Neuro Note 1

     I decided to watch a TED talk titled, "Can the damaged brain repair itself?", presented by neurologist Siddharthan Chandran. This video was approximately 16 minutes long. I decided to select this TED talk because I remembered being informed in our Neurological Aspects class that nerves in the brain and spinal cord cannot regenerate themselves, therefore the damage done in these areas is permanent. Also, there is no real known "cure" for individuals who are suffering from a neurodegenerative disease such as ALS (motor neuron disease) and multiple sclerosis. The speaker displayed an image of a brain with multiple sclerosis. There were "holes" in the scan that represented the degeneration of motor neurons in the brain. However, over time, there were some "holes" that had started to fill back in fully or at least partially. The speaker stated that the problem is not the inability of the brain to repair itself from the damage, but that the brain cannot do so quickly enough and effectively. He was involved with a clinical trial that studied individuals with multiple sclerosis. They withdrew bone marrow from the patients and grew up their number of stem cells in a lab setting. After they grew enough stem cells, they injected them back into the patients through their veins. What they found was that the size of these patients' optic nerve increased indicating the stem cells helped repair the damage to the optic nerve due to MS. This would be considered an exogenous method of repair. He also addressed the endogenous method which would require medications that enhance the brain's stem cells' already present ability to repair itself and to do so more quickly than the progression of the disease.
     I would recommend this video to anyone who is interested in the future of neurodegenerative disease care and treatment. While it seems very distant that a cure would be found to stop or significantly slow the effects of neurodegenerative diseases, the speaker stated that there are already drugs going through the long process of testing and getting approval for use with these patients. It is always important to remember as a therapist and patient that there is hope.

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