21 FEB 2022 · Dave is back with an episode of the AwareGiver radio show to alert caregivers to the fact that mobile emergency devices that rely on 3G are being disabled. He also talks through the Modernization of Nursing Home Facility Stafffing Bill moving with bipartisan support through the Florida legislature.

17 OCT 2021 · An international consortium involving hundreds of scientists has unveiled highly detailed maps of the brain area that controls movement. The maps reveal the location, function and appearance of more than 100 cell types found in the motor cortex in mice, marmoset monkeys, and people, the scientists report in 17 studies that appear in the journal Nature. The research is expected to help researchers develop better animal models of human brain diseases like Alzheimer's and ALS. The scientific findings also provide evidence that some cells thought to be vulnerable to these diseases are different in humans than in animals. "In order to understand how things go wrong, we need to understand what the basic principles are to begin with," says John Ngai, director of the National Institutes of Health BRAIN initiative, which played a central role in organizing and funding the project. The massive effort, which required research teams from many different labs and institutions to work together, represents "a new way of doing science," says Ed Lein, a senior investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle who is part of the consortium. A parts list for the brain The project is part of the BRAIN initiative's Cell Census Network, which launched a $250 million effort to create a "parts list" for human and animal brains in 2017. Ultimately, more than 250 scientists on three continents would get involved. "Some problems are so large and complex that it really does require not just a village, but a city," Ngai says. The first step was to conduct an exhaustive inventory of the types of cells in human and animal brains, says Hongkui Zeng, director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. "To understand how the system works, you first need to obtain a parts list of that system, be it a car, a computer or a brain," Zeng says. So teams of scientists classified individual cells by studying their genes, shape, electrical properties and connections. The result was a list that included 14 major categories of cells and more than 100 different types. The next step was to create a map for each species, showing where these parts are found in the motor cortex. Ultimately, the project intends to chart the entire brain. "Generating a map for the motor cortex is really the first step towards that goal," Zeng says. A complete map will help scientists understand how cells in different brain areas "work together to carry out a particular function or behavior, like moving your arm," Zeng says. Already, the project has showcased some of the innovations scientists will need to reach that goal. One involves finding a way to study human brain tissue that is still alive. Shuttling samples from brain surgery to the lab Several labs in the consortium arranged with local hospitals to obtain healthy brain tissue removed by surgeons in order to reach a tumor or other diseased area. "This turns out to be rather healthy tissue that can be used in live experiments to understand the properties of cells," Lein says. By quickly transporting brain tissue from the operating room to the lab, scientists were able to compare living human brain cells with the living cells found in monkeys and mice. Overall, the cells are remarkably similar, Lein says. "However, when you get down to the finer levels, you begin to see some differences." For example, mice have very few brain cells in the motor cortex that are able to make long-distance connections.  Stained neurons shown in a slice of brain tissue donated by a brain surgery patient. Allen Institute for Brain Science "In humans, as the brain has gotten bigger, as the cortex has gotten bigger, you have more cells that connect across the cortex," Lein says. "And some of these seem to be selectively vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease." Lein says that sort of discovery could help explain why drugs that cure Alzheimer's in mice haven't worked in people. Another finding was that humans have a different version of an enormous neuron that degenerates in Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Those findings were a direct result of having so many scientists agree to work closely together, and share what they found," Lein says, instead of keeping research to themselves until it is published. "I hope that this is sort of a model for the future because this type of work really is much more open and accelerates science dramatically," Lein says.

28 SEP 2021 · The FDA Postpones A Long-Awaited Decision On Juul's Vaping Products The Food and Drug Administration said it has ruled on whether some electronic cigarette products can remain on the market, but that it's also delaying action on products made by Juul, which accounts for 40% of the e-cigarette market. The FDA said Thursday it has issued marketing denial orders for more than 946,000 flavored vaping products because their applications "lacked sufficient evidence that they have a benefit to adult smokers sufficient to overcome the public health threat posed by the well-documented, alarming levels of youth use of such products." The decisions encompass 93% of the applications companies submitted for approval – but Juul, the largest vape company, was not included in Thursday's action. A federal judge had given the FDA one year to act on a flood of applications submitted by vape companies in a decision stemming from a lawsuit brought by anti-tobacco groups. The agency said it's made progress but needs more time. "We continue to work expeditiously on the remaining applications that were submitted by the court's Sept. 9, 2020, deadline, many of which are in the final stages of review," the FDA said. This audio news story was provided to AwareGiver by NPR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

26 SEP 2021 · Pufferfish Toxin Holds Clues To Treating 'Lazy Eye' In Adults A treatment that simulates the loss of an eye may help adults with the vision impairment known as amblyopia or "lazy eye." This audio story provided to AwareGiver by NPR. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

