BRAIN ATTACK
( the condition formerly known as STROKE )
Medical Terminology is renowned for being confusing but there are moves to normalise the language. Many people are unsure what Stroke actually means. Many are unsure that it is related to the brain and then even less sure what actually happens when stroke occurs. For this reason people are being encouraged to use a new term "Brain Attack" instead. As with heart attack the term immediately places the condition in the body and the word "attack" highlights the speed with which it can happen and the urgency of the situation.
Brain Attack is the third most common cause of death. Australians suffer 40,000 strokes each year and 25%of those are people under 65. The outcome of stroke is as follows : 1/3 die , 1/3 recover, 1/3 require long term rehab and care.
Brain Attack involves a sudden interference in the blood supply to part of the brain. It may be due to a blood vessel being blocked by local problems like a clot forming with in it associated with roughened blood vessel walls due to cholesterol plaques, or blocked by "flying debris" that has broken off somewhere "upstream" in the arterial system and come to rest, wedged in the smallest branch. Or it may be due to a blood vessel bursting its wall resulting in blood seeping or careering out into the delicate brain tissue. Blood is toxic to brain tissue.
Brain Attack is a medical emergency. And while each of the different causes are treated very differently the appearance to an onlooker may be similar. Sufferers may develop any number of a range of neurological symptoms depending on what part of the brain is affected. These can be sudden weakness of one side of the face, arm or leg; slurred or jumbled speech, loss of coordination or even loss of consciousness. Each half of the brain controls the opposite side of the body and in Brain Attack this involvement of one side or other will help to doctors place the part of the brain that is affected.
Generally the Brain Attack due to a blood vessel bursting causes a sudden and extremely severe headache usually accompanied by a stiff neck and extreme difficulty with bright lights. It is essential to call an ambulance in such a case.
Brain Attack due to a blocked vessel doesn't usually cause headache to speak of. There is sometimes a sudden loss of power or an evolution of symptoms. Either way it is important to call an ambulance for assistance.
In both cases outcomes can be vastly improved by early intervention. There has been big changes in the way Brain Attack is treated in recent years and out comes are improving all the time.
A Transient Ischaemic Attack is to the brain as angina is to the heart. Here there is a transient or temporary interruption to the blood supply to an area of the brain and the person's symptoms will last less that 24 hours by definition
Prof Stephen Davis is Director of Neurology, Head of Stroke Service and Professor in the University Department of Medicine at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Co-Director of Research for the National Stroke Foundation. Prof Davis will be taking your calls about Brain Attack.
call
1800 787
653 for information about the Stroke Foundation
click HERE to visit the Stroke Foundation of Australia
click
HERE to read my
article on understanding stroke
LOVE YOUR WORK
SANTA CLAUS !
Think
about the training and preparation necessary to circumnavigate the world within
a single 24 hour period in a sleigh pulled by some reindeer. Not only that but
making pit stops down every chimney in every street ( dang, those reverse cycle
systems and narrow flues ) .
Not surprisingly being Santa Claus isn't about donning a red suit and flowing white beard and bellowing a few ho ho hos . Now there are proper training courses at Santa Schools.
Being a Santa for Myer Grace bros is serious fun and we'll be meeting a graduate from the school for all things Santorial to find out why Santa loves his work
click
HERE to visit an American
Santa School - who knows your new career may be beckoning
I found it .....I found
it .........Santa's own home page !!! click HERE
to visit
DISEASE OF THE WEEK
Coeliac Disease
Coeliac Disease, is also known as Coeliac Sprue, it is a condition where the person has an intolerance to gluten in their diet .
Gluten is the protein that makes up part of wheat, rye, barley, triticale and oats
In people with Coeliac disease, Gluten damages the lining of their small bowel lining. The small bowel is a specialised organ built with an ability to maximise absorption of nutrients. It does this by having an enormous surface area through being lined by millions of tiny finger like projections called "villi" . Gluten reacts in a way to flatten out these villi rather like a bulldozer might remove hills to enable a freeway to pass. Maybe in road terms its better to travel quickly on a flat straight road but if your food does the same thought your bowel you wont get to absorb the goodies on the way !
Coeliac disease can occur in families but not always. It is thought to have a genetic link but it has yet to be fully identified.
