Blog - Brainstreams

Vancouver scientist’s brain discovery named a top story of 2015

Dr. Robert Tarzwell, a North Vancouver scientist out of Lions Gate Hospital, is among a team of scholars who have made Discover Magazine‘s top 100 stories of 2015 list, coming in at number 19.

Dr. Tarzwell was one of the scientists led by Dr. Daniel Amen who published a study in July that discovered how a medical imaging test could tell the difference in the brain between post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries.

“Over a million soldiers have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of the men and women who have returned from combat, more than 100,000 have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Over 300,000 more have been told they have a […]

Toronto hospital becomes world’s first to treat brain tumour with non-invasive procedure

TORONTO – Scientists at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital have taken the next bold step in chemotherapy by developing a non-invasive procedure to treat brain tumours.

The hospital said it made history last week by using a “focused ultrasound” to breach the blood-barrier in the brain to treat patients.

“The blood-brain barrier (BBB) has been a persistent obstacle to delivering valuable therapies to treat disease such as tumours,” says Dr. Todd Mainprize, principal investigator of the study and neurosurgeon in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in a media release.

“We are encouraged that we were able to temporarily open this barrier in a patient to deliver chemotherapy directly to the brain tumour.”

Canadian Sport Concussion Project educates CFLers on brain traumas

HAMILTON—Chris Walby, a Canadian Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman for 16 years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and former football broadcaster, recalls once finding himself in the wrong huddle after taking a big hit.

“I couldn’t see where I was,” Walby recalled last in Hamilton at the Angelo Mosca fundraising event for Alzheimer’s, held on Aug. 26.

“I was blacked out. The next thing I knew I was standing in Hamilton’s huddle. Mike Campbell, the defensive tackle, kicked me in the ass and said, ‘Hey fat boy, you’re in the wrong huddle, get over there.’ It was crazy.”

Years ago, people would simply laugh at such situations. Today, however, much more is known about brain injuries.

Sport concussions have been linked to chronic […]

How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.

Most of us today live in cities and spend far less time outside in green, natural spaces than people did several generations ago.

City dwellers also have a higher risk for anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses than people living outside urban centers, studies show.

These developments seem to be linked to some extent, according to a growing body of research. Various studies have found that urban dwellers with little access to green spaces […]

How Your Brain Heals Itself

A South African man with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder that often leaves its sufferers immobile, walks his symptoms into submission. A Broadway singer, silenced for 30 years by multiple sclerosis, recovers his voice. And in California, a psychiatrist and pain specialist rids himself of 13 years of chronic pain within a year, without drugs or surgery, through his brain’s own efforts. Those individuals, and thousands like them, achieved those results, writes Norman Doidge, a Toronto psychiatrist and author of The Brain’s Way of Healing, precisely because the human brain is a generalist par excellence. The prevailing 20th-century view was that it was too specialized for its own good—a fixed machine made up of discrete parts that […]

Behind the Mask: Revealing the Trauma of War

Brain injuries caused by blast events change soldiers in ways many can’t articulate. Some use art therapy, creating painted masks to express how they feel.

“I THOUGHT THIS WAS A JOKE,” recalled Staff Sgt. Perry Hopman, who served as a flight medic in Iraq. “I wanted no part of it because, number one, I’m a man, and I don’t like holding a dainty little paintbrush. Number two, I’m not an artist. And number three, I’m not in kindergarten. Well, I was ignorant, and I was wrong, because it’s great. I think this is what started me kind of opening up and talking about stuff and actually trying to get better.”

Hopman is one of many service members guided by […]

Province announces $3 million in funding for British Columbians with brain injuries

Minister of Health Terry Lake has announced $3 million in funding over three years to The Brain Injury Alliance to support those with brain injuries.

“This investment will touch a lot of lives” said John Simpson, from the Brain Injury Alliance. “We are grateful to the province of BC for supporting our work, and helping service providers across the province to continue making a difference in their communities.”

The Alliance will distribute the funding to organizations in two stages. In the first stage, $10,000 will be issued to each of the province’s 16 community-based, non-profit brain-injury service providers to help with operational costs.

