slow running can change your run game? Look no further than Dr. Singh.

“I have become much faster after incorporating slow running to the point where one of my buddies who I run with, who perhaps doesn’t really subscribe to the slow running idea, has said they can’t believe how much I’ve improved my run time,” she shares.

So, consider slow running and how it can play a part in your running routine and strategy.

“If you want to become a faster runner, remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day and your goal pace isn’t going to be built in a day,” says Dr. Singh. “But the time you spend in optimizing your body and the biological mechanics within your body are really going to help you in the long run.”

ACC offers practical approaches for arrhythmia monitoring after stroke

 Did this get installed as a protocol in your hospital? NO? So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke hospital, do you?

ACC offers practical approaches for arrhythmia monitoring after stroke   

he American College of Cardiology (ACC) recently published a new expert consensus document on practical approaches for arrhythmia monitoring after stroke. The guidance offers clinicians tailored strategies to improve post-stroke care by identifying and managing atrial fibrillation (AF) and other arrhythmias linked to recurrent stroke risk.

The ACC Solution Set Oversight Committee's "2024 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Practical Approaches for Arrhythmia Monitoring After Stroke" includes comprehensive guidance for arrhythmia detection based on stroke subtype, leveraging extended monitoring and implantable cardiac monitors where appropriate.[1] The document offers a detailed evaluation of medical-grade and consumer-grade monitoring devices to support clinicians in selecting the right tools for individual patients. The document also emphases collaboration between clinicians and patients to personalize monitoring
strategies and treatment plans.

“There is growing consensus on the role of cardiac rhythm monitoring in patients after a stroke that is informed by outcomes of several recent landmark trials,” said Michael T. Spooner, MD, MBA, FACC, writing committee chair and director of electrophysiology and program director of the Mercy One North Iowa Cardiovascular Fellowship, in a statement from ACC. “Although improved monitoring leads to improved detection of arrhythmia after a stroke, there remains less clarity on the effect this detection has on secondary stroke prevention.”

Stroke is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide and identifying its underlying cause is critical to preventing recurrent events. AF is a common but often silent arrhythmia, and it significantly increases stroke risk.

Traditional methods of AF diagnosis, including brief electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings, often fall short of capturing transient AF, so longer duration of monitoring can increase the rate of AF detection, was one of the key takeaways from list created by Geoffrey D. Barnes, MD, MSc, FACC, associate professor, Frankel Cardiovascular Center, University of Michigan. He noted the document also states the longer the time interval between the ischemic stroke and the detected AF episode decreases the likelihood of AF as a proximal cause of the prior event.

Barnes said in his takeaways that various technologies have been developed to identify AF, including continuous or intermittent ambulatory ECG monitors, which have gained wide adoption in the past few years. There are also medical-grade monitors (typically electrical activity monitoring) and consumer-grade monitors (either electrical activity monitoring or photoplethysmography) can also help in monitoring these patients.

Arrhythmia monitoring after a stroke requires three important steps. First, a multidisciplinary evaluation should be undertaken to identify potential mechanism for stroke. Second, risk assessment is performed to determine the likelihood that a cardiac arrhythmia played a role in the stroke (or future stroke). Third, an optimal monitoring strategy should be selected to be accurate, practical, and establish follow-up.

For patients in whom arrhythmia monitoring detects >5 minutes of AF, anticoagulation is likely recommended. This is particularly true if their CHA2DS2-VASc score is ≥3. For those with no AF, continuing antiplatelet therapy is recommended, Barnes wrote.

Read more key takeaways.
 

Read the full 25-page document.

                                                   

Study Reveals Key Alzheimer's Pathway – And Blocking It Reverses Symptoms in Mice

 Does your doctor have enough competence to get this research done in humans? NO? So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor, do you?

With your chances of getting dementia post stroke, your competent? doctor needs to be monitoring this and provide dementia prevention solutions. Over a decade to accomplish that! Was it done? NO? So, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor, do you? YOUR DOCTOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PREVENTING THIS!

