Stem Cell Transplants Help MS Victims

(HealthDay News) -- Stem cell transplantation seems to stop and, in some cases, undo neurological damage in people with multiple sclerosis, a small study shows.

The trial involved just 21 patients, but a larger, randomized trial is under way in the United States, Canada and Brazil.

"This is the first trial for any phase of MS, whether early or later, of any therapy anywhere that has shown reversal of neurological disability," said study author Dr. Richard K. Burt, chief of the division of immunotherapy at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

MS is a disease in which the immune system turns on the body and attacks myelin, the protective covering on nerve cells. The disease usually starts with a "relapse-remitting" phase, with alternating periods of flare-ups of symptoms and relatively peaceful spans. After a decade or so, however, most patients move into the more severe, secondary-progressive form of the disease.

"There is a need to find a means by which we can control the progression of MS, particularly in these patients who are not responding to FDA-approved therapies," said Patricia O'Looney, vice president of biomedical research at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Treatments are clustered toward the relapse-remitting stage, with little available for the latter stage. "Generally, when you get to late progressive MS, nothing really works," Burt said.

The technique used in this study, autologous non-myeloablative hemopoietic stem cell transplantation, "resets" the immune system and is already used for secondary-progressive MS.

"This has primarily been used over the last 10 to 15 years in progressive MS patients, people who are doing terribly, and we have nothing to offer them," O'Looney explained. "There have been some fatalities associated with this aggressive protocol."

And success was limited.

But, for the new study, researchers tweaked the technique and moved it to relapse-remitting patients who were younger than in previous studies.

"This is a safer approach, and we do it earlier in the disease because people have less disability so it's safer again," Burt said.

The study involved 21 patients with the earlier stage of the disease who were not responding to treatment with interferon.

The procedure basically involves stripping the patient's body of its immune cells, and then repopulating the body with stem cells from the patient's bone marrow.

"You're trying to wipe out the immune system and then, with one's own cells, reconstitute it with the hope that the new cells will not target myelin. That's the theory, get rid of bad cells and reconstitute it with new cells from one's own body so hopefully they haven't been triggered yet to attach to myelin," O'Looney said.

Seventeen of the participants improved by at least one point on a scale used to measure disability. Five participants relapsed, then went into remission after more treatment.

After about three years, none of the patients' disease was progressing and 16 were no longer relapsing. And some experienced improvements, all without major side effects.

The findings were published online Jan. 30 in The Lancet Neurology and will appear in the March print issue of the journal.

Still, specialists are curbing their enthusiasm until further results are seen.

"We need to see a larger number of samples... and [we need to] know if the benefit they're seeing is due to the immune system being reset or because the immune system has been suppressed and will return as the way it was," O'Looney said.

More information
Visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for more on this condition.

Breakthroughs Offer Hope to MS Patients

(HealthDay News) -- There's no one single way to suffer from multiple sclerosis.

Every patient exhibits different symptoms as the disease gnaws away at the nerve endings in the brain, the spinal cord and even the eyes.

Doctors aren't even sure what causes MS, or what makes one person more likely to get it than another.

"I have a patient who is 6 years old," said Dr. Daniel Kantor, director of the Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Florida. "I have a patient who is 71 years old. I have patients from all walks of life, all ages."

But, the recent discovery of a second gene linked to Multiple sclerosis -- hailed as a major breakthrough -- is giving researchers hope that they are zeroing in on useful treatments -- and, ultimately, a cure.

In what is considered the most significant genetic breakthrough in MS research in three decades, scientists last year announced they had found a gene that increases the risk of developing the disease by 30 percent.

"This discovery is very significant, because it is hopefully the first of many, and after more than 30 years of finding nothing," said Dr. Jennie Q. Lou, professor of public health and internal medicine at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"We will expect to find many more of these genes over the next few years. Either these genes, or genes related to them, may be an excellent target that researchers can use to develop treatments and cures for MS," she added.

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are many and varied, as the disease attacks different parts of the nervous system.

