The diagnosis of cancer often has a profound effect on men and their families. The word “cancer” signals a life-changing issue that may be accompanied by feelings of fear, depression and anxiety. Sometimes these feelings linger for years after diagnosis and treatment.
The American Cancer Society believes that in 2020 there will be an estimated 1,806,950 new cases of cancer diagnosed and 606,520 people with cancer will die.1 Of these, the top three primary tumor locations are in the breast, lung and bronchus, and prostate, in that order.
A diagnosis of prostate cancer is second only to lung cancer in men and is the fifth leading cause of death worldwide.2 In the early stages of the disease you may not experience any symptoms.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 1 in every 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has a higher likelihood of happening to men 65 and older and those who are African-American.3
Watch for These Symptoms
Since there are few to no early signs of it, most men are diagnosed with prostate cancer after an early screening. However, this presents different challenges I’ll discuss below.
The prostate is a gland located just below the bladder and in front of the lower part of the intestinal tract. The urethra, which carries urine from the bladder out of the penis, travels through the prostate gland. The size of the gland changes as a man ages: It’s about the size of a walnut in younger men and naturally grows larger with age.4
There are four types of cancer that can start in the prostate. Most prostate cancers are slow-growing adenocarcinomas. But they can also include transitional cell carcinomas, small cell carcinomas, neuroendocrine tumors and sarcomas. The American Cancer Society reports:5
"… autopsy studies show that many older men (and even some younger men) who died of other causes also had prostate cancer that never affected them during their lives."
Growth of the prostate gland can create challenges in the urinary system, which is where many of the symptoms of prostate cancer originate. However, not all urinary symptoms are signs of prostate cancer since benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), also known as enlargement of the prostate, can cause similar problems. Symptoms of prostate cancer may include:6,7,8
Urinary urgency and frequency, especially at night
Difficulty starting to urinate or stopping the stream
Decreased amounts of semen ejaculated
Difficulty having an erection
Blood in the urine or semen
Pain or burning during urination
Weakened or interrupted flow of urine
Loss of bladder control
Pressure or pain in the rectum
Pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, thighs or pelvis
If prostate cancer spreads (metastasis), it may press on nerves coming from the spine, triggering numbness or pain in the hips, legs or feet. Metastases may also cause bone pain and fractures.
Prevention Is Always the Best Medicine
No one really knows the exact cause for prostate cancer, but there are some risk factors to keep in mind. You have control over some, but not all of them. These include:9,10,11
Age — The older you get, the greater your risk
Race — Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer than men of other races
Family history — Your risk increases if you have male relatives who’ve had prostate cancer; breast cancer in a family member also increases the risk
Obesity — Men with high BMI may be more likely to have advanced disease at diagnosis; one study found reducing obesity could decrease the risk disparity in the incidence of cancer between African-American men and white men.12
Smoking
Sedentary lifestyle
Geography — Prostate cancer is more commonly found in North America, Australia, Caribbean Islands and northwestern Europe
Chemical exposure — Firefighters may have an increased risk from exposure to chemicals
Inflammation of the prostate — Prostatitis, an inflammatory condition, may increase your risk
Nothing is guaranteed, but you may be able to reduce your potential risk for prostate cancer by making some simple lifestyle choices. Modifiable factors include getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each day and moving consistently throughout the day.
Although exercise is important, spending the rest of the day sitting — the “sitting disease” — causes problems of its own. Regularly moving around, getting plenty of exercise, eating a balanced diet and paying attention to your gut microbiome will help with weight management and reduce your risk for obesity, which is one of the risk factors.
Chronic exposure to chemicals and toxins in fires places firefighters at greater risk for all cancers. The leaders of two statewide surveys of 1,300 active firefighters in Ohio found that about half believed cancer was their greatest occupational risk, up from 5% surveyed 10 years before.13
Specifically, fighting fires is associated with a higher risk of melanoma, acute myeloid leukemia, and various types of cancers including that of the prostate.14
Include These Foods and Avoid Others
Scientists are continuing to study the relationship among nutrients, supplements and prostate cancer, searching for a link that may help prevent or treat the growths. Currently, there is conflicting data on whether vitamin E and selenium are protective or if they increase the risk.15
Information from the SELECT trial that began in 2001 showed that men with a low selenium status didn’t benefit from supplementation, but those with high levels of selenium had an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Men with low levels of selenium taking a vitamin E supplement also had a higher risk.16
Another study was designed to focus on the effects of phytonutrients. The data revealed that in the lab, a combination of phytonutrients and vitamins had a synergistic effect against hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells.17
There is data to support that a cup of hot green tea has the ability to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in advanced prostate cancer.18 The antioxidant lycopene, found in tomatoes, has demonstrated anticancer properties: In one metanalysis, data pointed to a lower risk of prostate cancer in men with higher levels of lycopene.19
Cautiously Use Results From a PSA Test
It can be difficult to know what to do with the results after a prostate cancer screening test. The blood test measures prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and is routinely recommended for men over 50.20 When the level is elevated it could mean prostate cancer, or it could be due to other causes.
For instance, your PSA level naturally rises as you age. Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH),21 a urinary tract infection22 or prostatitis23 can have an elevated PSA level. The authors of one study found elevations after the men ejaculated.24 High levels of parathyroid hormone25 and prostate inflammation from a vigorous digital examination, injury or surgical procedure26 are other reasons.
Additionally, the result of one PSA test isn’t really enough to determine if a biopsy is warranted, but rather a steady rise over a two- to four-year period in men ages 45 to 70. Scientists from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center believe there is evidence that:27
"… prostate cancer is often so slow growing that it would not cause a man any problems during the course of his life. For that reason, many men do not benefit from treatment for prostate cancer and may unnecessarily suffer from its side effects, such as long-term problems with urinary and sexual function."