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018 

The latest here:

Study Reveals Key Alzheimer's Pathway – And Blocking It Reverses Symptoms in Mice

• Stress signals in the brain's clean-up cells may be linked to nerve degeneration in Alzheimer's disease, leading to memory loss and other symptoms.
• Blocking the integrated stress response pathway in mouse brains prevented damage to synapse connections and reduced the buildup of toxic tau proteins associated with Alzheimer's.
• Researchers from CUNY have identified a novel neurodegenerative microglia phenotype in Alzheimer's disease, characterized by a stress-related signaling pathway that causes brain immune cells to become harmful.

See a mistake?

A sequence of stress signals among specialized clean-up cells in the brain could at last reveal why some immune responses can cause significant nerve degeneration that results in the loss of memory, judgement, and awareness behind Alzheimer's disease.

Blocking this pathway in mouse brains modeled on Alzheimer's prevented damage to their synapse connections and reduced the buildup of potentially toxic tau proteins – both hallmarks of the condition.

The researchers, led by a team from the City University of New York (CUNY), believe this pathway – called the integrated stress response (ISR) – causes brain immune cells called microglia to go 'dark' and start damaging rather than benefiting the brain.

The researchers looked at the effects of stress on microglia cells. (Flury et al., Neuron, 2024)

"We set out to answer what are the harmful microglia in Alzheimer's disease and how can we therapeutically target them," says CUNY neuroscientist Pinar Ayata.

"We pinpointed a novel neurodegenerative microglia phenotype in Alzheimer's disease characterized by a stress-related signaling pathway."

Haywire immune cells have previously been linked to Alzheimer's, prompting the team to use an electron scanning process to identify the buildup of dark microglia in human brains affected by Alzheimer's.

Finding around twice as many stressed microglia in brains with the condition compared with healthy brains, the researchers went on to show how the ISR pathway was causing dark microglia to release harmful lipids into the brain's tissues.

It was these damaging fats that caused the damage to synapses and neuron communication seen in Alzheimer's.

Brain scans were used to identify dark microglia. (Flury et al., Neuron, 2024)

As is often the case with Alzheimer's research, a better understanding of how the disease operates can also give scientists more ideas for how to treat it. If treatments that block ISR can work safely and effectively in humans, the method could potentially slow the chaos that Alzheimer's causes in our own brain.

"These findings reveal a critical link between cellular stress and the neurotoxic effects of microglia in Alzheimer's disease," says molecular biologist Anna Flury from CUNY."Targeting this pathway may open up new avenues for treatment by either halting the toxic lipid production or preventing the activation of harmful microglial phenotypes."

The team behind this study found that the misfolded protein malfunctions that often drive dementia could be triggering the ISR to begin with, meaning that these signals are both a result of Alzheimer's and a reason for its further progression.

Further studies should make this relationship clearer, now that we have a better idea of how the ISR pathway and dark microglia act in the brain – and from there, hopefully, new approaches to therapies.

Association of Early-, Middle-, and Late-Life Depression With Incident Dementia in a Danish Cohort

 It is your competent? doctors' complete responsibility to prevent post stroke depression by having EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS! No protocols, you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor! Don't know what s/he is but without protocols, they are useless!

Send me hate mail on this: oc1dean@gmail.com. I'll print your complete statement with your name and my response in my blog. Or are you afraid to engage with my stroke-addled mind? I would like to know why you aren't solving stroke to 100% recovery, and what is your definition of competence in stroke? Swearing at me is allowed, I'll return the favor.

Association of Early-, Middle-, and Late-Life Depression With Incident Dementia in a Danish Cohort

Holly Elser, MD, PhD^1,2; Erzsébet Horváth-Puhó, PhD¹; Jaimie L. Gradus, DMSc, DSc³; et al Meghan L. Smith, PhD³; Timothy L. Lash, DSc⁴; M. Maria Glymour, ScD⁵; Henrik Toft Sørensen, MD, PhD, DMSc, DSc^1,6; Victor W. Henderson, MD, MS^1,7,8

Author Affiliations Article Information

JAMA Neurol. 2023;80(9):949-958. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2309

Key Points

Question  Does the association between depression and dementia persist whether depression is diagnosed in early, middle, or late life?

Findings  In this population cohort study of more than 1.4 million adult Danish citizens followed up from 1977 to 2018, the risk of dementia more than doubled for both men and women with diagnosed depression and was higher for men than women; the risk of dementia persisted whether depression was diagnosed in early, middle, or late life.