One MS patient may have trouble walking, while another is wheelchair-bound. One person may experience terrible fatigue, while another might struggle with blurred or double vision. Still another might have slurred speech, tremors, stiffness and bladder problems, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

"A lot of the symptoms are invisible symptoms to an outsider," Kantor said. "Pain, extreme fatigue, memory problems -- these are problems you just can't see."

Multiple sclerosis is considered an autoimmune disease, because it attacks the central nervous system.

The nerve fibers of the central nervous system are surrounded and protected by a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps the fibers conduct electrical impulses. With MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. Sometimes, the fiber itself is harmed.

When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, producing the various symptoms of MS.

Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and twice as many women as men have the disease. About 400,000 Americans are known to have MS, and every week about 200 new cases are diagnosed. Worldwide, the MS toll may run as high as 2.5 million people, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The exact cause of MS is unknown, but doctors suspect it comes from some combination of genetic and environmental factors, Kantor said.

"There's a genetic predisposition and then something happens, they are exposed to something, and it makes the body's defense system attack itself versus attacking a foreign invader," he said.
That's why the discovery of the second gene is so important. Researchers now know they have to cast a wider net.

"We've been looking at one gene the whole time, and we thought that was going to be the answer to understanding MS," Kantor said. "This is just telling us there's another part of the immune system that is important as well. It's made things more complicated, but if it's true, it's true."

The gene discovery is one of a number of advances that are occurring at a rapid pace.

Lou noted that new research has successfully used stem cells to help replace myelin in the brains of mice. "This discovery has shed light on the great potential of using stem cells in MS treatment," she said.

And last year, researchers proved that an experimental DNA vaccine to fight multiple sclerosis is safe and stands a good chance of being effective. The vaccine works by thwarting the immune system's attack on the myelin sheaths protecting nerve fibers.

Other advances noted by Lou include:

• Better and earlier diagnosis owing to advances in imaging technology.


• Improved drugs to reduce the frequency and severity of symptoms, and the accumulation of lesions in the brain and spinal cord.


• More aggressive rehabilitation programs developed specifically for MS patients.

"Every time we get our Journal of Neurology, more than half of it is about MS and how we can treat MS," Kantor said. "The MS of today is not the MS of even 15 years ago. We are learning more about it at a rapid rate."

More information
To learn more, visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Marijuana Use Among MS Patients Raises Risk for Cognitive, Mood Problems

(HealthDay News) -- Multiple sclerosis patients who smoke marijuana in search of symptom relief are more likely to suffer cognitive shortfalls and mood disorders, new Canadian research suggests.

A slowing down in the ability to process and remember information is one significant side effect, as is a rise in the rate of depression and anxiety.

"This is a small study, so our findings are preliminary, but the bottom line is that multiple sclerosis patients who smoke cannabis appear to be at an increased risk for cognitive issues, particularly with respect to the speed of their thinking," said study author Dr. Anthony Feinstein, a professor of psychiatry with the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre's department of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

Feinstein's observations are published in the Feb. 13 online edition of Neurology and are focused exclusively on the impact of smoking marijuana illegally obtained by patients themselves. Medically prescribed marijuana was not studied.

The authors noted that a "significant minority" of multiple sclerosis patients smoke marijuana to combat the tingling, numbness, blindness and paralysis that can accompany the progressive and often disabling nervous system disease.

However, Feinstein's team stressed that scientists have yet to definitively prove that the psychoactive substance -- long linked to psychosis, anxiety and delirium among healthy users -- provides a measurable benefit to the more than 400,000 Americans and 2.5 million people worldwide who suffer from the disease.

The researchers therefore assessed the experience of 140 Toronto-based MS outpatients, 10 of whom had smoked the drug at least once in the previous month and were considered regular marijuana users.

All the patients -- three-quarters of them women -- underwent cognitive and mental health exams by a neurologist and a neuro-psychiatrist. Interviews were also conducted to assess disease severity and course, medications being used, and current disability.

Feinstein and his team observed that while pot smokers were younger, there were no differences between marijuana users and nonusers in terms of gender, education, or MS disease course or duration.