The American College of Physicians released new clinical guidelines in 2013 recommending:28
"… clinicians inform men between the age of 50 and 69 years about the limited potential benefits and substantial harms of screening for prostate cancer. ACP recommends that clinicians base the decision to screen for prostate cancer using the prostate-specific antigen test on the risk for prostate cancer, a discussion of the benefits and harms of screening, the patient's general health and life expectancy, and patient preferences."
Taken together, it is evident that most prostate cancer grows slowly enough that screening may not effectively reduce the potential for mortality. In fact, it may be more effective to make lifestyle choices that help prevent further development of prostate cancer if you have an elevated PSA.
Treatment Without Drugs, Radiation or Surgery Is Possible
One elevated PSA test should be followed up within two to four years with a second, so you have the opportunity to make changes to treat any cancer without life-altering drugs, radiation or surgery. In my interview with Peter Starr, award-winning filmmaker, he discusses the journey he took to survive the disease.
After an elevated PSA and a concerning digital rectal examination, he went on to get a biopsy. The recommendation was a $43,000 radical prostatectomy with the likely result of urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.29
After learning everything he could about conventional and unconventional treatments, he put together his own program. Three years later doctors were unable to find any signs of cancer. After four years of being cancer-free he began making his documentary, Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery, Drugs, or Radiation.
He traveled to eight countries on three continents and included 56 doctors’ interviews in the film. He discovered biopsies are not risk free and some people were dying from the treatment, not the cancer.
Starr used a four-step program that started with an analysis of his nutrition status. Your body has an amazing capacity to heal when given adequate nutrition. Starr began his treatment program with an understanding of the nutritional deficiencies he might have had, and took steps to correct them.
As detailed in The Highwire video above, in January 2020, Dr. Julie Gerberding — director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2002 until 2009, who after leaving the CDC became president of Merck’s vaccine division in January 20101 — sold half her Merck stock options for $9.11 million.
Gerberding also cashed in on her company stock options in 2016, when she sold $5.1 million-worth of Merck stocks, and 2015, when she made $2.3 million. In total, Gerberding has made $16,592,144 from selling off her Merck stocks — all of which, by the way, is over and beyond her regular paycheck — and she still owns Merck stocks worth $9 million.
And we’re supposed to believe she has been impartial about vaccine safety and has been all along? As noted by Del Bigtree in his Highwire report:
“Do you trust the information that come from your government agencies, when a year after working [at] that agency, they move into the very company that they exonerated from any wrongdoing and end up making $20-something-million dollars in stock options, plus a gigantic salary? Sounds like a payoff to me.”
Quid Pro Quo
The payoff Bigtree is talking about refers back to Gerberding’s exoneration of the MMR vaccine, which came under fire when Dr. William Thompson, a CDC research scientist, blew the whistle claiming the agency covered up a vaccine-autism connection in relation to the MMR vaccine.
According to Thompson, scientific fraud was committed for the express purpose of covering up potential safety problems so the agency would be able to maintain that the MMR vaccine had been proven safe to give to all children.
Thompson explained they simply eliminated the incriminating data, thereby vanishing the link, and this cover-up occurred while Gerberding headed up the CDC. The CDC subsequently also blocked a request for Thompson to testify in an autism lawsuit.
Indeed, you’d have to be really naïve not to see the enormous influence her former high-level ties to the CDC can have, considering Merck makes a majority of the pediatric and adults vaccines recommended by the CDC.
The vaccine industry is booming, and it’s become quite clear that profit potential is the driving factor behind it. One of the reasons for this is because vaccine patents do not expire like drugs do, so each vaccine adopted for widespread use has the potential to make enormous, continuous profits for decades to come.
Vaccine makers also enjoy a high degree of immunity against lawsuits — and in the case of pandemic vaccines, absolute immunity — so the financial liability when something goes wrong is exceptionally low, compared to drugs.
HPV Vaccine Responsible for Massive Rise in Cervical Cancer?
An article2 by Robert F. Kennedy, chairman of the Children’s Health Defense, wonders whether Gerberding’s stock dump might have anything to do with recent red flags being raised about Merck’s HPV vaccine Gardasil. He writes:3
“Last month, Cancer Research UK announced4,5,6 an alarming 54% rise in cervical cancer among 24-29-year-olds, the first generation to receive the HPV jabs.
The following day, the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine published7 a withering critique of Gardasil’s crooked clinical trials, ‘It is still uncertain whether human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination prevents cervical cancer as trials were not designed to detect this outcome.’
As Gerberding knows, those trials8 revealed that Gardasil dramatically RAISES (by +44.6%) the risk of cervical cancer among women with a current infection or those previously exposed to HPV.
That may explain the cancer explosions in England and other nations with high inoculation rates in young girls up to age 18; Australia, Spain, Sweden and Norway. A 2019 study9 of Alabama girls found the highest cervical cancer rates in the state’s most heavily vaccinated counties.
With Merck’s efficacy pretensions circling the drain, a coalition of leading plaintiff’s lawyers are already in discovery in a suit10 alleging thatMerck fraudulently concealed serious illnesses affecting half, and autoimmune diseases affecting 1 of every 37 girls in Gardasil’s clinical trials within 6 months of injection.
As Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director from 2002-2009, Gerberding helped Merck paper over these efficacy and safety problems.”
Chances are, Gerberding’s 2004 report to Congress, “Prevention of Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection,”11 played a significant role in getting the controversial HPV vaccine fast tracked to licensure by the FDA in the first place. Needless to say, the approval of this questionable vaccine guaranteed her future employer billions of dollars-worth of profits.
