Texting for Stroke Awareness
The American Heart Association is asking people to text their friends the warning signs of stroke as part of the campaign “Take 2 to Save 2”—that is, take 2 minutes to send the message to two people at risk. People can text “Take 2” to 64244, and the AHA will send out a health message that can be passed along. “Think about two people you care about who smoke, are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease or stroke,” Dr. Clyde W. Yancy, AHA president, said in a statement.
Speeding Up Epilepsy Research
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke is moving forward with a plan to energize epilepsy research. At a meeting last month, the institute's National Advisory Neurological Disorders and Stroke Council (NANDSC) approved an initiative that gives researchers opportunities for targeted grants and “virtual” collaboration. The research plan features a “Center Without Walls” modeled after successful programs elsewhere in the National Institutes of Health. The new center would enable scientists at different sites to collaborate on epilepsy research. The institute is also planning to offer grants in areas such as epilepsy prevention, treatment-resistant epilepsy, and novel approaches to epilepsy research.
NINDS Names New Advisors
NIH officials have appointed four new members to the NANDSC. The 18-member group reviews applications for National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke support for research and training. The new members are Dr. Thomas G. Brott, a pioneer in stroke and cerebrovascular disease research and professor at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla.; Dr. Donna M. Ferriero, chief of child neurology at the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Barbara G. Vickrey, who directs the health services research program in neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles; and Kimberly S. Zellmer, a Columbus, Ohio, lawyer and advocate for research on Batten disease.
Award for Dementia Researchers
Two dementia researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, will share the $100,000 Potamkin Prize for their work on Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Dr. Bruce L. Miller is receiving his part of the award for 25 years of research into FTLD, also known as Pick's disease. The work has improved diagnosis of the disease and led to several treatments, said the American Academy of Neurology, which bestows the award. The other recipient is Dr. Lennart Mucke, who uncovered strategies to prevent and even reverse cognitive impairments in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. The annual prize, for advancing understanding of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, is to be used for continuing research and will be awarded at the AAN annual meeting in Toronto in April.
Big Market for Stimulation Kalorama
Kalorama Information is predicting that within 5 years, the market for electrical and magnetic neurostimulation devices for treating depression could reach $16 billion a year. Currently, the market is limited because there is only one device—Cyberonic Inc.'s vagus nerve stimulator—and the cost of device treatment outweighs that of drug therapy, according to a report by the medical market research company. The analysis notes, however, that several manufacturers are developing external devices, such as Neuronetics Inc.'s repetitive TMS therapy system. Medtronic Inc., St. Jude Medical Inc., and Boston Scientific Corp. are also looking into adapting their deep brain and spinal cord stimulators to depression treatment, according to Kalorama.