BACKGROUND: Ampyra was approved to improve walking in patients with MS. Seizures are a known side effect of Ampyra, and seizure risk increases with higher blood levels of the drug. Ampyra is eliminated from the body through the kidneys, and patients with kidney impairment may develop higher blood levels of the drug, thereby increasing their seizure risk.
Neurology
Bad Sleep Tied to Cognitive Decline
Medical News: Bad Sleep Tied to Cognitive Decline – in Meeting Coverage, AAIC from MedPage Today.
Sleeping too little or too much, abnormal breathing during sleep, and excessive daytime sleepiness all were significantly associated with cognitive impairment — years later in some cases.
Neurocognitive Impairment in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Medical News: Diabetes May Speed Cognitive Decline – in Neurology, General Neurology from MedPage Today
Over 9 years, those who had diabetes had significantly worse cognitive decline on two separate tests compared with those who didn’t have the disease (P=0.008 and P=0.001), Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues reported online in the Archives of Neurology.
Horrific Injuries Linked to BP Dispersant Corexit
Exposure to chemical dispersants BP used in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill left a commercial diver with seizures, unable to walk and going blind – and two members of his dive team committed suicide, the man claims in Harris County Court.
via Horrific Injuries Linked to BP Dispersant Corexit.
HT – naked capitalism.
Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels
People who had a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets tended to have lower plasma levels of beta-amyloid proteins, possibly reducing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.
In a cross-sectional study of more than 1,200 cognitively normal individuals older than 65, omega-3 fatty acid intake was significantly predictive of plasma levels of the 40- and 42-residue forms of beta-amyloid protein (AB40 and AB42, respectively), according to Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues.
The Advantages of the Middle-Age Brain -TIME.com
A study in the British Medical Journal lit up the Internet last week with the conclusion that cognitive decline begins at age 45. While it’s true that some innate skills like memory and speed of reasoning fall off as we age, other aspects of intelligence related to learning and experience actually improve.
via Patricia Cohen: The Advantages of the Middle-Age Brain | TIME Ideas | TIME.com.
Positive proof the older brain improves with time. I found an article on some positive aspects of the aging brain.
Now if I could only remember where I put my car keys…
How to Underwrite Brain Damage
One of the more entertaining aspects of the web is the ability for the website’s manager/blogger to see the search strings people use to find his site.
Question/search engine string: “How to underwrite brain damage”.
Answer: Carefully.
Top cited articles in JNNP 2009
I have added a link on the sidebar to the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry with Practical Neurology. This journal is by subscription but if you follow the link above, you’ll get free access to the journal’s most highly cited articles in 2009.
The free link expires 12.09.11.
Lower Cognitive Scores – Low B12?
Markers of B12 insufficiency all predicted lower global cognitive scores over nearly five years of follow-up, Christine C. Tangney, PhD, of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, and colleagues found.
lifeunderwriter.net 
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