Article on Brain Injury & Brain Disorders
February 2010 Article
THE ABC’S OF HEALTH
By Dr. Jo Gjelsten
Knock ya-self out!
Oh please don’t. It’s February. People are racing around on the ice, busy.. busy.. busy. Kids rocket down hills. Dr. Jo races down the mountain in January to escape getting hit by snowboarders. Dr. Jo says “##!!!” “I’m gonna fall!” Dr. Jo falls. “Someone is trying to wake me up”, says she. “Hey, are you ok?” (Why are you waking me up?)…”Sure”, says Dr. Jo, embarrassed to be looking up at this guy, not having fallen on skis for about as much time as he’s been alive. “I just have to get back on my skis, thanks”. Down the mountain, home again. On the way home I’m wondering why did it feel like he was waking me up? I don’t normally take naps on busy hills. Did I hit my head??!!?. Ok Jo, feel the back of your head; good, the front, ok, left side ok, right side..OW! Ok, I guess I knocked myself out. Now what. Get to the ER so you don’t end up like Natasha Richardson, that’s what. The CT fast scan was just that, and all is well. Just have to get rid of this headache, not do anything strenuous, monitor my behavior, (dizzy, sleeping too much, dancing like snoopy; ok not that but it could happen; a whole list), and then GET A HELMET FOR PETE’S SAKE, if I plan to ski again, and write about it so other folks who have been skiing for years and never hit their head can learn from my almost grave error, and Sonny Bono’s, among others.
The odd thing is that I’d just looked at two studies regarding traumatic brain injuries, aka TBI’S, found them fascinating enough to send the links to myself, and was happy so see how certain new things helped. I should always pay attention to the information that comes my way, as I could be the next person I can help with it. So, my reading public; here you are as a result of my falling for you, and me.
It was noticed by an astute noticer, that women who have traumatic brain injuries recover faster than men. Why, someone with a brain asked? Because of the fact that my favorite hormone, progesterone, is higher in females than in males, unless of course the guy is pregnant, a story for, well, another story. Theoretically, when you think about it, progesterone (pro-gestation) is very high in pregnant women, thereby conferring protection to her, or him if he was formerly a she, Stevie.
Given soon after an injury to the brain, progesterone “appeared to cut risk of death by 50%” according to a study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Moreover, “there was significant improvement in functional outcome and level of disability among patients with moderate brain injury”. This was a 3 year, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 study where IV (intravenous) progesterone was administered over 3 days following injury. So of course since I had the cream-form in my bathroom, I put it right smack on where I smacked my head, just to be on the safe side, for at least 2 days following; my own little experiment. I can report that I’m thinking that I’m thinking well; I think.
Another study showed that branched-chain amino acids (my former Biochemistry teacher, would love this), namely leucine, isoleucine and valine, were very helpful for those little mice recovering from TBI’S inflicted by lab rats on 2 legs. The mice were not amused, and have taken to getting pregnant in record numbers after they heard about the first study. I never forgot what the branched chain amino acids were, as they were drummed into our already-saturated-with-information brains during biochemistry. These branched-chain guys seem to help normalize brain function by providing precursors for both excitatory and inhibitory brain chemicals, which are present during injury, but somewhat scrambled, like electronic static, until the precursor branched-chain gang guys show up and make things right again in Dodge. Glutamate is an excitatory chemical and inhibitory ones include GABA part of some of my formulations for keepin’ ‘ya calm, Carrie. Glutamate is elevated in people with ALS. I didn’t use the branched-chain gang however, interesting as it is, as too much glutamate spoils the broth, of brain chemicals, and my research re: glutamate indicates that since it’s elevated in ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and is toxic to brain neurons, I’ll pass for now. Riluzole is a medication given to ALS sufferers, which you could say is a type of brain injury too, to delay the progression of the disease, and works by blocking glutamate. Arginine, an amino acid, enhances the production of glutamate in the brain; not good, and a diet recommended to these folks includes an arginine antagonist, lysine, which may help. The ratio should be 1:1, but that doesn’t generally happen. A low arginine diet can prevent glutamate production in the brain so there you have it; or some of it; there’s tons more. See my website for more; www.GoDrJo.comand ask me.
So, does glutamate sound familiar to you? How about MSG, aka mono-sodium-glutamate? Now you may not want to ingest this stuff anymore; even when they say No MSG in some restaurants, they couldstill be giving you any number of other forms like calcium caseinate, modified, texturized, hydrolyzed, wheat, soy or corn, food starch, yeast food...ALL have high MSG! And what about autism! Isn’t that a form of brain injury? Guess what, my peeps?. Now we know that “glucose (sugar) is a major precursor of glutamate…” so here we have kids eating MSG, some getting too much sugar, and we wonder why their little brains don’t work well! Whoops, ran out of room. Dr. Jo will now go skiing with a helmet, eat a diet low in arginine, has been taking lysine, a viral inhibitor, anyway, and will continue to avoid MSG and it’s aliases! © Copyright 01/12/10 www.GoDrJo.comfor more on glutamate, lysine and arginine and previously published autism article. New stuff every month.☺
DISCLAIMER
The products and claims made about specific products on our site have not been evaluated by any regulatory health authority and are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. The information provided on our site is for informational purposes only. You should consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any or stopping any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.NOTE: Nothing in this article should be construed as medical advice. It is informational in purpose only and taken from numerous readily available articles written by physicians and researchers. For medical advice consult with an informed physician.