“Brain injury has the ability to shatter lives,” said Terry Lake. “Left untreated, it can lead […]

Province provides support to British Columbians living with brain injuries

VICTORIA – A brain injury can happen in a moment and change a life forever.

Today, Minister of Health Terry Lake announced $3 million in funding over three years to the Brain Injury Alliance to support those with brain injuries.

“Brain injury has the ability to shatter lives,” said Lake. “Left untreated, it can lead to issues that affect the whole community, which is why the funding provided to the Brain Injury Alliance is so important to make sure help goes to those who need it.”

The Brain Injury Alliance is a registered B.C. non-profit society that supports brain-injury service providers throughout B.C. The alliance will distribute the funding to organizations in the province that run programs and services to help reduce the […]

UBC Health Mentors Program

UBC Health Mentors Program

You can’t always stop the rain, but wouldn’t it be nice if there was an umbrella for everyone?

Vancouver, BC May 4, 2015 As a survivor of an acquired brain injury, I have enjoyed being a member of the UBC Interprofessional Health Mentors Program over the past school year. The Program invites health mentors (usually survivors or caregivers) to team up with four students chosen from ten different health professional programs (audiology, dentistry, dietetics, genetic counseling, kinesiology, medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, social work and speech-language pathology). On Wednesday, April 22nd 2015 the group held its annual Health Mentors Program Symposium in the Life Sciences Centre on the […]

Medical student creates art classes for people living with brain injuries

New idea tackles depression and social isolation while creating useable art work

Second-year medical student Maksim Parfyonov has always had a keen interest in neuroscience. And art. When he was offered the chance to work with CONNECT as part of his Southern Medical Program studies at UBC’s Okanagan campus, it seemed like the perfect fit.

Parfyonov began his work with CONNECT, a residential rehabilitation program for people with acquired brain injury, in September as part of the MD curriculum’s Doctor, Patient, and Society course.

The invaluable learning opportunity has turned into weekly art lessons for CONNECT residents that will culminate in a public art show in Lake Country next month.

“I visited a weekly support group run by a psychologist, where […]

70 Tips to Fall Asleep Faster, and Stay Asleep Longer.

We all sleep and we all dream. Some nights it is easier to fall asleep. Other nights it’s a battle. After having some trouble with sleeping these past couple of weeks. I decided to do some research. Since a lot of people wear sweat shorts to bed I thought, why not share this information with you? Hoping that you will find it as useful as I have. After doing all of my research I came up with 70 different ways to help you fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. Hopefully this info will having you sleeping like a champ. If you don’t have any trouble sleeping then, by all means don’t change a thing, however if […]

Fred UnLEEshed: Feb. 13, 2015

BRAIN HEALTH: Margaret Trudeau headlined the B.C. Brain Injury Association’s annual Cocktail Fundraising Gala. Torrential rain did not deter guests who filed into the Winsor Gallery to hear from the celebrated Canadian and mental health advocate. The 67-year-old recounted her struggle with bipolar disorder, its challenges and her journey to get help. Joining Trudeau was fellow speaker Ellie Ennas, who shared her own story of recovering from a brain injury sustained in a car accident that almost killed her. The evening of inspiration, chaired by Liz Baron and Susanne Sherwood, brought together health professionals, advocates, educators and survivors focused on raising $40,000 to support the province’s brain injury community.

Time to Get Honest About Being Disabled

Coming to grips with having a disability has taken me many years. Unlike many who have had challenges from the start, the first forty-nine years of my life were spend living without a disability. In one respect, this has made accepting my new life more difficult. I have something to compare it to.

A few weeks ago, I shared with my wife Sarah that I am getting tired of pretending. I often go to superhuman lengths to “appear” uninjured, struggling to speak, using precious and limited energy to make sure that I walk a straight line when vertigo strikes, working hard to do all I can to show the world that I am as uninjured as I look.

