May 19, 2020

AHA News: Hearing Loss and the Connection to Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia

WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Sound has the power to stimulate the brain, which is why hearing loss has the potential to have a profound effect on health – especially among older adults.

About 1 in 3 people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, according to the National Institutes of Health. A 2016 study in the American Journal of Public Health found about two-thirds of adults ages 70 or older suffer from hearing impairment that may affect daily communication.

April 29, 2020

Some COVID-19 Patients Stricken by Guillain-Barre Syndrome

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 -- Studies are beginning to show that, in rare cases, people with severe COVID-19 may develop the serious nervous system disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"Guillain-Barre syndrome is a well-known condition in which one's immune system targets peripheral nerves as foreign and attacks them, resulting in the cardinal features of the disease," explained Dr. Anthony Geraci, who directs neuromuscular medicine at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y.

April 20, 2020

Aftermath of Seizures Troubling for Those With Epilepsy

FRIDAY, April 17, 2020 -- The main focus of epilepsy treatment is seizure control, but the aftereffects of seizures are also a major concern for many patients, experts say.

More than 70% of people with epilepsy say they have complications after a seizure -- including confusion, fear, exhaustion, headache, emotional reactivity, memory problems and behavioral changes -- that can last for hours or days, according to the International League Against Epilepsy.

April 9, 2020

In Some Cases, COVID-19 May Harm the Brain

THURSDAY, April 2, 2020 -- The woman worked in the airlines industry and was in her late 50s. She arrived at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit with a cough, fever and mental confusion that had arisen over the prior three days.

A nasal swab test showed she was infected with the new coronavirus. And as doctors tried to track down the cause of her "altered mental status," brain scans revealed an encephalopathy -- swelling in some areas of the brain -- as well as small areas of brain cell death.

March 30, 2020

Trial Finds Acupuncture May Help Prevent Migraines

THURSDAY, March 26, 2020 -- A new clinical trial supports acupuncture as an option for reducing migraine headaches, and researchers believe doctors should inform patients it is a possible treatment.

The Chinese study "helps to move acupuncture from having an unproven status in complementary medicine to an acceptable evidence-based treatment," said Dr. Heather Angus-Leppan, a neurologist who wrote an editorial that was published with the study in the BMJ on March 25.