MindGenesis Neurostimulation System Approved to Treat Chronic Migraine
September 2011 - The first and currently the only implanted neurostimulation device for people with chronic migraines has been now been approved in Europe. St Jude's Medical received the European CE Mark approval for its Genesis™neurostimulation system for peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) of the occipital nerves for the management of the pain and disability associated with intractable chronic migraine. Its been approved for headaches lasting at least four hours per day for 15 or more days per month, causing at least moderate disability, and not responding to three or more preventive drugs.
PNS therapy for this condition involves the delivery of mild electrical pulses to the occipital nerves that are located just beneath the skin at the back of the head. A small electrical lead or leads are placed under the skin and connected to the neurostimulator which produces the pulses of stimulation.
“As a professor and practicing neurologist who works with these patients on a daily basis, I see firsthand the challenges they face in trying to manage their pain and disability and how chronic migraine impacts their lives and their families,” said Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein, past president, American Headache Society, director of the Jefferson Headache Center, and the principal investigator in a recent St. Jude Medical chronic migraine clinical trial. “Through my participation in this study, I have observed the life-changing potential this therapy offers chronic migraine patients.”
The CE Mark approval was supported by the results of St. Jude Medical’s chronic migraine study, a randomized, double-blind, controlled study that collected data from 157 patients. On average, participants enrolled in the study suffered from headache 26 days per month.
The largest clinical study to date evaluating PNS to treat chronic migraine utilized various measures including the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaire, subjective assessment scales and daily patient diaries to report headache intensity, frequency, duration and medication use. At 12 weeks, patients in the active group reported an average of seven fewer headache days a month as measured by the MIDAS questionnaire compared to only a one day per month decrease in the control group (non-stimulation group). In addition, overall disability as measured by MIDAS demonstrated that participants in the active group showed a 41% improvement after 12 weeks of stimulation, compared to a 13% improvement in the control group.
Results at one year included:
- 65 percent of patients reported excellent or good pain relief
- 88 percent said they would recommend the procedure to someone else
- 68 percent of patients expressed that their quality of life had improved
- 67 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of their procedure
Results of the major study endpoints were presented in abstract and poster format at the International Headache Congress in Berlin in June 2011. Study data will be submitted for publication in medical journals later this year and early 2012.
“This CE Mark is the first approval by a regulatory body for the use of neurostimulation to manage the debilitating symptoms of intractable chronic migraine and provides a new option for patients who have generally exhausted all other treatment options,” said Chris Chavez, president of the St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division. “For more than six years we have worked with our investigators to develop and evaluate this life-changing therapy. We will continue to work with regulatory authorities to secure approvals in order to offer this therapy option to patients throughout the world.”
New Deep Brain Stimulation System - Activa® SC
Medtronic has officially launched their new deep brain stimulation system called Activa ® SC. Now commercial availability throughout the United States and Europe, the single-channel Activa SC complements Medtronic’s Activa PC and Activa RC DBS offerings. Its the latest addition to the company’s Activa portfolio of DBS systems for treating the symptoms of advanced Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor. Its also approved for dystonia in Europe.
Like the older Activa PC, Activa SC is powered by a non rechargable primary cell battery that does not require maintenance from the patient to provide continuous stimulation for multiple years. An external physician programmer is used to non-invasively adjust stimulation programming parameters, and a hand-held patient programmer with an LCD screen is used by the patient to modify pre-set stimulation settings or check the battery status.
Activa SC, like all Medtronic DBS devices, is approved for MRI scans under specified conditions.
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5th Generation VNS Therapy® System get s FDA Approval
VNS Therapy® is the implant system for refractory epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression. The AspireHC generator which is now up to its fifth generation of VNS Therapy technology has been approved by the US FDA. It offers greater functionality in terms of longer battery life, improved electronics and simplified features for programming.
The VNS Therapy System uses a surgically implanted device that delivers electrical pulsed signals to the vagus nerve.
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Can Resveratrol Make You Smarter?
In the past Resveratrol has been mostly studied as an anti-aging supplement. However a new study by the University of Northumbria in the UK has shown that resveratrol even in small doses increases blood flow to the frontal cortex of the brain. The study showed that people taking the trans-Resveratrol supplement had an increase in cerebral blood flow during the task performances.
James Betz of Biotivia, one of the world's leading suppliers of Resveratrol supplements said "what is really grabbing attention is how the supplement appears to be able to respond to increased demand from the brain within a relatively short space of time from ingestion, and how rapidly the increase in blood flow seems to happen as a response. Although more study needs to be undertaken, it does seem that a supplement such as Resveratrol could have a direct influence on one of the key areas of brain performance," he adds. The Resveratrol used in the study was Made by Biotivia
Brio Deep Brain Stimulator for Parkinson’s Disease
St. Jude Medical, Inc. makes the “Brio” system, which is a pacemaker-like device used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Its currenlty the world’s smallest, longest-lasting rechargeable deep brain stimulation (DBS) device for treating Parkinson’s symptoms. Slightly larger than a typical man’s watch, the neurostimulator has a thin 10 mm profile and weighs 29 grams (approximately 1 oz). The device also has the greatest recommended implant depth of any rechargeable DBS device, making the neurostimulator less noticeable and more comfortable for patients.