It
is thought that around 1 in 500 people have this condition. Mainly Caucasian and
most likely of Celtic origin
It
was originally thought to be a disease usually diagnosed in childhood but these
days many diagnoses are first made in adult hood
Diagnosis involved a small sample of tissue to be taken from the small bowel via an endoscopy ( fibre optic tube passed down through the mouth ) and examined for flattening of the villi .Treatment involves a life long dietary restriction.
Dr Jeremy Ryan is a gastroenterologist and he will be joining us to explain Coeliac disease
click HERE
to visit the Coeliac Society of Australia home page
MARTIAL ARTS meets MEDICINE
Grandmaster Cheung
Sometimes I think we are
unaware of just who we have living here in Australia. Today I am joined by the
world's Grandmaster of Kung Fu. The man who introduced the Late Bruce Lee to Wing
Chun Kung Fu. A man who is an expert in ancient
Chinese Medical practices of meridians and meditation sought after around the
world for his knowledge - and he's lived here in Australia since the
1970's
Dr William Cheuk Hing Cheung has been called the Masters' Master; he was considered by Bruce Lee to be the "ultimate fighter": He was the sole inheritor of the Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu system.
He
started his life long commitment at the age of 10 when he began training in Wing
Chun Kung Fu under under o the trained under
the late Grandmaster Yip Man. As a live in student he became the sole
inheritor of the complete system of Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu.
In
early 1954 Cheung introduced Bruce Lee to Grandmaster Yip Man, and became his
personal trainer.
In
1959, after completing his training under Grandmaster Yip Man, Cheung left Hong
Kong to pursue an academic career at the Australian National University in
Canberra. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Economics. he then
moved to Melbourne and started his highly successful martial Arts School
In 1976 he was elected the President of the Australian Kung Fu Federation. Also in the late 70's Cheung was appointed Chief Instructor to the U.S. Seventh Fleet based in Yukosuka, Japan. He was in charge of the intensive mental and physical development program of close quarter hand to hand combat for the marines. Since then he has also conducted special courses for law enforcement groups in the USA.
In
1984 at Harvard University, Boston, Grandmaster Cheung
set the world
speed
punching record of 8.3 punches per second. He has written many books and
produced many videos on the subject of Martial Arts.
From his early training in Martial Arts, Grandmaster Cheung has also become an expert in Meridian, Pressure Points and Meditation. These ancient Chinese medical techniques deal with internal energies. Over the last ten years he has used this knowledge to develop many successful programs treating sports injuries and teaching stress management.
As the result of these, Grandmaster Cheung's seminars, workshops and treatments are now much sought after all over the world.
In 1998 Grandmaster William Cheung was inducted into the 1998 Blitz Hall of Fame, receiving the award for "Lifetime Tribute for Martial Arts".
in 2000 Grandmaster William Cheung was honoured with a 2 year appointment as Research Professor by the China Guangzhou Medical University and Hospital Research Institute for his Cheung's Meridian Therapy (CMT) program .
click HERE to visit Grand Master Cheung's website
PROCEDURE OF THE WEEK
Last week on the show we took a call from a lady who wanted to raise awareness
of the need for people to register as a bone marrow donor. Her interest in the
area is because of her niece, Sinead aged 11,who has Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukaemia. Sinead requires a bone marrow transplant. And while her parents have
bone marrow that is a reasonable match . The best outcome for Sinead would be a
perfect match . The search is on world wide for someone with matching tissue
type. It could be you ? Sinead's most likely match is someone of Caucasian-Chinese
extraction. If your ancestry is Chinese Caucasian you might be able to help
Sinead.
Her example is a timely reminder of the need to understand how we can help others.
Bone marrow is the spongy substance inside all our long bones - you've no doubt noticed it if you've ever carved a roast leg of lamb for dinner. Bone marrow is the work house for blood cell production. All the blood cells begin as stem cells - the generic cell type that can differentiate into different blood cell types.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) is where something goes wrong in the production line and the bone marrow starts to produce excessive amounts of immature white blood cells these immature cells fill up the space in the bone marrow which makes normal production difficult. Also they are released into the blood stream in an immature form so they don't perform their task of fighting disease properly.
