Thursday, May 19, 2011

Paralysed baseball star steps into medical history

Baseball champion Rob Summers was hit by a speeding car in Portland, Oregon, three years ago, Authentic Soccer Jerseys which smashed into his legs and left him with appalling injuries. He was told he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair at best. But the 25-year-old is now making history – as the first person paralysed from the chest down to stand and take a step unaided.

The small and shaky movements that Summers has achieved spell real hope for all those who have suffered a spinal cord injury, and possibly even for those paralysed by other causes such as stroke.

When he was in hospital, chelsea jersey doctors told Summers he would never walk again, he said. "They said that I had no hope and to just give up. My comment was you don't know me very well. I'm going to fight until I get well again." To stand again and take steps, he said, "felt incredible. It was amazing. It made me optimistic and hopeful again for the future. I'm excited at being a part of this."

Summers' legs are able to move because of electrical stimulation from a device implanted in his lower spine. Two hard years of training, suspended over a treadmill with physiotherapists manipulating his legs to stand and walk have helped build up the spinal cord neural network which processes signals to and from his legs.

The real discovery has been that it is not the brain that is in charge of movement, barcelona jersey but the legs and the spinal cord.

His achievement is the culmination of many years of hard work and intense scientific endeavour funded by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, set up to try to find a way to restore movement to the former Superman star Christopher Reeve – who was paralysed in 1995 as the result of a riding accident – and others like him.

Summers, brazil soccer jersey a college baseball player for Oregon state who had helped his team win the college world series just six weeks before the hit and run driver wrecked his life, was exceptionally fit when he was injured.

Although unable to move any part of his legs or feet, he has some residual feeling. This may mean that the astonishing progress made in his case may not be replicable in everybody. But there is now more than hope.

"This is a breakthrough. It opens up a huge opportunity to improve the daily functioning of these individuals ... but we have a long road ahead," said Professor Susan Harkema from the Kentucky spinal cord research centre at the University of Louisville, one of two leading neurologists involved in Summers' treatment.

Harkema describes the impulse from the brain to start walking as "facilitatory". argentina soccer jersey What really starts the walking process, she says, is probably the shifting of weight to one foot.

"The brain is not controlling movement to the extent we thought it was. If you think about walking, it sets up the nervous system to expect information related to walking," she said. That sensory information comes from the legs.

This has been known and accepted in animals for some time, she added, but it was thought it might not be so in humans because of the highly developed brain.

"The spinal cord is smart," said Harkema's chief collaborator, ac milan jersey neurologist Professor V Reggie Edgerton from the David Geffen school of medicine at UCLA.

"The neural networks in the lumbosacral spinal cord are capable of initiating full-weight bearing and relatively coordinated stepping without any input from the brain. This is possible, in part, due to information that is sent back from the legs directly to the spinal cord."

The details of the neurologists' work with Summers are published in the Lancet medical journal.

The results need to be replicated in other patients and the neurologists also hope to work with paralysed patients with other kinds of injury. But, said Susan Howley, executive vice president for research at the Reeve Foundation, it demonstrates proof of concept. "It's an exciting development. Where it leads from here is fundamentally a matter of time and money," she said.

Other neuroscientists applauded the work in a commentary in the Lancet. england soccer jersey Dr Grégoire Courtine and Dr Rubia van den Brand from Zurich University and Dr Pavel Musienko from St Petersburg wrote that they expected "this novel phenomenon of electrically enabled motor control" would inspire new thinking. They added: "We are entering a new era when the time has come for spinal-cord injured people to move."

Meanwhile, Summers hopes to run and play baseball again one day. It has been, he acknowledged, "one great emotional rollercoaster with highs and lows. There were points of anger and frustration, but I would refocus on my goals." His family, he said, had been incredibly supportive.

He hopes now to make a movie. "My goal is that through making a movie of my life story, I will help the millions of people around the world, paralysed and in wheelchairs, who have lost hope, and show them there is a brighter future ahead."