However, MS patients who used marijuana were found to perform 50 percent slower on tests tracking information-processing speed and were more likely than nonusers to have a mental disability of some kind.

Marijuana use was also associated with a greater risk for being depressed or experiencing anxiety. However, the authors were not able to determine whether the drug had triggered such conditions, or if patients had sought out marijuana to help deal with a preexisting emotional issue.

They nonetheless cautioned that smoking marijuana might further raise the risk for experiencing the kind of neuro-psychological impairment that typically occurs among 40 percent to 65 percent of all MS patients.

Feinstein said that he next hopes to gather a much larger pool of patients, while exploring possible differences in the health impact of street-purchased marijuana versus prescribed cannabis.

Meanwhile, Dr. Marshall Keilson, director of neurology at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., said he thinks it best to proceed on a case-by-case basis.

"There are some MS patients who are emotionally disabled from their disease, and if we can use cannabis to help them feel better about the world or life, we should," he said. "We need to always err on the side of doing what's best for our patients. And I don't necessarily believe there is a permanent damage to the brain, based on occasional marijuana use. If they're smoking 10 times a day, yes, there will be damage done. But this goes for excessive alcohol use, too. So, I think we're going to end up somewhere in the middle with this."

More information
For more on multiple sclerosis, visit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Multiple Sclerosis Drug Combats Vision Loss

(HealthDay News) -- A controversial multiple sclerosis drug called Tysabri also reduces vision loss associated with the disease by 47 percent, a new study found.

"Vision loss is probably one of the most disabling things that happens to people with MS," said lead researcher Dr. Laura J. Balcer, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "The exciting thing is, first, that we now have an eye-chart test that can pick that up and can show if treatments help vision. Second, this particular drug appears to help prevent vision loss."

In the study, Balcer's group looked at the results of two trials -- called AFFIRM and SENTINEL -- that included 2,138 people with relapsing MS. More than half the patients received Tysabri (generic name natalizumab) every four weeks for two years.

To evaluate eyesight, the researchers used a specially developed eye chart of low contrast letters. They found vision loss was reduced by as much as 47 percent among the people taking Tysabri, compared with those taking a placebo.

"Vision is one more dimension of MS that the drug helps," Balcer said. "It has already been shown that the drug reduces the rates of relapses and disability."

Balcer thinks that other MS drugs may have similar effects on vision, and there is now a test that can be included in trials to evaluate this. "Now, we can get to see how these other medications may help vision," she said.

The findings are published in the April 17 issue of the journal Neurology.

Tysabri's history has been marked by some controversy.

It received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in November 2004, only to be pulled from the market three months later after several patients in clinical trials developed a rare but deadly viral infection of the brain called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. In June 2006, the FDA allowed the drug to return to the mart, but with strict conditions. According to the new guidelines, Tysabri can only be administered by approved doctors, infusion sites and pharmacies that register and comply with a patient-safety program designed by Biogen-IDEC, the maker of Tysabri, and approved by the FDA.

One expert thinks that despite the vision benefit, Tysabri should be reserved for patients with aggressive MS or those who failed other medications.

"This study confirms the benefits of this particular MS drug in relapsing MS patients," said Dr. Anne H. Cross, a professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, in St. Louis. "In addition, it validates the use of a new vision test which is relevant to MS."
But the benefit to vision doesn't negate the risks associated with the drug, Cross said. "I don't think I will change my prescribing habits based upon this paper," she said. "I will probably continue to use it in the same type of patients I have been using it in in the past."

However, Nicholas LaRocca, the director of health care delivery and policy research at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, said the new study provides additional insight into the benefits of the drug and may influence the decision whether to start using it or not.
"For patients who are on natalizumab or considering natalizumab, this gives them another piece of information to consider as they are trying to make their decision," he said.

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Many researchers believe MS to be an autoimmune disease -- one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault.

More information
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/findinformation/mm/multiplesclerosis.htm

Marijuana-Like Compound May Slow Alzheimer's

(HealthDay News) -- A new U.S. study finds that marijuana may help slow the progression of Alzheimer's, while a second report suggests the "club drug" Ecstasy could yield insights into Parkinson's disease.

