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In Fragile Brains Kathleen Taylor looks at the genetic and lifestyle factors currently linked to the development of dementia, focusing on important new research on how the immune system operates in the brain.
Brain disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s affect an estimated one in six Americans and are increasing in incidence as the population ages. In this eBook, Fragile Brain: Neurodegenerative Diseases, we examine these and other conditions involving the damage and loss of neurons, including other forms of dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and multiple sclerosis (MS). In “The Seeds of Dementia,” the authors discuss evidence of prions and protein misfolding as a universal culprit in Alzheimer’s and other conditions. Later, two articles by Gary Stix report on ongoing research into a cluster of Columbian families that experience early onset symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Researchers studying the genes and progression of disease in these families hope that results will reveal clues about its course and possible future remedies. In “New Movement in Parkinson’s,” the authors outline abnormal cell behavior and genetic mutations that may be behind the disease. In the study of ALS, Amy Yee examines research into why eye muscles tend to last longer than other motor neurons and what this may mean for treatment. Other pieces look at new lines of inquiry in MS, including why researchers are turning to gray matter, as opposed to white matter, as the starting point for the disease. We wrap up this collection with current preventative measures and treatments that target not only disease pathology, but also lifestyle changes as well. In “A Rare Success against Alzheimer’s,” the results of a large-scale Finnish study provide evidence that choices such as diet and exercise can help prevent cognitive decline. Although this news is far from a cure, forward movement against Alzheimer’s – and neurodegenerative disease in general – is reason for optimism. As research and evidence accumulates, we get ever closer to curative therapies that can halt the debilitation and death of neurons.
Neurodegenerative diseases, such as a stroke, Alzheimer's and dementia, are now tragically commonplace within the western world. Our brains are a strange and complex organ, and there is much to be discovered about what causes them to fail in such devastating ways. In this book Kathleen Taylor presents the ever-developing research into the cause and cure of these life-changing conditions, focusing on insights arising from the relatively new field of neuroimmunology - the increasing recognition of the important role of the immune system in the brain. Interweaving the latest scientific ideas on neurodegenerative diseases with accounts of the devastation which illnesses affecting the brain can cause to sufferers and to anyone who cares about them, The Fragile Brain is not only an important account of current research in this field, but a very personal study. As instances of dementia rise in our ageing populations, many harbour anxieties concerning the future.This book is about knowing the enemy.
In The Fragile Mind, Dr. Conrad not only provides insight into what daily life is like for African Americans and individuals who are poor, he offers as innovative approach to overcoming these challenges based on what scientists have uncovered about the human brain - its brilliance, as well as its fragility. He demonstrates how conscious and subconscious actions taken by Whites have maintained their social, political, and economic dominance, while conscious and subconscious actions taken by African Americans and poor people have contributed to the perpetuation of their subordinate status in America.
Describes recent scientific understanding of how the brain gets built, providing insight into human behavior and the effects of nature and nurture; and discusses how the brain gets damaged by environmental, internal, and external influences.
This is a gripping medical narrative that brings readers into the complex world of newborn intensive care, where brilliant but imperfect doctors do all they can to coax life into their tiny, injured patients. Dr. Adam Wolfberg--journalist, physician specializing in high-risk pregnancies, and father to a child born weighing under two pounds--describes his daughter Larissa's precipitous birth at six months, which left her tenuously hanging on to life in an incubator. Ultrasound had diagnosed a devastating hemorrhage in her brain that doctors reasoned would give her only a 50 percent chance of having a normal IQ. With the knowledge that their daughter could be severely impaired for life, Adam and his wife, Kelly, consider whether to take Larissa off life-support. As they make decisions about live-saving care in the first hours of a premature infant's life, doctors and parents must grapple with profound ethical and scientific questions: Who should be saved? How aggressively should doctors try to salvage the life of a premature baby, who may be severely neurologically and physically impaired? What will that child's quality of life be like after millions of dollars are spent saving him or her? Wolfberg explores the fits and starts of physicians, government policy makers, and lawyers who have struggled over the years to figure out the best way to make these wrenching decisions. Through Larissa's early hospital course and the struggle to decide what is best for her, Wolfberg examines the limitations of newborn intensive-care medicine, neuroplasticity, and decision making at the beginning of life. Featuring high-profile scientific topics and explanatory medical reporting, this is the first book to explore the profound emotional and ethical issues raised by advancing technology that allows us to save the lives of increasingly undeveloped preemies.
How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.
Something is going wrong on many college campuses in the last few years. Rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide are rising. Speakers are shouted down. Students and professors say they are walking on eggshells and afraid to speak honestly. How did this happen? First Amendment expert Greg Lukianoff and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt show how the new problems on campus have their origins in three terrible ideas that have become increasingly woven into American childhood and education: what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. These three Great Untruths are incompatible with basic psychological principles, as well as ancient wisdom from many cultures. They interfere with healthy development. Anyone who embraces these untruths—and the resulting culture of safetyism—is less likely to become an autonomous adult able to navigate the bumpy road of life. Lukianoff and Haidt investigate the many social trends that have intersected to produce these untruths. They situate the conflicts on campus in the context of America’s rapidly rising political polarization, including a rise in hate crimes and off-campus provocation. They explore changes in childhood including the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. This is a book for anyone who is confused by what is happening on college campuses today, or has children, or is concerned about the growing inability of Americans to live, work, and cooperate across party lines.
Expanded and revised, this unique book provides concise descriptions of the many causes of epilepsy, for use in clinical practice.