Swimmer's Ear Costs U.S. Half a Billion Yearly

Swimmers often regard inflammation of the external ear canal, known as swimmer's ear, as an inevitable, minor nuisance. But a new study finds that the problem adds substantially to health care costs and the number of annual doctor visits.

"For swimmer's ear, Custom Soccer Jerseys there are 2.4 million health care visits and it costs half a billion dollars in health care costs each year," says Emily Piercefield, MD, DVM, an epidemiologist with the CDC who co-authored the report.

That doesn't include lost time from work and school activities, she tells WebMD.

The condition is often preventable, ac milan jersey she says, by following simple hygiene measures and other tips.

The research is published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Swimmer's Ear: By the Numbers

The new study is believed to be the first report to describe the overall number of cases in children and adults and the costs associated with the condition.

Swimmer's ear, arsenal jersey known to doctors as acute otitis externa, is an inflammation of the external ear canal. Bacterial infection is the typical cause. The symptoms include pain, tenderness, redness, and swelling of the ear canal. There can also be discharge from the ear.

Piercefield and her team used databases such as the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and a database of emergency room visits. They used an insurance claim and payment database to estimate costs.

The $200 cost per infection was for those who didn't need to be hospitalized. england soccer jersey Less than 3% of visits to the emergency department for swimmer's ear during 2007 ended in hospital admission.

Among other findings:

One in 123 Americans visited a doctor in 2007 for swimmer's ear.
From 2003 to 2007, children ages 5 to 14 had the highest annual visit rates for swimmer's ear, but more than 50% of visits were by adults 20 and older.
Cases peaked during summer swimming season, spain soccer jersey not surprisingly. June, July, and August are peak months.

Swimmer's Ear: Stopping It

Swimmers can reduce their risk of the infection, Piercefield says. Being aware of risk factors is one way.

"Risk factors are frequent swimming," she says. "The longer you are in the pool and more frequently, those increase your risk. If you are in a warm, humid environment, that increases your risk."

Infection can set in, she says, chelsea jersey when bacteria accumulate in the water sitting in the ear canal. Keeping the ears dry is the goal.

Among the ways to help prevent the condition:

Keep your ears as dry as possible while swimming. Use a bathing cap, ear plugs, or custom-fitted swim molds.
Dry ears thoroughly after a shower or a swim.
Keep objects out of your ears. brazil soccer jersey This includes cotton-tip swabs.
Leave earwax alone. It protects the ear canal from infection. If the wax is interfering with hearing, see your doctor.
Ask your doctor about using a homemade mixture of equal parts of rubbing alcohol and white vinegar after swimming. This remedy is not recommended for those with damaged eardrums, ear ventilating tubes, ear infection, or ear drainage.
Be sure the pool you swim in is properly disinfected. You can use pool test strips to check or ask the pool operator

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Lawyers Move to Get Strauss-Kahn Out of Jail

A lawyer for Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, filed papers late Wednesday for a new bail application to get him out of Rikers Island, where he has been in protective custody and under a suicide watch.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers indicated he would be willing to be confined to a location in Manhattan and wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his movements, and was prepared to post $1 million cash bail on charges he sexually assaulted a housekeeper at a Manhattan hotel.

“We believe this is a very,Authentic Soccer Jerseys very defensible case,” Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer representing Mr. Strauss-Kahn, along with William W. Taylor of Washington, said at the arraignment on Monday. (Mr. Brafman was out of the country on Wednesday.) The papers were filed with Justice Michael J. Obus, the chief administrative judge for the criminal division of State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn said Monday that they believed the forensic evidence would be inconsistent with a “forcible encounter.”

On Tuesday, a person briefed on the case, chelsea jersey who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s legal strategy, said the defense believed that any sex act might have been consensual.

The housekeeper, 32, whose name has not been publicly released by the authorities in New York, ac milan jersey testified before the grand jury Wednesday, people briefed on the case said. The panel is expected to vote on whether to indict Mr. Strauss-Kahn, 62, a prominent French Socialist, by Friday, when he is due back in court.