Meaning  Dementia risk associated with depression diagnosis was higher for men than women; the persistent association between dementia and depression diagnosed in early and middle life suggests that depression may increase dementia risk.

Abstract

Importance  Late-life depressive symptoms are associated with subsequent dementia diagnosis and may be an early symptom or response to preclinical disease. Evaluating associations with early- and middle-life depression will help clarify whether depression influences dementia risk.

Objective  To examine associations of early-, middle-, and late-life depression with incident dementia.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This was a nationwide, population-based, cohort study conducted from April 2020 to March 2023. Participants included Danish citizens from the general population with depression diagnoses who were matched by sex and birth year to individuals with no depression diagnosis. Participants were followed up from 1977 to 2018. Excluded from analyses were individuals followed for less than 1 year, those younger than 18 years, or those with baseline dementia.

Exposure  Depression was defined using diagnostic codes from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) within the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR) and Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register (DPCRR).

Main Outcomes and Measure  Incident dementia was defined using ICD diagnostic codes within the DPCRR and DNPR. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine associations between depression and dementia adjusting for education, income, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, anxiety disorders, stress disorders, substance use disorders, and bipolar disorder. Analyses were stratified by age at depression diagnosis, years since index date, and sex.

Results  There were 246 499 individuals (median [IQR] age, 50.8 [34.7-70.7] years; 159 421 women [64.7%]) with diagnosed depression and 1 190 302 individuals (median [IQR] age, 50.4 [34.6-70.0] years; 768 876 women [64.6%]) without depression. Approximately two-thirds of those diagnosed with depression were diagnosed before the age of 60 years (684 974 [67.7%]). The hazard of dementia among those diagnosed with depression was 2.41 times that of the comparison cohort (95% CI, 2.35-2.47). This association persisted when the time elapsed from the index date was longer than 20 to 39 years (hazard ratio [HR], 1.79; 95% CI, 1.58-2.04) and among those diagnosed with depression in early, middle, or late life (18-44 years: HR, 3.08; 95% CI, 2.64-3.58; 45-59 years: HR, 2.95; 95% CI, 2.75-3.17; ≥60 years: HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 2.25-2.38). The overall HR was greater for men (HR, 2.98; 95% CI, 2.84-3.12) than for women (HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 2.15-2.27).

Conclusions and Relevance  Results suggest that the risk of dementia was more than doubled for both men and women with diagnosed depression. The persistent association between dementia and depression diagnosed in early and middle life suggests that depression may increase dementia risk.

'I learned to play guitar with one arm after a stroke'

 Why? Because your doctor and therapists were complete fucking failures at getting you recovered?

'I learned to play guitar with one arm after a stroke'

1 day ago

Jonathan Geddes

BBC Scotland News

Tony Romaine

Tony Romaine spent seven months in hospital recovering from his stroke

An Inverness man has been able to resume his music career despite suffering a stroke that left him unable to speak or walk - by teaching himself to play the guitar one-handed.

Tony Romaine spent seven months in hospital recovering from a stroke that hit him "out of the blue" two years ago.

The 49-year-old dad of four was found by his wife Lynn lying on their couch unable to move or even cry for help after a clot caused the blood supply to his brain to be interrupted.

However, earlier this year he took to the stage to play his first gig since the incident, with plans for further shows in 2025.

"I couldn't imagine not doing music in my life," says Tony, who was initially unable to even swallow after the stroke happened.

"When people said I probably wouldn't be able to play again, I wasn't going to listen to that. There was probably a part of me that was like 'I'll prove you wrong' but I just had to get back to playing again."

Tony Romaine

Tony had to relearn how to walk, talk and eat after his stroke

A music lover from childhood, Tony regularly played gigs around Inverness. In 2022 he forced himself to play a couple of shows despite feeling unwell - not realising that within days doctors would be telling his family to prepare for the worst.

"The day after the gig I had a rest day, so I was sitting on the couch and ordering a takeaway.

"By the time the takeaway got there, I was finding it difficult to move around but I just thought I was tired and under the weather. I never thought it would be anything like a stroke.

