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A SPONSORED FEATURE BY MEDIAPLANET MARCH 2017 ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE ANCESTRAL STRESS TECHNOLOGY This online test can determine Psychological trauma experienced Humanoid robots that if your memory is normal or if by ancestors can be passed onto assist older Canadians with you should see a doctor. p03 future generations. p07 dementia. p08 NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PERSONALHEALTHNEWS.CA Former WWE Wrestler Christopher Nowinski Leads Charge in Treating and Preventing Brain Injury in Athletes ive weeks after taking a hit to worsening mental, emotional and the head in the ring, profes- physical symptoms, including dra- sional wrestler Chris Nowin- matic mood swings, personality ski had an experience so dis- changes, and loss of memory. In “ REM Sleep Fturbing he remembers it vividly 14 some cases, CTE leads to severe de- years later. While sleeping one night, pression and even violence. Behaviour Disorder... he dreamt that he jumped up to catch Nowinski, who played on the Har- convinced Nowinski a falling object. Moments later, he vard University football team while woke up on the floor. He had leapt off doing his undergraduate degree there, that something was the bed and crashed into a nightstand. wrote Head Games: Football’s Concus- really wrong. He This incidence of REM Sleep Be- sion Crisis in 2006. The book examines haviour Disorder, a condition in the long-term effects of head trauma had post-concussion which people act out their dreams, among athletes and has since been syndrome.” along with pounding headaches and made into a documentary. nausea, convinced Nowinski that A year later, Nowinski and Dr. something was really wrong. He had Robert Cantu, a neurosurgeon who post-concussion syndrome. had treated him, founded what is nated to date, helping the bank cre- CTE, including preventing it from Despite the challenges ahead, That was the beginning of the end now known as the Concussion Leg- ate a compelling body of evidence starting or stopping the progression Nowinski is optimistic. “This is of his WWE career, and the start of a acy Foundation, a nonprofit or- that illustrates the connection of CTE. “The other challenge is pre- a fight we can win but we need life of advocacy. Perhaps more than ganization dedicated to advancing between brain trauma and CTE. vention,” he adds. “We can reduce everybody who cares about concus- any other individual, Nowinski is re- the study and treatment of brain Nowinski serves as Outreach, Re- the rate of CTE by changing the way sions and CTE to step up and play a sponsible for sparking the public trauma in athletes and other at-risk cruitment, Education, and Public we play sports — by banning tack- role — fans and athletes along with conversation about concussions and groups. The organization now has a Policy Leader for the organization. ling in kids’ football games, for ex- their parents and friends. We’re Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Canadian affiliate. In 2011, researchers studied the ample, and by restricting hitting building a movement,” he says. (CTE), a degenerative disease of the In 2008, the foundation part- brain of NHL enforcer Derek Boo- in practice in professional football “But it’s still early.” brain found in athletes with a history nered with the Boston University gaard, who died of an overdose of al- leagues. It’s the same logic that ap- of repetitive brain trauma. School of Medicine to form the BU cohol and painkillers, and determined plies to smoking,” he explains. “Cut- Those with CTE, including many CTE Centre. The centre operates he had been suffering from CTE. ting back on the number of ciga- former football and hockey play- the largest brain bank in the world. Nowinski says the end goal is for rettes you smoke in a day helps re- ers as well as boxers, suffer from More than 400 brains have been do- researchers to learn how to treat duce the risk of lung cancer.” Randi Druzin A New Approach to the Treatment of Cerebral Concussion Meditech Rehabilitation has developed specifi c protocols to mitigate the symptom complex associated with traumatic brain injuries, resulting in the restoration of the patient’s quality of life. Learn more at www.biofl exlaser.com 2 PERSONALHEALTHNEWS.CA A SPONSORED FEATURE BY MEDIAPLANET IN THIS ISSUE Multiple Sclerosis Brain Injury Brain Tumours The importance of finding Canada’s silent A current lack of the right therapy to epidemic and the Canadian data and how manage symptoms and challenges faced by building a registry will uphold quality of life. victims and caregivers. help save lives. p04–05 p06 p08 Photo: Yeganeh Ghasemi Discoveries on the Path to Cures Have the Potential to Improve Lives Every nine minutes, a Canadian has a stroke — it is the leading cause of severe disability. trokes often permanently sion of Alzheimer’s; the development alter the life of affected