Gerberding has also been a staunch defender of thimerosal, the mercury-based vaccine preservative suspected of being one of vaccine ingredients involved in the development of autism in some children. Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines or reduced to trace amounts between 1999 and 2001, with the exception of multidose influenza vaccines.12
Since then, there have been a number of additional biological mechanisms proposed by independent researchers investigating why vaccines cause harm.13
Gerberding’s admission came after Hannah Poling, who developed autism after her 18-month well-baby visit when she received nine vaccines, was granted compensation by the U.S. Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation for her injuries.
All in all, Gerberding has repeatedly demonstrated that safety is nowhere on her list of priorities or concerns when it comes to vaccines, so it’s easy to see why Merck would want her to head up their vaccine unit.
HPV Maker’s Role in Vaccination Policymaking
A 2012 article14 in the American Journal of Public Health, in which the authors investigated the role Merck played in state HPV immunization policymaking, states that:
“Merck promoted school-entry mandate legislation by serving as an information resource, lobbying legislators, drafting legislation, mobilizing female legislators and physician organizations, conducting consumer marketing campaigns, and filling gaps in access to the vaccine.
Legislators relied heavily on Merck for scientific information. Most stakeholders found lobbying by vaccine manufacturers acceptable in principle, but perceived that Merck had acted too aggressively and nontransparently in this case.
Although policymakers acknowledge the utility of manufacturers’ involvement in vaccination policymaking, industry lobbying that is overly aggressive, not fully transparent, or not divorced from financial contributions to lawmakers risks undermining the prospects for legislation to foster uptake of new vaccines.”
Merck Plays Loose With HPV Vaccine Data
In June 2019, I published Kennedy’s presentation of Merck’s clinical trial data for Gardasil, in which he reveals how the company hid the truth about its side effects. One way in which Merck committed fraud in its Gardasil vaccine safety trials was by using a neurotoxic ingredient in Gardasil as a bioactive placebo. This trick effectively renders its safety testing null and void, as the true extent of harm cannot be ascertained.
Merck’s own trial data also reveals Gardasil increases the overall risk of death by 370%, the risk of autoimmune disease by 2.3% and the risk of a serious medical condition by 50%.
Kennedy also points out that National Cancer Institute data show the mortality rate for cervical cancer is 1 in 43,478 (2.3 per 100,000), and the median age of cervical cancer death is 58. To eliminate that one death, all 43,478 must pay $420 — the average cost of the three Gardasil injections.
According to Kennedy, 76 million American children have been mandated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to receive the vaccine, providing Merck with an annual revenue of $2.3 billion. When you crunch the numbers, you realize that the cost of using Gardasil to save one life is $18.3 million.
Meanwhile, compensation paid by the Vaccine Court for the death of a child maxes out at $250,000. Put another way, $18.3 million is being spent in an effort to save one life from a disease, while the U.S. Health and Human Services values human life at just a quarter of a million dollars per person when a person dies from using a government recommended vaccine in that effort.
If you’re still on the fence when it comes to HPV vaccination, you owe it to yourself to watch Kennedy’s presentation and conduct additional research on the vaccine and HPV so that you can appropriately weigh the risks and benefits.
Researchers have discovered a new way in which the human body repairs DNA damage caused by a degradation product of alcohol. That knowledge underlines the link between alcohol consumption and cancer.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/39uhNb1
Researchers are studying a molecule found in sweet oranges and tangerines called nobiletin, which they have shown to drastically reduce obesity and reverse its negative side-effects. But why it works remains a mystery.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2wBHtnu
Researchers are studying a molecule found in sweet oranges and tangerines called nobiletin, which they have shown to drastically reduce obesity and reverse its negative side-effects. But why it works remains a mystery.
from Diet and Weight Loss News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2wBHtnu
Mice exposed to stress in the womb and soon after birth can expect a lifetime of immune system deficiencies that hinder the ability to ward off infections and cancer.
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For years, curry lovers have sworn by the anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric, but its active compound, curcumin, has long frustrated scientists hoping to validate these claims with clinical studies.
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Scientists show light-activated molecular drills effectively kill cells in whole eukaryotic organisms. The drills, designed to target drug-resistant bacteria, cancer and other disease-causing cells, can now be used to kill whole organisms and drill into skin for therapeutic treatment.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2TJHAFt
Researchers have come up with a new type of nanoelectromechanical relay to enable reliable high-temperature, non-volatile memory. The work is an important development for all-electric vehicles and more-electric aircraft which require electronics with integrated data storage that can operate in extreme temperatures with high energy efficiency.
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Scientists have proposed an addition to the theory of evolution that can explain how and why genes move on chromosomes. The hypothesis is called the SNAP Hypothesis.
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In an Acta Paediatrica study, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 3 months was linked with a lower risk of respiratory allergies and asthma when children reached 6 years of age.
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Young children from low-income homes whose mothers reported frequent use of toxic chemicals such as household cleaners were more likely to show delays in language development by age 2, a new study found.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2TrRWv2
A novel class of antimalarial compounds that can effectively kill malaria parasites has been developed. In preclinical testing, the compounds were effective against different species of malaria parasites, including the deadly Plasmodium falciparum, and at multiple stages of the parasite lifecycle. The compounds could overcome existing issues of parasite drug resistance. The researchers hope that drugs based on these early compounds will soon enter phase 1 clinical trials.
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The growth of agriculture led to unprecedented cooperation in human societies, a team of researchers, has found, but it also led to a spike in violence, an insight that offers lessons for the present.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PRtfWr
Robots hold promise for a large number of people with neurological movement disorders severely affecting the quality of their lives. Now researchers have tapped artificial intelligence techniques to build an algorithmic model that will make the robots more accurate, faster, and safer when battling hand tremors. They report the most robust techniques to date to characterize pathological hand tremors symptomatic of the common and debilitating motor problems affecting a large number of aging adults.