Both findings were presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in Atlanta.

In the first presentation, researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus found that marijuana may contain compounds that can slow memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease.

In their study involving rats, a team led by psychology professor Gary Wenk searched for ways to reduce Alzheimer's-linked brain inflammation.

Wenk was already familiar with data that found that long-term marijuana users had lower rates of Alzheimer's disease than the general population. His team sought to find a compound that might reduce disease-linked brain inflammation but avoid the drug's psychoactive effects.
"We are using a component of marijuana that stimulates the same centers in the brain that marijuana does," Wenk said. The synthetic compound, which is very similar in composition to marijuana, is called WIN-55212-2 (WIN).

Experiments conducted on young and old rats revealed that WIN is "a very effective anti-inflammatory, it reduces brain inflammation," Wenk said.

What makes this discovery special is that this compound can cross the blood-brain barrier, Wenk explained. The results of a special rat "maze test" suggested that WIN "also reversed the memory impairment in the older rats," he said.

Brain inflammation is characteristic of many diseases other than Alzheimer's, including multiple sclerosis, ALS, AIDS, Huntington's and Parkinson's, Wenk noted. "We are beginning to notice that brain inflammation is always in the background as people get older," he said. "Inflammation doesn't cause the disease, it contributes to the pathology," he said.

WIN is not appropriate for use in humans because it still contains substances that may trigger a "high." However, Wenk hopes that some form of this compound might be used to benefit people with neurological diseases.

"We have the added advantage that millions of doses [of marijuana] have been taken by millions of people over the past centuries," he said. "We already know a lot about its actions in the body and its toxicity, or lack of toxicity. The only problem we have is that it's illegal."

Wenk is not suggesting that Alzheimer's patients start using marijuana. "Patients would have to be so careful not to get too much," he said. "That would only worsen the symptoms of their dementia."
The challenge is to find a dose that has an anti-inflammatory effect but does not make patients high, Wenk said. "It's hopeful," he said, "but it's not a therapy until we find a way to make it work in humans."

One expert believes it may be possible to derive therapeutic benefits from marijuana without inducing other effects that could be harmful to Alzheimer's patients.

"These are still early days for thinking about drugs derived from cannabis," said Dr. Samuel Gandy, director of the Farber Institute for Neurosciences at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
"Still, we know the structure of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) [the active ingredient in cannabis] in detail, and it is not inconceivable that helpful THC-based drugs could be created chemically that benefit brain function but lack the 'high' that currently stigmatizes the compound," Gandy added.

In the second report, researchers from the University of Cincinnati found that, in rats, MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) -- more commonly known as the illegal drug Ecstasy -- increases the survival of dopamine-releasing cells in the brain during fetal development.
"The club drug Ecstasy can cause dopamine neurons to grow and prevent them from dying off," explained lead researcher Jack Lipton, a professor of psychiatry.

Dopamine cells are critical to the regulation of voluntary movement. This discovery might lead to better therapies for neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, the researchers said.
Ecstasy, as is, is not beneficial for Parkinson's patients, Lipton cautioned. But a part of MDMA may be.

The trick now is to find the components of MDMA that have this effect on dopamine cells and develop ways to use it to help Parkinson's patients, Lipton said. It could also be used as an adjunct to stem cell transplantation, something that's now being studied in Parkinson's patients.
"It could help transplants take better and have more cells survive," Lipton said.

More information
There's more on Alzheimer's disease at the Alzheimer's Association.

As early as World War I, ozone's bactericidal properties were used to treat infected wounds

As early as World War I, ozone's bactericidal properties were used to treat infected wounds, mustard gas burns, and fistulas, although these treatments were limited by technological difficulties.

Current ozone therapy uses a mixture of ozone and pure oxygen, and with today's medical ozone generators, the ability now exists to deliver pure ozone-oxygen mixtures in precise dosages.

The Europe-based Medical Society for Ozone and the National Center for Scientific Research in Cuba currently use the treatment for a wide variety of conditions, including wound problems, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, and AIDS.