The woman’s lawyer, Jeffrey J. Shapiro, barcelona jersey said that she had been interviewed by the police and prosecutors on a number of occasions and that her account of being attacked when she went to clean Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s suite at the Sofitel New York on Saturday had been unwavering.

“She is testifying before the grand jury today,” Mr. Shapiro said Wednesday morning.

Several other people, including hotel staff members, were also expected to testify.

The defense team is likely to be back in Criminal Court on Friday, when a grand jury is expected to hand up an indictment against Mr. Strauss-Kahn. If an indictment is not issued this week, he would be eligible for immediate release.

Since Tuesday, brazil soccer jersey Mr. Strauss-Kahn has been at Rikers under a suicide watch, which was put in place not because of any action or gesture on his part but because it was based on an evaluation performed when he arrived.

Mr. Taylor, the lawyer, met with Mr. Strauss-Kahn on Wednesday at Rikers, where he is being held in the West Facility, one of nine jails on the 400-acre island operated by the New York City Department of Correction.

The jail, which was built in 1991, argentina soccer jersey was designed to house inmates with tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. It is largely empty, and Mr. Strauss Kahn was placed there because it would be easy to isolate him. He is housed in his own wing, an official said.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn has a television in his room, and has access to an adjacent day room with a television. He is entitled to an hour of exercise outside, england soccer jersey but it was unclear if he took advantage of it on Wednesday, when a driving rain fell in New York for much of the morning and afternoon.

It was also unclear if inmates in the other parts of the jail were aware of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s identity, but given the availability of newspaper and television news, it seems most likely.

The mother of a young boy found dead on the side of a desolate road near the Maine-New Hampshire border reportedly has confessed to killing the boy, Custom Soccer Jerseys MyFoxBoston.com reported. The woman, who the TV station identified as Julianne McCrery, reportedly told a Massachusetts state trooper that she killed her son and was contemplating killing herself, ac milan jersey MyFoxBoston.com reported Wednesday evening , citing unnamed sources. FoxNews.com could not independently confirm the report with police. Earlier Wednesday, without identifying the woman, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman confirmed that a woman was being questioned by police, arsenal jersey and she was moved late in the afternoon from the Concord Barracks to a nearby hospital for a mental evaluation. The spokesman said the woman was in custody but not charged. However, he did refer further questions about the matter to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, possibly indicating charges are pending. At 10:12 a.m., england soccer jersey state police received a tip about a navy blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, which led them to the woman. The public was aware that a similar truck was seen in the area the boy was found. Meanwhile, spain soccer jersey investigators are working to identify the boy, believed to be between between 4 and 6 years old. The U.S. Navy's elite police unit joined the investigation after a witness reported seeing a Navy emblem on the license plate of a pickup truck that was spotted in the area. Investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are going to military installations in the Northeast in hopes of being able to identify the boy, barcelona jersey his body discovered Saturday beside a back road in South Berwick. Investigators say the boy may have been placed on Dennett Road -- just off Route 4 -- at around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The child, described as 3 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 45 pounds, likely died about two hours earlier, police said. Authorities have not yet released how the boy died. There is no missing person's report that matches the description of the child, argentina soccer jersey authorities say, and a computer-generated photo of the boy has been released in hopes it will garner leads.

The mother of a young boy found dead on the side of a desolate road near the Maine-New Hampshire border reportedly has confessed to killing the boy, Custom Soccer Jerseys MyFoxBoston.com reported.

The woman, who the TV station identified as Julianne McCrery, reportedly told a Massachusetts state trooper that she killed her son and was contemplating killing herself, ac milan jersey MyFoxBoston.com reported Wednesday evening , citing unnamed sources. FoxNews.com could not independently confirm the report with police.

Earlier Wednesday, without identifying the woman, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman confirmed that a woman was being questioned by police, arsenal jersey and she was moved late in the afternoon from the Concord Barracks to a nearby hospital for a mental evaluation.

The spokesman said the woman was in custody but not charged. However, he did refer further questions about the matter to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, possibly indicating charges are pending.

At 10:12 a.m., england soccer jersey state police received a tip about a navy blue Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, which led them to the woman. The public was aware that a similar truck was seen in the area the boy was found.
Meanwhile, spain soccer jersey investigators are working to identify the boy, believed to be between between 4 and 6 years old.

The U.S. Navy's elite police unit joined the investigation after a witness reported seeing a Navy emblem on the license plate of a pickup truck that was spotted in the area.

Investigators from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are going to military installations in the Northeast in hopes of being able to identify the boy, barcelona jersey his body discovered Saturday beside a back road in South Berwick.

Investigators say the boy may have been placed on Dennett Road -- just off Route 4 -- at around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The child, described as 3 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 45 pounds, likely died about two hours earlier, police said. Authorities have not yet released how the boy died.

There is no missing person's report that matches the description of the child, argentina soccer jersey authorities say, and a computer-generated photo of the boy has been released in hopes it will garner leads.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

BC Place to host Olympic soccer qualifier

West Coast soccer fans are in for a surprise treat come January, Authentic Soccer Jerseys as the city’s revamped stadium with a retractable roof will play host to a key Olympic qualifying round for women’s soccer.

Eight teams from North and South America and the Caribbean will battle for two spots at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, including Canada’s top-flight team, currently ranked sixth in the world.
The tournament, chelsea jersey which is likely to feature a grudge match at some point between Canada and top-ranked, arch-rival United States, is a feather in the cap for the controversial BC Place Stadium at a time of year when little sports activity would be expected.

However, the stadium’s expensive retractable roof – costing, barcelona jersey along with renovations, more than $450-million – will shelter players from the vagaries of Vancouver’s January weather.

The revamped, brazil soccer jersey previously-domed facility is scheduled to open Sept. 30 with a BC Lions game, while the Grey Cup is to take place there in late November.

BC Place, with a capacity of about 55,000, argentina soccer jersey also hopes to host a number of games in the 2015 Women’s World Cup hosted by Canada, including, possibly, the tournament final.

The pre-Olympic qualifying tournament involves teams from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association (CONCACAF).

“This international tournament will provide a superb opportunity for British Columbians to support our summer athletes,” B.C. Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong said Tuesday in a statement.

The province is providing $250,000 to help stage the event.

Parenting: How to talk to kids about Arnold Schwarzenegger's infidelity

The revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child with a household staff member can go from shocking to nerve-wracking when your child is sitting beside you. For a certain type of parent, Custom Soccer Jerseys questions abound: Should I turn off the radio or television and try to limit my child's exposure to the sex scandal? Or is it OK to let my kid listen and absorb? Do I use it as the basis to start a conversation? And if I do start a conversation, what should that conversation be about?

Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, ac milan jersey director of curriculum and planning for the Youth Programs Department of the Union for Reform Judaism, said if a child is old enough to ask questions about the ex-governor's infidelity, he or she is old enough to hear an honest answer. The answer, however, should reflect a child's age and also relate to the type of question he or she asked. If a 7-year-old asks, "Why is this in the news?" a parent might simply reply, "Arnold made a mistake and hurt his family."

Parents can assume that children in sixth grade and above will understand what is going on and will have questions. arsenal jersey Winer identified three types of conversations that this moment in the news cycle might inspire:

1. Talk about monogamy and sex: If you believe that monogamy is the key (or at least one key) to a happy relationship, now is the time to talk about what monogamy means, and the importance of honoring the commitments we make to our boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse.

2. Talk about the importance of forgiveness: Remember, this may not be the first time your kid has heard this type of story. Perhaps a friend or family member has been through a similar experience. england soccer jersey This is an opportunity to talk about the types of mistakes people make, the consequences those mistakes can have, and how we can forgive people for their mistakes.

3. Talk about the ugliness of gossip: It's time to discuss how real people are involved in this situation and how hurtful gossip about them can be.

What if, like a colleague of mine, spain soccer jersey you have a daughter and are wondering how to reassure her that some men are indeed trustworthy? Julie Cederbaum, an assistant professor at USC and an expert in family relationships, suggested reminding your child that this is a case of one person doing something hurtful, and that some people make choices we don't agree with, but that doesn't mean all people are bad.

Monday, May 16, 2011

IMF power shift may end Europe's hold on top job

The issue leaped unexpectedly into the spotlight with Strauss-Kahn's arrest in New York on sexual assault charges, which fueled speculation he will not survive as the global lender's top official. If he leaves, that would advance a succession decision from 2012 when his term was set to end.

Since Strauss-Kahn's selection in 2007 as managing director, there has been a major shift within the International Monetary Fund that has elevated China to No. 3 in voting power and given countries such as India, Russia and Brazil a greater voice.

IMF board officials, Authentic Soccer Jerseys who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, told Reuters there was a push by some countries for a speedy resolution to Strauss-Kahn's future as head of the organization, although others cautioned against judging him so soon.

Strauss-Kahn, who was denied bail on Monday, is fighting the charges.

"No matter how it plays out, it is going to be very difficult for Strauss-Kahn to be an effective leader of the IMF," said Eswar Prasad, a former IMF official now at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

"It is a matter of days while we wait for this matter to be resolved," he told Reuters Insider.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that while it was not yet time to discuss succession, there was a good case for a European to be in the job.

Germany pointed to the debt crisis that has engulfed Ireland, chelsea jerseyGreece and Portugal in pressing its argument a European could bring a fuller understanding of one of the world's most pressing economic problems.

Strauss-Kahn has been deeply involved in talks over European Union and IMF bailouts for debt-strapped countries.

But another of his signature achievements has been reforming the IMF's voting structure to give emerging market economies more power.

In the past, barcelona jersey emerging economies had not been unified enough to put forward a consensus candidate. Some think this time could be different.

Margaret-Anne Orgill, an analyst at IHS Global Insight in London, said China may decide to flex its new-found muscle to try to get an emerging market candidate into the job. It has contributed significant resources to the IMF in recent years in exchange for more voting power.

TWO JOBS IN PLAY

The IMF sought on Sunday to soothe concerns over Strauss-Kahn's absence by naming the fund's deputy, John Lipsky, as acting managing director. Lipsky often runs the financial institution when the managing director is away.

Japan, the United States and Canada all expressed confidence on Monday in Lipsky's ability to run the fund, but senior Europeans at the IMF said he would not be as influential as Strauss-Kahn in dealing with Europe's debt crisis because he is an American.

Lipsky announced last week, brazil soccer jersey however, that he was stepping down when his term expires in August, putting more pressure on the IMF to quickly resolve questions over its leadership.

"It is going to be a very complicated and hard-fought battle," Prasad said. "Right now, the top job is in play and so is the number two position."

In Europe, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde emerged as a front-runner for the top position, although her nationality may count against her. A French national has run the IMF for 26 out of the past 33 years and the embarrassment over the Strauss-Kahn incident may make it difficult for Paris to make a case.

In Washington inner circles, former Turkish Finance Minister Kemal Dervis, who now runs an economic program at the Brookings Institution, is a leading name. Turkey's status as a large emerging market country within the European continent could ease concerns by developing nations that feel shut out of the selection process.

Other possibilities are Agustin Carstens, argentina soccer jersey governor of Mexico's central bank, and Montek Singh Ahluwlia, an influential economic adviser to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Emerging market countries have tried to break Europe's hold on the job during the past two succession battles.

Egypt twice nominated Mohamed El-Erian, now co-chief executive of PIMCO, the world's largest bond fund, and Russia nominated former Czech central banker Josef Tosovsky to head the institution.

In a blog post on Reuters.com, El-Erian said the quickest way to replace Strauss-Kahn was to maintain the status quo and choose a European. Throwing open the selection process to everyone would be slower and complicated.

"Under either approach, the IMF would inevitably operate under a huge cloud," El-Erian said. "It would undermine its effectiveness in responding to new challenges."