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You just finished a good meal and are feeling full? Researchers have just revealed the mechanisms in our brains that lead to this state. They involve a series of reactions triggered by a rise in blood glucose levels.
from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2PNVVQ4
Why would a woman decide to carry another woman’s baby? One answer is that there are times in life when a loved one is in need of help. This happens when a sister or a cousin or a close friend has suffered repeated miscarriages, or had an illness or surgery that made pregnancy unlikely. In these instances, it is not unusual for a family member or friend to step forward, saying, “I’ll carry your baby.” But what of the woman who decides that she wants to carry for strangers? What prompts her to seek, usually through an agency, an individual or couple in need of a gestational carrier?
Surrogate or gestational carrier?
First, some definitions. The words surrogate and gestational carrier are often used interchangeably. One needs to know a bit of the history of reproductive medicine in order to understand why. Prior to the arrival of IVF in 1978, it was impossible for a woman to give birth to a baby that was not her genetic offspring. Women choosing surrogacy at that time were agreeing to conceive a child with their own eggs and the sperm of the intended father. This was the kind of surrogacy that blew up and made national headlines in what became known as the Baby M case. (Short summary of a very painful story: the surrogate changed her mind, sought to parent the baby that was her genetic child, and ended up in a prolonged legal battle with the biological father and his wife.)
IVF ushered in a new form of surrogacy, one in which a woman could carry and deliver a baby with whom she had no genetic connection. Gestational surrogacy offered new hope for women born without a uterus, women with medical conditions that advised against pregnancy, and gay men. Within a short time, it all but replaced the earlier form of surrogacy. Many people viewed it as more ethical and emotionally safe than the traditional surrogacy that wrenched hearts in the Baby M case.
Who becomes a gestational carrier?
So back to my earlier question: who chooses to become a gestational carrier, or GC? And why does she make this choice?
In My American Surrogate, a New York Times Op-Doc, we learn about Chinese couples coming to the US for surrogacy. Some come because of medical need, but others seek babies with US citizenship or like the idea of someone else being pregnant for them, or both. Reading the article or watching the accompanying video, it is easy to conclude that it is financial reward that convinces women to become gestational carriers. Although ads offering upwards of $50,000 entice some women, payment is not the primary motivation for the women I have interviewed. For one thing, financial need generally disqualifies a woman from gestational surrogacy. For another, a woman has to go through quite a lot before receiving payment. The fee, I have found, is for most a very nice bonus but not what draws many to what they call “my surrogacy journey.”
Over the years, I have been struck by how similar GCs are to each other. I’ve observed them to be women who love being mothers and who see family as their greatest blessing. Most also enjoy being pregnant, although this is not always the case. Whether they like being pregnant or not, they feel confident in their ability to “do pregnancy well.” In sad contrast to many of their intended parents, they feel that their bodies were made to be pregnant. And they add that they know their limits as parents: most feel equipped to parent two, perhaps three, children.
A different perspective on gestational surrogacy
Although more widely accepted and understood in recent years, gestational surrogacy continues to be subject to some criticism. In addition to concerns about payments, critics point to the unregulated nature of surrogacy, noting that it leaves women open for exploitation. Surely it would be naïve to deny that this is sometimes the case. Two documentaries available online, Made in Boise and Breeders: A Subclass of Women?, speak to many challenging and heartfelt issues around gestational surrogacy.
However, my experiences with gestational carriers have expanded my understanding and appreciation of GCs. The women I’ve met chose to carry a baby for others because they perceived a unique opportunity to do something significant in the world. They see surrogacy as an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of another family. Many are inspired by the fact that the child they carry will not only be a much-wanted son or daughter, but also a sibling, a cousin, a niece or nephew or longed-for grandchild. It’s this ripple effect — and the knowledge that their acts can change a family’s life for generation — that prompts many to set out on what others might see as an odd and inexplicable journey.
Strokes can be divided into hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic strokes, and approximately 80% of them are ischemic brain injury. Ischemic strokes are sometimes referred to as "brain attacks" (instead of "heart attacks") because they typically occur when a blood clot blocks an artery or blood vessel, cutting off blood flow to your brain, as opposed to your heart.1
As a result, brain cells die and neurological damage can occur. Without proper and timely treatment, a stroke can be lethal. According to the latest statistics published in 2020,2 an estimated 795,000 strokes occur each year in the U.S., and in 2017, 146,383 Americans died as a result.
It’s also a leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S.3 Worldwide, stroke is the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability.4 While most strokes occur in the elderly, younger people are by no means immune. Between 1995 and 2012, stroke rates nearly doubled for men between the ages of 18 and 44.5 Among men between 35 and 44 years, the incidence rate rose by 41.5%.6
Estimates suggest 10% of all strokes occur in people under the age of 50,7 and 2.5% of strokes occur in those under the age of 20.8 The prevalence of having three to five risk factors for stroke (such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking and obesity) have also significantly increased since 2003.9
The good news is we’re learning more about stroke recovery as time goes on, and there are quite a few strategies that can help improve your condition after a stroke. There are also many things you can do to prevent it in the first place.
Rapid treatment is imperative, though. As noted in the journal Stroke,10 the ideal treatment window is within three to six hours of onset, and even then, 5% end up with long-term disabilities.
The Role of Inflammation in Poststroke Recovery
Ann Stowe, a scientist and lab manager at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s department of neurology,11 focuses her studies on the role your immune system plays in your brain’s recovery after a stroke.12 Clinical research has found that, surprisingly, blocking inflammation after a stroke isn’t beneficial. Stowe told Newswise:13
“We reviewed a clinical trial that focused on blocking inflammation after a stroke in stroke patients, and it was a profound failure. From that point on, I’ve had the theory that brain inflammation is actually required for stroke recovery. It’s not all detrimental.”
