Epilepsy may affect language development

Epileptic activity in the brain may affect the development of language in children, the results of a new study indicate.

Anyone can have a seizure if the brain is exposed to a strong enough stimulus. One in every 20 people will have a single seizure at some time during their lives. However, people with epilepsy have recurring seizures. This is caused by abnormal electrical impulses in the brain. Up to 40,000 people in Ireland are estimated to have epilepsy.

Swedish researchers divided 60 children of different ages into three groups. The first comprised of children with language dysfunction, such as slow speech development or inadequate language comprehension. NEXT....

Brain surgery done while patient was awake

The first-ever open brain surgery with the patient wide awake in the Gulf region was successfully conducted on a 38-year-old Indian patient at the ity SKMC last month.

The surgery included removal of a tumour from the patient’s brain located near the cells responsible for vocalisation and speech. A multi-disciplinary team of more than 20 medical personnel worked on the patient to ensure a successful operation.

According to a statement issued by the hospital on Monday, the patient (name withheld on request), who was brought to the Emergency Department in an unconscious state, had suffered several epileptic fits, post-critical transient aphasia (language impairment) and hemiparesis (muscle weakness on one side of the body).

A CT (computed tomography) scan and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain showed a left frontal cortico-subcortical tumour, which 
was in the brain area responsible for 
the speech. Next....

iPhone App Opens World to Boy with Rare Syndrome

Andrew, who at age 8 is the size of a 3- or 4-year-old, has Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects communication and social interaction. It is characterized by low birth weight, slow growth, distinctive facial features and small stature.

But a new iPhone application Andrew uses on an iPod has opened the doors to Andrew's mind.Next...

Music and lyrics: How the brain splits songs

>Your favourite song comes on the radio. You hum the tune; the lyrics remind you of someone you know. Is your brain processing the words and music separately or as one? It's a hotly debated question that may finally have an answer.


People with aphasia, who can't speak, can still hum a tune, suggesting music and lyrics are processed separately. Yet brain scans show that music and language activate the same areas, which might mean the brain treats them as one signal. Next...

Daniel Rubin: More stories of horrors at airport take wing

On June 23, 2007, David Camp, a zoning consultant from Cary, N.C., was forced to watch, helpless and in horror, as his father - a stroke victim in a wheelchair - was told to stand and walk.
They were traveling through Philadelphia on their way from Venice to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Clearing customs quickly, they then went through the TSA security area before catching their connecting flight.
L. Raymond Camp, a retired professor of speech communication at North Carolina State University, was paralyzed on his right side and suffers from severe aphasia, which left him unable to talk.
"They separated him from us, took away his airport wheelchair, then insisted he stand up and walk through the machine without using his cane," according to his son. "Well, of course that was an impossibility, but they wouldn't listen to us and he can't speak.  Next...

NFL partners with brain injury study

The NFL is creating a partnership with researchers at Boston University who are studying the longterm effects of brain injuries on players, the Associated Press reported.

Comparing US healthcare costs with Europe

Buzz, Indiana, US:"One day, back in 1992, I started feeling pain in my lower back, below the kidney and a gurgling feeling. I went to a local community hospital and the doctors examined me and indicated that I was having a heart attack.
"The doctors decided that if I were to survive I would need a heart transplant. I was then put on the top of a list for transplant recipients in the mid-west region. Within a couple of days, fortunately, I was able to get a heart and I had wonderful treatment at all three hospitals.