The system has received CE Mark approval of its Brio™ neurostimulator in 2009. In March 2010 it was approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration, however it hasn’t yet received FDA approval in the U.S.
Brain Implants For Combating Depression
"Deep Brain Stimulation" - electrodes are implanted into the brain of a woman suffering from severe long-term depression. The idea of this man-machine merger could be thought of as disturbing but if it makes a persons life better then perhaps its OK. In the future these "brain pacemakers" will be used for other neurological and psychiatric conditions besides depression, e.g. epilepsy, Tourette's Syndrome, and possibly even autism and Alzeihmer's.
The settings on the woman's brain implant are fine-tuned. This is described as a "real roller coaster ride" because "they switch it one way and almost instantaneously you could be crying". But get it right and she's happy. It just goes to show how the human brain really is reliant on chemical balance and electrical stimulation.
Slowing Time Down by Thinking Faster
A study earlier in the year showed how more memories are created when the brain is thinking quicker. And more memories mean time appears to drag on for longer. Looking at the other extreme if you are hung over and don't do anything all day, then it will be dinner time before you know it.
When I was a kid the days used to seem so long, but now the days just roll on by. As people age, the brain slows down and I've often heard old people say that years are rolling by. As the brain gets slower and slower, it must seem that you just accelerate towards the end.
So quicker thinking that comes with youth, slows the appearance of time and if prolonged your overall life experienced will be longer.
Improving Memory and Brain Plasticity with HDAC Inhibitors
In 2007 there was a breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. A few years on and scientists have been replicating the same results in human trials.
Lead researcher Professor Li-Huei Tsai explained: "It brings about long-lasting changes in how other genes are expressed, which is probably necessary to increase numbers of synapses and restructure neural circuits, thereby enhancing memory.
The drugs target and boost the function of a newly pinpointed gene involved in the brain's memory formation. They reshape the DNA scaffolding that supports and controls the expression of genes in the brain. The Alzheimer's gene that the drugs act upon is called histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2). It regulates the expression of many genes implicated in plasticity - the brain's ability to change in response to experience - and memory formation. So they now know that inhibiting HDAC2 has the potential to boost synaptic plasticity, synapse formation and memory formation.
In mice, the treatment helped restore long-term memory and improve learning for new tasks.
The same HDAC inhibitors drugs are currently being tested to treat Huntington's disease and are on the market to treat some cancers.
HDAC inhibitor treatment for humans with Alzheimer's disease is still a decade or more away and the scientists are developing new HDAC2-selective inhibitors and test their function for human diseases associated with memory impairment to treat neurodegenerative diseases.
But what are the potential applications for healthy people? Is this is a drug that could increase a healthy persons memory and intelligence. It would make for interesting experimentation.
More information on Professor Li-Huei Tsai and her research can be found on her profile
Improving Brain Processing Speed Helps Memory
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers found that healthy, older adults who participated in a computer-based training program to improve the speed and accuracy of brain processing showed twice the improvement in certain aspects of memory, compared to a control group.
"What's unique in this study is that brain-processing activities seemed to help aspects of memory that were not directly exercised by the program — a new finding in memory research," says Glenn Smith, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic neuropsychologist and lead researcher on the study.
Improving Concentration
Hyperfocus is described as an exceptionally intense capacity to "zone in" on a specific thing, blocking out potential distractions at a level beyond that of most people. When they "zone in" they can paint mental images in their mind. This is a gift that many ADHD people have. The catch is that they need to like what they are zoning in on. Otherwise the complete opposite is true.
There is a new developing market for healthy people looking to improve their concentration. Academics including classical musicians, corporate executives, students and even professional poker players have embraced the drugs to improve their concentration by controlling their emotions and clarify their minds. "There isn't any question about it - they made me a much better player," said Paul Phillips, 35, who credited the attention deficit drug Adderall and the narcolepsy pill Provigil with helping him earn more than $2.3 million as a poker player.
Currently Available Concentration Drugs
ADHD drugs work by increasing the level of the brain chemical dopamine, which is thought to improve concentration. Current Concentration enhancers includes Ritalin, commonly given to children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and beta blockers like the heart drug Inderal. Researchers have been investigating the drug Aricept, which is normally used to slow the decline of Alzheimer's patients. Provigil is another ADHD drug of which the mechanism of action is not well understood, but boosting the effect of dopamine is thought to be part of it. All these drugs can help people concentrate for hours straight.
How To Quit Cigarettes
The benefits far outweigh the negatives. Just think how often do you see the elderly smoking. The earlier you get it over and done with the sooner you will realise it was easy to quit and you'll be free to move on to other bigger and better goals. Going a whole day without even getting without even thinking of cigarettes often happens within a week.
Quitting at any age will result in major and immediate health benefits. This applies to people with and without diseases caused by smoking. You can stop smoking using many methods including quitting cold turkey or by using many of the nicotine replacements.
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