Through her research, Stowe is trying to determine how inflammation can be manipulated to support rather than hinder neuroplasticity and recovery of function after a stroke. She explains:
“When you think about the brain and how it reorganizes after stroke, there are many areas that are involved. It's the other areas of the brain that survived the stroke that actually rewire and reorganize to support recovery. Inflammation can actually affect these other areas, too …
This study suggests that B cells might have a more healing role. Hopefully from this, we can better understand the inflammatory processes after stroke — and long term, possibly identify what subsets of immune cells can support stroke recovery.”
The Importance of Humoral Immunity Poststroke
Most recently, Stowe and colleagues found14,15 B cells — a type of white blood cell that are part of your humoral immunity and secretes antibodies16 — migrate into remote areas of your brain and support neurogenesis after you’ve had a stroke. As explained in her study:17
“Neuroinflammation occurs immediately after stroke onset in the ischemic infarct … We identify bilateral B cell diapedesis into remote regions, outside of the injury, that support motor and cognitive recovery in young male mice.
Poststroke depletion of B cells confirms a positive role in neurogenesis, neuronal survival, and recovery of motor coordination, spatial learning, and anxiety … Lymphocytes infiltrate the stroke core and penumbra and often exacerbate cellular injury.
B cells, however, are lymphocytes that do not contribute to acute pathology but can support recovery. B cell adoptive transfer to mice reduced infarct volumes 3 and 7 d[ays] after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, independent of changing immune populations in recipient mice.
Testing a direct neurotrophic effect, B cells cocultured with mixed cortical cells protected neurons and maintained dendritic arborization after oxygen-glucose deprivation …
Stroke leads to central nervous system (CNS) damage, which results in functional deficits and is exacerbated by an inflammatory immune response derived from both the innate and adaptive immune systems.
Mechanistic studies … show a significant infiltration of innate immune cells, including monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils, predominantly in the area of ischemic injury (i.e., infarct, periinfarct regions).
The role of the adaptive immune system is also pivotal to stroke recovery, as it can both exacerbate and ameliorate long-term neuropathology, depending on the lymphocyte population, location, and timing of activation.
Location and timing are particularly relevant, as recovery of lost function in stroke patients depends on functional plasticity in areas outside of the infarct (i.e., remote cortices) to subsume lost function.
Neurons in remote cortical areas that are interconnected to the infarct up-regulate growth factors and plasticity-related genes after stroke … B cells, critical effector cells for antibody production and antigen presentation, are one adaptive immune cell subset with the capacity to also produce neurotrophins to support neuronal survival and plasticity.”
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy — Valuable Tool in Stroke Rehab
Hyperbaric medicine, as an emerging interdisciplinary subject, has been applied in the treatment of strokes since the 1960s. Hyperbaric oxygen can be defined as the breathing of 100% oxygen at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.
Many have demonstrated that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is capable of increasing oxygen supply, improving cerebral circulation, reducing ischemia-reperfusion injury and alleviating the extent of irreversible neurological impairment.18
Following an ischemic stroke, in which cerebral blood flow is impaired, irreversible neurologic injury occurs within minutes.19 Of particular interest are the regions surrounding the initial site of injury where the tissue is at risk but not facing irreparable damage, and the potential to salvage these nerves still exists.
Decreased oxygen supply to the damaged area including blood vessels further prevents tissue repair and the generation of new brain tissue. Consequently, increased oxygen has been considered as a potential treatment for stroke for several decades.20
The use of HBOT for brain injury is based on the hypothesis that injured or inactive nerve tissue would benefit from increased blood flow and oxygen delivery, which would act to metabolically or electrically reactivate the cell.21
A recent study found improvements in cognition and executive function as well as physical abilities, such as improved gait. Treated patients reported improved sleep and quality of life following HBOT treatment and had improvements in blood levels of biomarkers for inflammation and neural recovery.22
Advances in Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation
As noted in the 2017 paper,23 “Stroke Recovery & Rehabilitation Research,” which represents “the collective thoughts of the NIH StrokeNet Recovery & Rehabilitation Working Group,” most current poststroke therapies “aim to maximize function in brain areas that survive the stroke, or provide compensatory approaches to improve overall function.”
Many of those approaches are based on what we now know about the molecular and physiological events that arise in your nervous system in the days and weeks following a stroke. Classes of therapies available or in the works include the use of:24
Small molecules
Growth factors
Stem cells
Monoclonal antibodies
Brain stimulation
Robotics and other devices
Cognitive therapies
Intensive brain training
Telerehabilitation
The paper highlights the importance of concomitant behavioral training, noting “the brain circuits galvanized for rewiring need the right experience to shape them, akin to normal development.”
In other words, your brain will need to relearn how to do things like eating and moving, just as if you were a young child, and without the proper stimulus, your brain will not be able to achieve the required rewiring. What’s more, 80% of this recovery occurs within the first 30 days after a stroke,25 so it’s crucial to implement as many rehab strategies as possible to optimize the outcome.
For these reasons, it’s crucial to know what to do as soon as you’ve been diagnosed with a stroke at the hospital, or even while you’re in the ambulance to the hospital. In 2019, I interviewed Bob Dennis about his excellent book, “Stroke of Luck: NOW! Fast and Free Exercises to Immediately Begin Mastering Neuroplasticity Following Stroke — Right Now!”26
This is the book you want to have when you are in the emergency room so you can rapidly begin the process of activating your neuroplasticity and regain as much lost function from the stroke as possible.
Just as it’s important to get rapid medical assistance when suffering a stroke, the sooner you begin taking steps to heal your brain after a stroke, the faster and more complete your recovery will be. You can get the key points of the book, “Stroke of Luck,” completely free, without download, simply by opening the Amazon book preview.
Education Is Neuroprotective
It’s also well known that the ability to recover from a stroke varies widely from one person to the next. As noted in the paper,27 “Stroke Recovery: Surprising Influences and Residual Consequences,” “Even two individuals with very similar appearing ischemic strokes may show very different outcomes one year later.”