Doctors report particular success with the different types of hepatitis, as well as candida, allergies and bladder infections. Other disorders treated with ozone therapy: herpes, arthritis, respiratory conditions, multiple sclerosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and parasitic conditions.

And this is just a partial list. What's more, while ozone can be used to treat a wide spectrum of conditions, it can also be used prophylactically to combat harmful viruses, bacteria, and free radicals before degeneration and disease occur.

Additionally, already healthy people can use ozone to rejuvenate cells so that they can stay younger longer. As science reporter Nathaniel Altman observes, it is unusual indeed to have a product that treats such a tremendous range of conditions. Altman recounts ozone's multiple benefits:

Chlorophyll for MS?

Chlorophyll for MS?
Provided by: DrWeil.com

Q: I was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and have been taking chlorophyll supplements to boost my immune system. Is this wise, or should I be more cautious about chlorophyll? -- Linda F.

A: Chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives plants their color, has no function in the human body. That fact hasn't stopped marketers from promoting supplements containing chlorophyll and suggesting that it can benefit patients with conditions ranging from cancer to arthritis to multiple sclerosis (MS). Chlorophyll can't hurt, but it isn't an immune booster, and I don't know of any research suggesting that it helps patients with MS.

Unfortunately, we know little about what causes MS and what factors influence its progression and outcome. It begins with localized inflammatory damage to the myelin sheaths surrounding nerve fibers due to an attack by the immune system. This interferes with nerve impulses and can lead to symptoms such as muscle weakness, loss of vision, and a variety of other impairments.

A drug called beta-interferon has become the conventional treatment for MS patients. While it can slow the progression of the disease, it is expensive and produces unpleasant side effects. Whether or not you take beta-interferon, you can try to influence the course of the disease with the stress reduction, mind/body treatments and lifestyle changes recommended below:

• Decrease protein intake toward 10 percent of daily calories, and emphasize plant rather than animal protein.
• Eliminate milk and milk products, substituting other calcium sources.
• Eat organically grown fruits and vegetables as well as organic products made from wheat and soy.
• Eliminate polyunsaturated vegetable oils, margarine, vegetable shortening, all partially hydrogenated oils, foods (such as deep-fried foods) that might contain trans-fatty acids.
• Use extra-virgin olive oil as your main fat.
• Increase intake of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, walnuts, or flax and hemp seeds.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables, preferably organic.
• Eat ginger. Turmeric can also be helpful. (I recommend the product called Turmeric Force from New Chapter.)
• Take acidophilus culture and psyllium if constipation is a problem, or use the ayurvedic herbal bowel regulator, triphala.
• Take my antioxidant and daily multivitamin formula plus an additional B-50 complex vitamin daily.
• Take 5 grams of soy lecithin granules daily (store in the refrigerator).
• Take 30 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ-10) two or three times a day.
• Do some kind of light aerobic exercise on a regular basis. Choose something you enjoy; don't push yourself to the point of exhaustion.
• Try visualization, meditation, and hypnotherapy to redirect your mental energies in positive directions.
• Experiment with traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine from qualified practitioners.
• Ashwaganda, an Ayurvedic herb may be helpful. Finally, talk to a Chinese medical practitioner about the use of bee sting therapy, which has helped in many cases.

Andrew Weil, MD

If ozone is so good why hasn't everyone heard about it?

If ozone is so good why hasn't everyone heard about it? Well, many have. I have been on over 700 radio and TV shows and speaking platforms telling people, but if I were to pick one word why ozone is not spoken of in the major media, it would be "Politics."

Although millions of people, including little babies, have AIDS, and ozone definitely solves the problem if applied correctly, for long enough, and early enough, the US medical establishment clings to the outmoded model of poisoning the body with toxic drugs to get rid of the disease instead of cleaning out the body and boosting immunity by flooding the body with oxygen (ozone treatments).

Most of the officials in the US medical and regulatory community are financially tied to the pharmaceutical industry which, through interlocking directorates within all major media outlets, does not allow unprofitable (for them) competing therapies to emerge into the public debate, no matter how successful they are.