indi- of an inexpensive retina exam to detect viduals and their families, as early signs of Alzheimer’s; the imple- they can result in memory mentation of a sustainable early child- INSIGHT loss, paralysis, or diminished hood mental health intervention that vision, among other conse- engages families and communities; and quences. Finding a cure for stroke would the testing of a system that monitors Sbe transformative. mobility, balance, and gait to predict However, equally transformative are and prevent falls in dementia patients, Science Proves the improved patient outcomes being which can also be used to monitor re- achieved through research that increas- habilitation after a stroke. Program Helps es understanding of brain function and Other studies are focused on developing Inez Jabalpurwala leads to advances in prevention, diagnosis, President and CEO, Brain Canada or testing new treatments, including the Cognitive Function and treatment options. Canada is a world study of techniques to deliver drugs across leader in brain research, and our scientists the blood-brain barrier, which would dra- and clinicians are making contributions reducing the impact on the affected individ- matically improve treatment options for across the full spectrum from basic discov- ual’s quality of life after the stroke. many neurological conditions; the develop- Dr. Frank Knoefel ery through the pathway to cures. Brain Research can reduce stigma. In the case ment of therapies to treat the millions of Physician and Clinical Canada, with the financial support of of mental illness and addiction, improve- people worldwide who suffer from irrevers- Scientist, Bruyère Memory Program in Health Canada (through the Canada Brain ments in brain imaging have allowed us to ible vision loss, caused by the loss of the Ottawa and the Bruyère Research Fund) and many partners and see their biological basis — that these are neurons in the retina that sense light; and Research Institute donors, is funding research in this space. diseases of the brain with targets to de- the implementation of a physical exercise One example is the emergency stroke velop treatments and, one day, cures. regimen for individuals with spinal cord in- drug NA-1, currently being tested in a Research leads to new technologies jury to prevent secondary complications. clinical trial, which has shown the po- that can help reduce the burden of dis- The above examples, which are by no tential to prevent the death of neurons ease. For example, it can give someone means exhaustive, are an indication of when administered within three to four living with amyotrophic lateral sclero- the kind of impact that research invest- and half hours of the stroke. sis (ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s dis- ment is having on people today, and could Dr. Nouha Ben Gaied Director of Research When a person has a stroke, time is of the ease) a means to regain communication. have in the near future. and Development, the essence — 1.9 million neurons are lost every Prevention and diagnosis are also im- We call on all those who are part of the Federation of Quebec minute. This loss means that with every portant targets; the latter because the community supporting and advancing Alzheimer Societies half hour that passes, the likelihood of the earlier a disease is detected, the earli- brain research to help promote an under- patient making a positive recovery decreas- er treatment can begin. Projects sup- standing and vision of brain research as a es from anywhere between 10–20 percent. ported by Brain Canada include a pa- process, where every discovery carries the While not a cure, the impact of stroke could tient trial testing a combination of elec- potential to improve lives. be reversed and the damage mitigated by as trical stimulation and brain exercises With at least half a million Canadians much as 50 percent if NA-1 proves effective, to delay the onset and slow the progres- Inez Jabalpurwala suffering from dementia, and that total expected to jump by 66 percent in 14 years, scientists are looking for new ways to treat the condition. In a recent 10-year study, the Advanced Cognitive Dementia: A Global Health Crisis Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE), determined that speed training — computer exercis- es that get users to visually process information more That Needs to Be Tackled quickly — dramatically reduces the risk of developing dementia and prevents cognitive decline. numbers of people living with dementia In May of this year, all member coun- Posit Science Corporation, whose Canadian part- will more than triple by 2050. The global tries of the WHO will be invited to ner is DynamicBrain, made a modern version of that economic impact of dementia is esti- adopt a Global Action Plan for demen- speed training as part of the cognitive training pro- mated to be 1 trillion dollars by next year.

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