This paper also stresses the importance of education, noting that “education might have a role in recovery … based on previous studies indicating that education may promote neuroplasticity or may have a neuroprotective effect against cognitive decline.” The authors further added:28
“One study did find that the highest educational levels were associated with lower rates of poststroke cognitive deficits and dementia and higher rates of long-term survival, independently of stroke severity, age, sex, marital status, and white matter lesions in individuals with mild/moderate ischemic stroke.
Results were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that high education, a proxy for cognitive reserve, protects against poststroke cognitive impairment.”
Poststroke Nutrition
Other studies have stressed the importance of nutrition for brain recovery after a stroke.29,30 For example, the 2011 paper,31 “Nutrition for Brain Recovery After Ischemic Stroke: An Added Value to Rehabilitation,” points out the importance of protein supplementation during recovery, as protein synthesis is suppressed in the ischemic penumbra (i.e., the area of the brain surrounding the ischemic event).
It cites research showing protein supplementation enhances recovery of neurocognitive function poststroke. B vitamins are also important, as they’ve been shown to mitigate oxidative damage caused by free radicals and lipid peroxidation, as is zinc. According to this paper:
“In clinical practice, patients with ischemic stroke were found to have a lower than recommended dietary intake of zinc. Patients in whom daily zinc intake was normalized had better recovery of neurological deficits than subjects given a placebo.”
Other important nutrients and dietary components during poststroke rehabilitation include:
Certain herbal supplements may also be useful, including the following:41
Ashwagandha42,43
Ginseng44,45
Citicoline46
Ginkgo biloba47
Stroke Prevention Guidelines
It's important to realize that the vast majority of strokes are preventable, so your lifestyle plays a major role in whether or not you're going to become a statistic here. Lifestyle factors that can have a direct impact on your stroke risk include:
Exercise — By normalizing your blood sugar and improving your insulin and leptin receptor signaling, exercise helps normalize your blood pressure and reduce your stroke risk. If you've had a stroke, exercise is also very important, as research shows it can significantly improve both your mental and physical recovery48 and reduce your risk of recurrent stroke.49 For example:
A 2013 study published in Stroke50 concluded that walking at least three hours per week reduces stroke risk in women better than inactivity, but also better than high intensity cardio.
This may have something to do with the inordinate amount of physical stress “conventional cardio” has on the heart, and the fact that people generally do too much of it for too long. Perhaps women are more susceptible to these risks than men. Conventional cardio can cause arrhythmias, and in some cases, atrial fibrillation, which is a known risk factor for stroke.
In 2009, a study in Neurology51 found that vigorous exercise reduces stroke risk in men, as well as helping them recover from a stroke better and faster. However, moderate to heavy exercise was not found to have a protective effect for women.
Sleep — Research52 shows that compared with sleeping seven to eight hours a night, regularly sleeping for nine hours or more can increase your stroke risk by 23%, while shorter sleep (less than six hours a night) had no significant effect on stroke risk. Taking long midday naps (more than 90 minutes) raised the risk by 25% compared to napping 30 minutes or less.
Those who both slept for nine hours or more at night and napped for more than 90 minutes were at greatest risk. This excessive sleep combination increased stroke risk by 85% compared to moderate sleepers and nappers.
On the other hand, research53,54,55 has also found genetic predisposition to insomnia is associated with a significantly higher risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure and ischemic stroke. Genetic predisposition to insomnia was associated with a 13% increased risk of larger artery stroke, an 8% higher risk of small vessel stroke and a 6% increased risk of cardioembolic stroke.
“Diet” soda and energy drinks — Research56 shows regular consumption of artificially sweetened “diet” soda significantly raises your 10-year stroke risk. Caffeine-loaded energy drinks can also cause your blood to become sticky, which is a precursor to stroke. A single can of Red Bull can increase your risk of stroke fivefold, experts warn.57,58,59
Stress — According to a 2008 study,60 the more stressed you are, the greater your risk of suffering a stroke. For every notch lower a person scored on their well-being scale, their risk of stroke increased by 11%. Not surprisingly, the relationship between psychological distress and stroke was most pronounced when the stroke was fatal.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and birth control pills — If you're on one of the hormonal birth control methods (whether it's the pill, patch, vaginal ring or implant), it is important to understand that you are taking synthetic progesterone and synthetic estrogen.
These contraceptives contain the same synthetic hormones as those used in hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which has well-documented risks, including an increased risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke.
Vitamin D — According to research presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Annual Scientific Sessions in 2010,61 low levels of vitamin D — the essential nutrient obtained from exposure to sunlight — doubles the risk of stroke in Caucasians. Get tested twice a year to make sure you’re within the ideal range of 60 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL year-round.
Statins — Statin drugs are frequently prescribed to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. However, while these cholesterol-lowering drugs have been shown to lower the risk for ischemic stroke by 20% in patients with a history of cerebrovascular disease, they increase the risk of a hemorrhagic stroke by 73%.62
There are two reasons why this might happen: The drugs may either lower cholesterol too much, to the point that it increases your risk of brain bleeding, or they may affect clotting factors in your blood, increasing the bleeding risk.
Grounding63 — Walking barefoot, aka “grounding,” has a potent antioxidant effect that helps alleviate inflammation throughout your body. When you put your feet on the ground, you absorb large amounts of negative electrons through the soles of your feet.
High-sugar diets, smoking, radiofrequencies and other toxic electromagnetic forces, emotional stress, high cholesterol and high uric acid levels are examples of factors that make your blood hypercoagulable, meaning it makes it thick and slow-moving, which increases your risk of having a blood clot or stroke.
Grounding helps thin your blood by improving its zeta potential. This gives each blood cell more negative charge which helps them repel each other to keep your blood thin and less likely to clot. This can significantly reduce your risk of stroke.