Trying […]

Margaret Trudeau to Inspire as Headline Speaker at BCBIA February Gala

Margaret Trudeau to Inspire as Headline Speaker at BCBIA February Gala

Jan. 15, 2015 – Vancouver – Margaret Trudeau, mental health advocate, famed Canadian speaker and former wife of Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, says she has a vested interest in supporting the British Columbia Brain Injury Association’s Annual Fundraising Cocktail Gala, on February 5th.

“I will be sharing personal anecdotal stories to weave my message, which is about finding the courage to face your diagnosis or injury – whatever it may be – and going through the process of acceptance to find new ways of being,” says Trudeau.

Tickets are now selling for the Gala, which organizer Susanne Sherwood says will raise funds and awareness for the […]

Stem Cell Therapy Study may help victims of stroke

Stem cell treatment could help stroke victims survive serious brain damage, the first human trial of its kind has suggested.

The pilot study, conducted by doctors at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and scientists at Imperial College London, saw five stroke victims injected with stem cells directly into their damaged brain within seven days of a stroke.

The stem cells were taken from the patients’ own bone marrow.

The scientists said it showed “promising results”, with all the patients showing improvements in disability within six months – something that had only previously been shown in animals.

Four out of five patients had the most severe type of stroke, which only four per cent of people are expected to survive and lead […]

Blueberries could help heal brain injuries

It’s been said you can have too much of a good thing. But a researcher at Memorial University’s school of pharmacy says nothing could be further from the truth when it comes to blueberries and other antioxidant-rich fruit found in abundance in this province.

Dr. John Weber and his research team believe berry extracts may be beneficial, not only for cardiovascular health, but to help reduce the effects of some diseases and help people recover from traumatic brain injury.

Weber has been studying the effect berry extract could play in certain diseases.

During a recent telephone interview, he explained his research, saying that glutamate is the major neurotransmitter in the brain and is needed for normal brain processes.

However, glutamate levels […]

Schoolboy’s pictures of a life with brain injury are acclaimed

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy with brain injury has had his therapeutic artworks displayed at a major London art gallery. Ben Whymark, from Didcot, volunteered to paint pictures for the Oxfordshire-based Child Brain Injury Trust to show what it is like to live with a brain injury. The All Saints Primary School pupil suffered his brain injury when he was 16 months old after contracting pneumococcal meningitis and septicaemia. He suffered damage to his frontal lobes and at the back of his brain and had to learn how to walk and talk again. But through his painting Ben hopes to show others just what life is like for him.

TBI Recovery Possible: Cognitive Impairment Can Improve With Targeted Brain Training

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) can cause severe cognitive problems in adolescents and children, such as a loss of concentration or focus, communication, and problem-solving skills. While it is difficult to predict how long the recovery process from a TBI will take, previous research suggested that cognitive improvements can occur up to one year after the injury, after which it reduces significantly. But new research indicates that with specific brain training, cognitive improvements can be achieved even years after injury.

This research was conducted by the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas and was published Wednesday in the online open-access journal Frontiers in Neurology. While the fastest recovery occurs in the first six months following […]

Concussion recovery delayed by mental activity, study shows

After a concussion, adolescents with the highest level of mental activities — such as reading, doing homework and playing video games — take the longest to recover, a new study suggests.

Adolescents engaged in the highest level of mental activities take about 100 days on average to recover from symptoms of concussion, compared to about 20 to 50 days for those with lower mental activities, according to researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston.

A concussion is an injury to the brain resulting from a blow to the head.

Classic symptoms of concussion are confusion and amnesia. Others include headache, dizziness, nausea […]

Pulling an all-nighter could damage brain

Pulling an all-nighter can make you feel completely drained, cranky, and out of sorts the next day, but can it also actually injure the brain? A new Swedish study published last Tuesday in the journal Sleep indicates that it might.

In the small study conducted in 15 healthy young men, the researchers measured blood levels of certain proteins associated with brain injuries like concussions after the men slept eight hours in a sleep lab and then were kept awake all night playing board games and watching movies. The researchers found that the blood protein levels were 20 percent higher after the men pulled an all-nighter compared to when they had a full night’s rest.