Although this fact of life is a tragic and callous disregard of human suffering, this not allowing competing therapies to emerge is especially true - as in the case of ozone - if the patents have all run out on the therapies, and if the therapies are legally without owners and in the public domain.

In 1900 Nikola Tesla operated the "Tesla Ozone Company" in the US. Between 1958 and 1973 Dr. Robert Mayer and Dr. Edmund J. Ryan were granted 8 US ozone patents, and European physicians have reported successfully using ozone for over 50 years and to cure 33 major diseases. Quoting from the international MD's assembled at the May 1983 Sixth World Ozone Conference in Washington, D.C.:

Ozone eliminates... viruses and bacteria from blood, human and stored... Medical ozone is successfully used on AIDS, Herpes, Hepatitis, Mononucleosis, Cirrhosis of the liver, Gangrene, Cardiovascular Disease, Arteriosclerosis, High Cholesterol, Cancerous Tumours, Lymphomas, Leukaemia... Highly effective on Rheumatoid and other Arthritis, Allergies of all types...

Improves Multiple sclerosis, ameliorate Alzheimer's Disease, Senility and Parkinson's... Effective on Proctitis, Colitis, Prostate, Candidiasis, Trichomoniasis, Cystitis; Externally, ozone is effective in treating Acne, burns, leg ulcers, open sores and wounds, Eczema and fungus.

more info at:
http://www.dreddyclinic.com/integrated_med/ozone-therapy.htm

Yoga Offers Mental, Physical Relief for the Chronically Ill

Patients dealing with illnesses ranging from AIDS and cancer to osteoporosis and Crohn's disease are turning to condition-specific yoga classes, according to a report in the New York Times, my favorite newspaper in the world. Unlike larger health club classes, however, only certain poses are incorporated, and at the appropriate pace and level.

I'm happy medical experts are increasingly recognizing the benefits of alternative medicine in treating and preventing a range of illnesses. I agree the health benefits of stretching can be particularly valuable.

More and more, doctors recommend the classes for the stress-relieving benefits. However, patients are reporting the sessions make them more comfortable and even help alleviate the symptoms and side effects of medication. Additionally, the support of exercising with others dealing with the same condition can have important mental health benefits too.

Recent studies indicate, among other things, yoga can lower fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis and reduce anxiety in cancer, heart disease and hypertension patients. Experts agree, yoga does not treat or cure the disease, but it does make the symptoms more tolerable and lessens the anxiety illness creates.
New York Times December 15, 2005 Registration Required
Kaiser Network December 15, 2005

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Blood Test Gives Early Warning to Brain Injury

By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new test that detects fragments of broken brain cells that leak into the bloodstream may help doctors quickly detect and treat people with severe head injuries or brain diseases.

"The important thing about this work is that we can easily monitor the release of an axonal protein into serum for the first time," Dr. Gerry Shaw from the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville told Reuters Health.

"It is useful to know this as you can decide whether an accident victim has a serious brain or spinal cord injury quickly without performing MRI, X-rays etc., and you should also be able tell if diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer's are in their early, presymptomatic, stages."

Using their blood test, Shaw and colleagues observed that a brain protein called NF-H is readily detected in "surprisingly large amounts" in the blood of rats following experimentally induced spinal cord injury and, in smaller but still significant amounts, in rats given experimental traumatic brain injury. Since this protein is only found in axons -- nerve fibers that help brain cells communicate -- this indicates that axonal injury must have occurred, Shaw noted.

The discovery, reported in the current online issue of Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, could lead to tests for the clinic or battlefield to diagnose ailments with just a few drops of blood, bypassing more cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive tests such as brain scans.

For example, shaken-soldier syndrome is a traumatic brain injury that can occur when a soldier survives a roadside blast, Dr. Douglas Anderson from the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida who participated in the research explains. "In patients who are unconscious but with no penetrating head wounds, it would be extremely helpful for emergency medical technicians to test for a marker to see how severe the injuries are. Then perhaps something can be done early on," he said in a statement.

SOURCE: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications October 2005. More information’s here: