Brain Attack: Plasticity of the Brain, The
Dr. Bruce Dobkin illustrates the adaptability of the brain in a series of fMRI scans done just after the stroke and then at periodic intervals. The brain develops new pathways in supplementary areas if the primary functi..
Brain Attack: Risk Factors for Stroke
The risk factors for stroke resemble those for other cardiovascular diseases, particularly high blood pressure and hypertension that can be modified by relaxation and dietary interventions. High cholesterol is also thoug..
Brain Attack: Slow Road to Recovery: Jim and Mary Krakowski's Journey
Five months ago Jim Krakowski experienced a cerebral hemorrhage as he was getting ready for work. No one was home at the time so he lay helpless for hours until his wife, a nurse, returned from work. The hemorrhage was q..
Brain Attack: Slow Road to Recovery: Practice, Perseverance at Home
After a month in acute rehab, Jim Krakowsky returns home to continue his recovery efforts. The key to rehabilitation in patients is to practice and practice those things you want to do, even though progress at times seem..
Brain Attack: Slow Road to Recovery: Treadmill Therapy
With virtually no feeling or voluntary movement on his right side, Jim is placed in a climbing harness over a treadmill, the motion of right leg and foot manipulated by the therapist. There is noticeable improvement by t..
Brain Attack: Story of Karen: Childbirth, The
There were many touch-and-go issues during the first few weeks after the stroke, most connected with the delivery of the fetus and the threat it might pose to Karen. The neurology team and the OB team worked together thr..
Brain Attack: Story of Karen: Expectant Mother, Stroke Victim, The
It was a summer of promise for Karen Christiansen and Ken Jones. After ten years of marriage they were expecting their first child. Karen's pregnancy was almost full term and she was exercising at the Y when she began to..
Brain Attack: Story of Karen: First Procedures, The
In the past, before doctors had the means to check the damaging effects of a clot, stroke victims were not considered a priority by paramedics or emergency personnel. Within minutes of her arrival at the hospital by ambu..
Brain Attack: Story of Karen: Recovery, The
At first, Ken Jones had concerns about their future, but because of her prompt treatment Karen was ambulatory with only some slight difficulty with her right leg and arm. They found that humor was a way of dealing with r..
Brain Attack: Story of Karen: Use of the Clot Buster, The
MRI scanning verified that Karen was experiencing an aschemic stroke in which a blood clot blocked blood flow to a region of the brain. tPA, a clot buster was administered. This opens blocked blood vessels and restores b..