Research has demonstrated it takes about 80 minutes, or 40 minutes over two grounding periods, for the free electrons from the earth to reach your blood stream and transform your blood, so make it a point to regularly walk barefoot on grass or on wet sand for about 1.5 to two hours, if possible.
TMAO levels — Studies have shown high levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) are associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke,64 so measuring your blood level of TMAO could be a powerful predictive tool for assessing your stroke risk. In one analysis,65 high blood levels of TMAO increased the risk of dying from any cause fourfold in the next five years.
Moreover, the paper shows that krill oil, astaxanthin, fish oil and berberine may be among some of the best supplemental strategies for those with high TMAO levels after diet optimization, as it is simply a reflection of insulin resistance in the liver.
Alcohol consumption — Research67 shows heavy alcohol consumption in middle age can be a risk factor for stroke. Those averaging more than two drinks a day were found to have a 34% higher risk of stroke than those who averaged less than half a drink per day.
According to this study, “Midlife heavy drinkers were at high risk from baseline until the age of 75 years when hypertension and diabetes mellitus grew to being the more relevant risk factors. In analyses of monozygotic twin-pairs, heavy drinking shortened time to stroke by five years.”
Smoking — As one of the major risk factors for stroke, quitting smoking is an important consideration if you’re concerned about your stroke risk.
Sauna — Long-term research68 shows that, compared to sauna bathing just once a week, those who take a sauna four to seven times a week lower their risk of stroke by as much as 61%.
How to Recognize a Stroke
A stroke doesn’t advertise its pending arrival, which makes prevention all the more important. That said, getting medical help quickly can mean the difference between life and death or permanent disability, should you or someone you love suffer a stroke. This is an area where conventional medicine excels, so please do not delay in getting medical attention.
Nine out of 10 strokes are ischemic strokes,69 which result from an obstruction in a blood vessel supplying blood to your brain. The other form of stroke is known as a hemorrhagic stroke, which is when a blood vessel actually ruptures, which can lead to rapid death. The five-year survival rate for hemorrhagic stroke is only 26.7%.70
In the case of ischemic stroke, there are emergency medications that can dissolve a blood clot that is blocking blood flow to your brain. If done quickly enough, emergency medicine can prevent or reverse permanent neurological damage, but you typically need treatment within one hour, which means the faster you recognize the signs, the better the prognosis.
Research also shows primary stroke centers have lower mortality than other hospitals,71 so if a stroke is suspected, be sure to ask them to take the patient to a primary stroke facility. The following symptoms can signal a lack of oxygen to your brain, which could be due to a stroke:
Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially when occurring on one side of the body; face drooping, typically on just one side
Sudden confusion; trouble talking or understanding speech
Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, or double vision
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination
Sudden severe headache with no known cause; nausea or vomiting
The National Stroke Association recommends using the FAST acronym to help remember the warning signs of stroke.72 If any of these occur, call for immediate emergency medical assistance (in the U.S., call 911):73
F = FACE — Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?
A = ARMS — Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S = SPEECH — Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase. Does their speech sound slurred or strange?
T = TIME — If you observe any of these signs, it’s time to call 911.
It’s important to pay attention to these symptoms even if they last only a short time and suddenly disappear, as it could be a sign of a ministroke, known as a transient ischemic attack. While brief, it’s important to get it checked out to rule out a serious underlying condition that could lead to a more severe episode later.
More than 1.5 million Americans experience a traumatic brain injury each year, up to 75% of which are considered to be mild.1 Concussions are considered to be a form of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) because they're typically not life-threatening, but it's becoming increasingly clear that concussions are often not mild, instead leading to serious symptoms and lasting changes in the brain.
A concussion occurs when a bump, blow or jolt to the head or body causes the head and brain to move back and forth rapidly. The jarring movement can stretch and damage brain cells while also leading to chemical changes in the brain.2
Because many people do not see a doctor following a concussion, their incidence may be much higher than estimated. In terms of sport-related MTBI, 1.6 million to 3.8 million cases may occur annually in the U.S, and 15% of people who experience MTBI may experience ongoing, debilitating effects.3
Most Concussions Result From Falls
High-profile cases may bring concussions into the media on occasion, including the 34 U.S. service members who suffered concussions and traumatic brain injuries following Iranian airstrikes on the Ain al-Asad Air Base in Iraq in January 2020.4
The National Football League (NFL) is another hot spot for concussion news, as it's been revealed that retired NFL players may be at increased risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer's, depression and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative brain disease caused by repetitive brain trauma.5,6
Aaron Hernandez, a former player for the New England Patriots, was diagnosed with CTE after his death, caused by suicide while in prison for murder. Symptoms of CTE may include memory loss, impaired judgment, aggression, impulse control problems and dementia.
"There are approximately 0.41 concussions per NFL game of American football," researchers wrote in Neurosurgery,7 making it an important source of concussions, but for most people outside of the NFL, falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury, accounting for 48% of cases.8
According to Dr. Dan Engle, board-certified in adult psychology and neurology, who has written an indispensable guide to recovering from traumatic brain injury, "The Concussion Repair Manual: A Practical Guide to Recovering From Traumatic Brain Injuries:"
"Most people, if they just hit their head on the door or cabinet, it's not going to be enough to have a significant neurological sequela moving forward, but sometimes, it will. Oftentimes, the thing that happens in the home that will have negative long-term impacts is a fall.
If you slip on a rug or slip going down the stairs, there's a significant momentum that jostles the brain inside the skull to what's called a coup contrecoup injury, or back-and-forth kind of injury. That's going to be noticeable."
What Are the Symptoms of a Concussion?
