“Propublica’s Claim File Helper lets you customize a letter requesting the notes and documents your insurer used when deciding to deny you coverage. Get your claim file before submitting an appeal.”
Neurologist see patients every week with episodic pain and numbness in the hands. Many of these patients have carpal tunnel syndrome. Contact our office if you have these symptoms and need help.
“Carpal tunnel syndrome…remains prevalent, affecting 1 to 5 percent of the overall population. The condition is associated with multiple health conditions unrelated to the workplace, including diabetes, age, hypothyroidism, obesity, arthritis, and pregnancy. In general, keyboards are no longer thought to be a major threat, but the hazards of repetitive work were always very real.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-prevalence/675803/
“Whether as a result of heat, hunger, standing for too long or merely the sight of blood or needles, 40% of people faint at least once in their lives.
But exactly what causes these brief losses of consciousness — which researchers call syncope — has been a mystery..
Now, researchers have discovered a neural pathway that controls the process, involving a group of sensory neurons that connect the heart to the brainstem”
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke, and about three-quarters occur in people ages 65 and older. “As people age, their arteries have a tendency to become less flexible,” and clogged arteries are more likely, says Doris Chan, an interventional cardiologist at NYU Langone Health. This hikes the risk of an ischemic stroke — the most common type — when a blood vessel to the brain becomes blocked by a blood clot.
https://apple.news/AcryqjfFmStmBcGpsIf_4LQ
It’s that time of year where we’re looking at vaccines. We have more choices and things to consider this year, including Covid, RSV and of course, Flu! Most of this post is summarized from my favorite epidemiologist, Dr Katelyn Jetelina (links below.)
Covid-19 is more transmissible, more severe, has more long-term implications, and is more unpredictable than the flu. So, why is coverage so much lower than flu?
Novavax
The Novavax Covid-19 vaccine contains a coronavirus protein that prompts the immune system. (This differs from Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines, which contain instructions for recognizing the coronavirus.) Scientists combined this protein with an immune-boosting compound derived from the soapbark tree.
This type of vaccine has a much longer track record than the newer approaches. But the innovative aspect is that Novavax found a way to make this vaccine in moth cells (rather than mammal cells). The moth cells become little factories that pump out coronavirus proteins. This allows Novavax to manufacture the vaccine much more quickly than others, which is one reason they can get this to market in 6 months (as opposed to longer).
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/novavax-is-here
WHO Guidelines on Masks, Treatments and Patient Care
WHO has updated its guidelines on mask wearing in community settings, COVID-19 treatments, and clinical management. This is part of a continuous process of reviewing such materials, working with guideline development groups composed of independent, international experts who consider the latest available evidence and the changing epidemiology.
https://www.who.int/news/item/13-01-2023-who-updates-covid-19-guidelines-on-masks–treatments-and-patient-care
CNMRI Neurologists can help you with symptoms from a concussion or traumatic brain injury. Please contact our office for a definitive evaluation and treatment.
“Concussions occur when someone experiences a bump, blow or jolt to the head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly back and forth. Concussions themselves are not usually life-threatening but the effects can be lasting and serious, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
For 50% of traumatic brain injury patients who received a CT scan, three or more symptoms, such as headache or fatigue, persist for at least a year, according to a study in the Journal of Neurotrauma last year. More than 70% reported at least one persistent symptom a year after injury. This can be patients with mild, moderate or severe brain injury — a concussion is usually considered mild.”
Serotonin reduction may be triggered by remnants of the virus lingering in the gut. Depleted serotonin could explain memory problems and some neurological and cognitive symptoms of long Covid.
“The research could point the way toward possible treatments, including medications that boost serotonin. And the authors said the biological pathway that their research outlines could unite many of the major theories of what causes long Covid: lingering remnants of the virus, inflammation, increased blood clotting and dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.”
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01034-6
TL:DR Low Glucose, Creatinine and Uric Acid equates with long life
“We found that, on the whole, those who made it to their hundredth birthday tended to have lower levels of glucose, creatinine and uric acid from their sixties onwards.”
CNMRI: Neurology, Sleep Medicine, MRI 