Patients with ALL are treated with various cocktails of chemotherapy to try to knock some sense onto marrow production and get it back on track. If this fails transplant is indicated. ALL is generally curable.
Tissue Matching is important to reduce the chance of rejection after transplant. That is when cells from a non perfect match are transplanted into a person and their body recognises them as foreign and destroys he new cells.
What happens if I register as a potential donor for a bone marrow transplant ?
A blood test determines someone's compatibility . The results of this test are stored on a world wide data base. If a match comes up the person is called and asked if they still wish to participate. If they are willing and are fit and well they are admitted for a day procedure in a hospital. They are given a general anaesthetic bone marrow is removed from the iliac crest bone - this is the part of the hip at the rear. The procedure is done using a needle into the bone ( remember this is under general anaesthetic) . Around 500 ml of marrow is removed. This constitutes about 2% of the donors total marrow pool and it will regenerate in about 4 weeks time .
If there is any discomfort at the site of removal it is easily fixed with simple painkillers like paracetamol.
The donated marrow is then infused through a special tube directly into the large blood vessels in the recipient's chest . They have been prepared with a big dose of Chemotherapy to hopefully halt the production of abnormal white cells and it is hoped that the donated marrow cells will find their way round the blood stream into that persons marrow, settle in and start normal production before any remaining the leukaemia cells get a chance to come back .
Have you registered with the bone marrow register ? All it takes is a blood test.
Why not mark it in your diary that on your next birthday you will go and have a test to register for a gift of life for someone else.
We'll be speaking to Sinead's family to see how the quest is going and also to Debbie Witt who is the West Australian Bone Marrow Transplant Coordinator
click HERE to find out how to register as a bone marrow donor
click HERE to find out about the Bone Marrow Donor Institute
click HERE to read the bone marrow donor institute faq sheet about marrow transplantation
click HERE for an American site with comprehensive description of the process
click
HERE to read more
about Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in Children - a really
informative British site
BULLYING
Associate
Profession Michael Carr Gregg is widely respected throughout Australia as a leading
light in all matters pertaining to adolescent psychology. He has co
written a book called Adolescence - a guide for parents. This is something
all parents should keep very handy as a survival manual.
Michael joins us in the first in a series of regular chats on issues pertaining to the minefield that is parenting young people.
Today we'll be discussing
bullying and how to deal with it
click HERE
to find out more about Michael's book
click HERE
to visit Michael's website
MOVING OUT OF HOME
The University Course
Yes, folks here it is - a course for your kids in how to successfully move out of home ! These days young people are staying at home longer .....and longer . Moving out can be a daunting task. Living independently is not as simple as having enough money for the rent. Its important for young people to be equipped to make the transition successfully ( otherwise they might come back and you'll find you've gott'em for life ! )
Its been a long time coming but I think that there is a big place in our education system for courses on life skills . Narrabri Tafe offers a new course in life skills for living independently. We'll be talking with David Brookfield who is Acting Head Narrabri Tafe .
click HERE
to visit Narrabri Tafe
THE TRUTH ABOUT EYE DAMAGE & ECLIPSE
Last week people from all over the world
flocked to the small town of Ceduna in South Australia to witness a total
eclipse of the sun from the best vantage point. How does one "witness"
an eclipse when one is told looking at the sun during an eclipse may cause 
serious
eye damage. Trouble is there were so many different warnings each sounding authoritative
but often giving conflicting advice - some said only a pin hole reflecting indirectly
on a piece of paper was safe. Others said various types of welding glasses might
be ok ......there were also special glasses being sold for the Ceduna
event.
So what is the truth about an eclipse and eyes ?.Assoc Prof Stephen Dain from the Dept. of Optometry, University of NSW will allow us to see the issues clearly !
click HERE to visit a tourist site about the eclipse in Ceduna last week
click HERE to visit the UNSW department of Optometry and Vision Science/
click HERE
to read an article from the Sydney Morning Herald about the eclipse
GENEALOGY
Some weeks ago now Sue Macbeth talked with us about genealogy -. The audience response was so big that we have invited Sue back to help us understand how to go about finding our family roots .
I have a list is sites that Sue has provided on my links page
click HERE to visit Sue Macbeth's website