Concussion symptoms vary widely and, contrary to popular belief, often occur even if you haven't lost consciousness. Even simply "not feeling right" or feeling down after a blow to the head could signal a concussion, and other common symptoms, which can last for days, weeks or months, include:9
Unable to recall events prior to or after a hit or fall
Appears dazed or stunned
Forgets an instruction, is confused about an assignment or position, or is unsure of the game, score or opponent
Moves clumsily
Answers questions slowly
Loses consciousness (even briefly)
Shows mood, behavior, or personality changes
Headache or "pressure" in head
Nausea or vomiting
Balance problems or dizziness, or double or blurry vision
Bothered by light or noise
Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy or groggy
Confusion, or concentration or memory problem
Even after the initial symptoms go away, however, research by Maryse Lassonde, a neuropsychologist and scientific director of the Quebec Nature and Technologies Granting Agency, suggests the brain is still not 100% normal.
After studying the brains of hockey players who had received concussions, she found abnormal brain wave activity that persisted for years, along with partial wasting of motor pathways that could degrade attention.10 What's more, according to the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:11
"Many people with MTBI have difficulty returning to routine, daily activities and may be unable to return to work for many weeks or months. In addition to the human toll of these injuries, MTBI costs the nation nearly $17 billion each year. These data, however, likely underestimate the problem of MTBI in this country …"
Concussion Increases Risk of Parkinson's Disease
If there were any doubt that a blow to the head leading to a concussion should be taken seriously, consider that research published in the journal Neurology found that even a single concussion could increase your risk for Parkinson's, a degenerative brain disease.12 For the study, "concussion" was defined as loss of consciousness for up to 30 minutes or alteration of consciousness and/or amnesia for up to 24 hours.
Medical records of 325,870 U.S. military veterans ranging in age from 31 to 65 were evaluated in this retrospective cohort study, showing that a TBI resulting in loss of consciousness raised the risk of Parkinson's by 56%. Again, this has implications for everyone, as concussions occur regularly outside of pro sports and the military.
Dr. Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, departments of neurology, psychiatry, medicine, and epidemiology and biostatistics, was one of the study's authors. She said in a news release, "While the participants had all served in the active military, many if not most of the traumatic brain injuries had been acquired during civilian life. As such, we believe it has important implications for the general population."13
When to Seek Help for a Concussion
If you've experienced a concussion, whether it be due to a fall, automobile accident, sport or other cause, take care to self-reflect and watch for psychological and neurological changes. If the concussion occurred in a child, he or she will need to be carefully monitored by their parents for changes in behavior and function.
If you notice a change in your child or yourself within the days or weeks following a head injury, a more comprehensive medical evaluation and workup is strongly recommended to avoid long-term repercussions. In the interim, be sure to avoid any activities that could further injure your brain; children should not return to sports until the concussion is fully healed.
In the aftermath of a concussion, you'll also want to get adequate sleep to help recharge your brain and avoid excessive physical activity, driving too soon and overstimulating your brain with work or school.
Even reading, playing video games and watching TV can be too strenuous, mentally, following a concussion. As the Cleveland Clinic notes, "Processing new information can be harder for anyone who is concussed. If you have work or studying to do, spread it out and take frequent breaks."14 Some commonsense precautions to help avoid concussions include:15
• Always wear your seat belt when driving or riding in a car, and never drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Wear a helmet or appropriate headgear when:
◦ Riding a bicycle, motorcycle or any other motorized vehicle, including off-roading with an all-terrain vehicle
◦ Playing contact sports
◦ Skating or skateboarding
◦ Playing baseball or softball
◦ Horseback riding
◦ Skiing or snowboarding
• Safeguard the elderly in your home by:
◦ Removing tripping hazards such as throw rugs and clutter
◦ Using nonslip mats in bathtub and shower
◦ Installing grab bars next to your toilet, tub and shower, and handrails along both sides of stairways
◦ Improving lighting
◦ Maintaining a regular physical activity program to maintain or improve strength and balance
• Safeguard children in your home by:
◦ Installing window guards
◦ Using safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs
◦ Using nonskid bathmats and nonslip mats in tub and shower
◦ Never leaving your child unattended in a highchair
• Make sure your child's playground has shock-absorbing material such as hardwood mulch or sand in key areas where falls are likely to occur
There are steps you can take to optimize brain function and help repair neurological function in case of injury like a concussion. During the acute phase, if you have a significant concussion, Engle recommends paying attention to lifestyle management, including getting quiet and using flotation therapy. During flotation therapy, you experience sensory deprivation, which has immense healing potential. In my article on this topic, Engle states:
"When somebody drops into a float tank experience or a sensory deprivation experience, it's essentially the first time since they were conceived that they're without environmental stimuli … Eighty percent of what the brain is consistently bringing in is environmental stimuli. Now, there's more energy toward the recuperative mechanisms.
It's both a brain technology and a consciousness technology, because … [the] flotation tank [experience] is like meditation on steroids. If somebody's using it [for] recuperative and regenerative [purposes], they may well find more peace in their lives outside of the tank as well … because it starts to reset the neuroendocrine system.
Cortisol levels normalize. Global inflammatory markers normalize. Blood pressure normalizes. The relationship between the brain and the endocrine or the hormonal systems starts to optimize …"
Next, he states, take omega-3 fats, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, vitamin D and melatonin, particularly if there are issues with sleep. According to Engle, CBD may be a potent stimulator of nuclear factor-like 2 (Nrf2) pathway, which stimulates the hermetic production of antioxidants in your body.16
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may also help. By saturating your tissues with oxygen, the oxygen is able to get into all of the neuroreparative mechanisms in your entire neurologic system from head to toe. It accelerates all wound repair processes, be it in peripheral vasculature or in central vasculature, around the nervous system, brain and spinal cord.
Photobiomodulation, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation and neurofeedback are other remedies recommended by Engle, but for more information, if you've had a concussion or know someone who does, be sure to pick up a copy of "The Concussion Repair Manual." You can also download a free Concussion Repair Checklist to help you recover at ConcussionRepairChecklist.com.