"By the time everyone was going to bed I was saying I would just stay there a bit longer, and I lay down. Next thing I knew, I couldn't move at all. I went to shout out, and realised I couldn't speak either.

"I was lying there all night, wide awake and thinking 'what the hell is going on?'."

'I might not be here tomorrow'

Tony's wife Lynn came downstairs early the next morning and discovered her husband, quickly phoning for an ambulance.

However, doctors said they could not do anything to break up the clot to his brain stem that caused the stroke.

"My family were told the day I went in that I might not be here tomorrow. I was having trouble breathing and had tubes going in and out of me."

The stroke was so severe that Tony had to be fed through tubes for several weeks while being cared for at at Inverness's Raigmore Hospital, firstly in the ICU and then the stroke unit.

Tony Romaine

Tony never lost hope that he would be able to make music again

He then moved to the RNI Community Hospital, for a further five months of rehab and physio.

Although the initial targets were focused simply on helping Tony to walk again, he was already thinking about how to play guitar.

"The first thing the physiotherapist said to me was that she just wanted me to sit up. I said to them 'I don't know how to do that', so she helped me, and eventually I managed to sit at the edge of the bed," he says.

"That was the start. But to be honest, I was thinking about music from the first day I was in hospital.

"There was so much stuff going through my head at that point but I was thinking that I'd have to cancel gigs and I was trying to figure out how I was going to do it."

Progress was slow at times, and Tony recalls being told how his brain needed to be "taught" that his leg was still there and could work.

As he continued to make progress with his body, he was able to start trying to play guitar again as well, even though his left hand and arm were out of action.

"I had no idea how I was going to do it," he recalls.

"It's not like I could just go to a guitar teacher, but once I figured out a couple of techniques it became a case of practicing them, which was easier."

The first song he re-learned was Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, with a stripped-back arrangement to make it easier on him.

He could find inspiration in the likes of Edywn Collins, the former Orange Juice singer who suffered a stroke following a cerebral haemorrhage in 2005 but later returned to performing and making music.

Soon Tony was not just re-learning old songs but working on new material too, and in August the song Standing Stone was released on streaming services.

Another milestone came the same month when he played a gig for the first time in two years, taking the stage at the Rose Street Foundry in Inverness for 30 minutes.

"I was absolutely exhausted," he recalls.

"I stood out of my wheelchair at the end and my legs were shaking. But I'm growing in stamina all the time – I'm hoping to do an hour and a half, maybe split in two 45 minute sets, for my next gigs."

Charity support

Those upcoming gigs will be aimed at helping others, too.

He is hoping fundraise for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland in the coming months, after they helped him with his rehab after the stroke, while his next show at the Tooth and Claw in Inverness will be to benefit the Oxygen Works charity in the city.

"When I was in hospital I saw people who had given up, and that made me really sad," he explains.

"I understand it, it's a terrible thing to go through but I wouldn't want anyone to give up - I want people to know that you can come through this."  

Psychedelic Therapy Begins in Colorado, Amid Tension Between Conservatives, Veterans

 Is your competent? doctor ensuring both MDMA and psychedelic drugs are available for treatment in your state?

Since there is a 23% chance of stroke survivors getting PTSD what is your doctor's treatment plan?

Maybe these?

Microbiome and Diet Could Mitigate PTSD Symptoms October 2023 

Psychoactive Ibogaine and Magnesium Show Promise for PTSD January 2024

Harnessing Psilocybin to Treat PTSD

Treating PTSD With Ecstasy? You Might Have Some Questions. May 2018

Ecstasy Was Just Labelled a 'Breakthrough Therapy' For PTSD by The FDA August 2017

But this negative action:

FDA Rejects MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD

Decision largely expected after agency advisors voted against psychedelic's safety and efficacy.

The latest here: Seems like you are totally on your own to figure out how to treat your mental problems! Good luck.

Psychedelic Therapy Begins in Colorado, Amid Tension Between Conservatives, Veterans

Colorado is the second state to legalize psilocybin therapy

by Associated Press January 2, 2025

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

As Colorado becomes the second state to legalize psychedelic therapy this week, a clash is playing out in Colorado Springs, where conservative leaders are restricting the treatment over objections from some of the city's 90,000 veterans, who've become flagbearers for psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Colorado residents voted to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, in a 2022 ballot measure, launching 2 years of rulemaking before it could be used to treat conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

This week, companies and people will be able to apply for licenses to administer the mind-altering drug, though treatment will likely not be available for some months as applications are processed.