24 SEP 2021 · The Best Time For Rehabilitation After A Stroke Might Actually Be 2 To 3 Months Later People who have had a stroke appear to regain more hand and arm function if intensive rehabilitation starts two to three months after the injury to their brain. This audio story was provided to AwareGiver by NPR. A study of 72 stroke patients suggests this is a "critical period," when the brain has the greatest capacity to rewire, a team reports in this week's journal PNAS. The finding challenges the current practice of beginning rehabilitation as soon as possible after a stroke and suggests intensive rehabilitation should go on longer than most insurance coverage allows, says Elissa Newport, a co-author of the study and director of the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery at Georgetown University Medical Center. "Two to three months after a stroke is when people are at home," Newport notes. "That's not when most people are having their rehabilitation." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

22 SEP 2021 · Americans may be able to breathe a tentative sigh of relief soon, according to researchers studying the trajectory of the pandemic. The delta surge appears to be peaking nationally, and cases and deaths will likely decline steadily now through the spring without a significant winter surge, according to a new analysis shared with NPR by a consortium of researchers advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This audio story provided to AwareGiver by NPR.   For its latest update, which it will release Wednesday, the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub combined nine different mathematical models from different research groups to get an outlook for the pandemic for the next six months. "Any of us who have been following this closely, given what happened with delta, are going to be really cautious about too much optimism," says Justin Lessler at the University of North Carolina, who helps run the hub. "But I do think that the trajectory is towards improvement for most of the country," he says. The modelers developed four potential scenarios, taking into account whether or not childhood vaccinations take off and whether a more infectious new variant should emerge. The most likely scenario, says Lessler, is that children do get vaccinated and no super-spreading variant emerges. In that case, the combo model forecasts that new infections would slowly, but fairly continuously, drop from about 140,000 today now to about 9,000 a day by March. Deaths from COVID-19 would fall from about 1,500 a day now to fewer than 100 a day by March 2022. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

30 JUN 2021 · Content provided to AwareGiver by NPR If you've been feeling blah recently, you're not alone. The good news is you can retrain your brain to feel happier. Here's how to shift your mood and restore your well-being. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

24 JUN 2021 · How A Hospital And A School District Teamed Up To Help Kids In Emotional Crisis provided by NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/26/1000400903/n-y-hospital-schools-aim-to-improve-kids-access-to-mental-health-provider In 2019, the Rockville Centre school district in Long Island, N.Y., was shaken by a string of student deaths, including the suicides of a recent graduate and a current student. "When you get these losses, one after the other, you almost can't get traction on normalcy," says Noreen Leahy, an assistant superintendent at the school district. "You can't get traction on kids functioning on a day-to-day basis in a school setting." To Leahy, the student suicides were a symptom of a children's mental health crisis that had been brewing for years. She had observed a concerning uptick in depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among students. Her school district had a team of mental health professionals, but Leahy says they couldn't provide the kind of long-term care many students needed. "Remember, psychologists and social workers and counselors in school districts are there to make sure kids are learning," says Leahy. "We're not hospital wards. We don't do psychotherapy. So it's very limited what we can do for these students." She says she saw an urgent need to connect students to mental health care quickly and easily, and the 2019 tragedy drove her to find a way to make that happen. Her vision ultimately led to the formation of a unique partnership between several Long Island Island school districts and the nearby children's hospital, Cohen Children's Medical Center, which is part of the Northwell Health system. That partnership provides prompt access to mental health care services for students and includes ongoing support for school staff for dealing with kids' mental health, creating a mental health safety net for children and families in the area that didn't exist before. The heart of it is a new behavioral health center focused on serving kids in the community, which the hospital opened in January 2020. Students are evaluated by the center's child psychiatrist and mental health counselor, who start and continue treatment till a child can be connected to long-term care in the community. Mental health experts point to this school-hospital partnership as an effective model — one that meets a growing and urgent need to help children get mental health treatment and avoid unnecessary hospitalization. "It's a real step forward," says Glenn Thomas, a clinical psychologist at Nationwide Children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "So many kids and families slip through the cracks because of a lack of resources." 'I just wish there was a place to send these kids' The concerning rise in mental health issues noticed by school administrators mirrors national trends. Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. children meet criteria for a mental health disorder, and the rate of suicide attempts among youth has risen over the past decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. continued here ...https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/26/1000400903/n-y-hospital-schools-aim-to-improve-kids-access-to-mental-health-provider --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

22 JUN 2021 · New Device Taps Brain Signals To Help Stroke Patients from NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/06/13/1005556094/new-device-taps-brain-signals-to-help-stroke-patients-regain-hand-function The Food And Drug Administration has authorized a device called IpsiHand, which uses signals from the uninjured side of a patient's brain to help rewire circuits controlling the hand, wrist and arm. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message

21 JUN 2021 · Developing story.  Here's the audio from a breaking news conference where Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces an increase in Alzheimer's funding.  Thank you Governor Ron DeSantis!   Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a news conference Monday morning 6/21/21 at an assisted living facility in Jacksonville to highlight funding for Alzheimer’s and dementia care and treatment in the state’s budget. Governor Ron DeSantis spoke from The Windsor at San Pablo in Jacksonville Monday morning, highlighting the efforts made towards the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/awaregiver/message