Colorado joined Oregon in legalizing psilocybin therapy, though the drug remains illegal in most other states and federally. Over the last year, a growing number of Oregon cities have voted to ban psilocybin. While Colorado metros cannot ban the treatment under state law, several conservative cities have worked to preemptively restrict what are known as "healing centers."

At a city council meeting in Colorado Springs this month, members were set to vote on extending the state prohibition on healing centers from 1,000 feet to 1 mile from certain locations, such as schools. From the lectern, veterans implored them not to.

"We have an opportunity to support veterans, and it's a really easy one to say 'yes' to," said Lane Belone, a special forces veteran who said he's benefited from his own psychedelic experiences. Belone argued that the restrictions effectively limit the number of centers and would mean longer waiting lists for the treatment.

Veterans have pulled in some conservative support for psychedelic therapy, managing to set it apart from other politically charged drug policies such as legalizing marijuana.

That distinction was made clear by council member David Leinweber, who said at the council meeting both that marijuana is "literally killing our kids" and that he supported greater access to psilocybin therapy.

Psilocybin is far more restricted in Colorado than marijuana, which the state legalized in 2014. Psilocybin is decriminalized but there won't be recreational dispensaries for the substance, which will be largely confined to licensed businesses and therapy sessions with licensed facilitators.

Patients will have to go through a risk assessment, preliminary meetings, then follow-up sessions and remain with a facilitator while under the drug's influence. The psilocybin will also be tested, and the companies that grow them regulated by a state agency.

Still, allowing broader access to the treatment hasn't been easy for most of the city council members, including three who are veterans. Colorado Springs is home to several military installations, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, and local leaders have touted it as an ideal community for retired service members.

"I will never sit up here and criticize a veteran for wanting to find a medical treatment to fix or to help with the issues that they carry," said Council President Randy Helms, a veteran himself.

Still, he continued, "Do I think that it's helpful to not just veterans but to individuals? Probably so. Do I think it still needs to be tested under strict requirements? Yes."

The Colorado Springs City Council passed the proposed restrictions.

While research has shown promise for psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and MDMA, also known as molly, in helping people with conditions such as alcoholism, depression, and PTSD, the scientific field remains in its relatively early stages.

"I'm very positive about the potential value, but I'm very concerned that we've gotten too far ahead of our skis," said Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City, who's been involved in studies of psychedelic drugs' therapeutic efficacy.

The risks, said Lieberman, include customers being misled and paying out of pocket for expensive treatments. He also said there are cases where the drugs can exacerbate some extreme mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia.

In Oregon, where the treatments started in June 2023, costs can reach $2,000 for one session. Of the over 16,000 doses administered in the state, staff have only called 911 or taken a patient to the hospital five times.

Other Colorado Springs city council members raised concerns that the FDA has not approved psilocybin to treat mental health conditions and, in August, rejected the psychedelic MDMA to treat PTSD. A number of clinical trials are still underway for both drugs.

Some researchers, advocacy groups, and veterans worry that waiting on slow-moving bureaucracy -- namely the FDA -- carries its own risks as people continue to struggle with mental illnesses. Advocates argue that psychedelic therapy offers an option to those for whom talk therapy alone and antidepressants have not helped.

"This is a crisis that we are in, and this is a tool that we can add to our toolbox," said Taylor West, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, which advocates for psychedelic therapy.

Belone said he's carried his military experience long after leaving the special forces. It started when he first heard artillery sirens wailing in a U.S. base in Iraq, his breath catching with fear for a few thudding moments.

That fear kept him on edge when he returned stateside and found himself always keeping his back to the wall, looking for exits to the room he was in, never quite able to give himself fully to the music at a concert.

A psychedelic experience with psilocybin, said Belone, helped him connect the fear that attached to him in the war zone to the ceaseless anxiety at home. It didn't solve everything overnight, he said, but it allowed him to better identify when that humming fear was getting in the way of a joyful life.