Betreff:
MEG brain test
identifies six disorders (100% accuracy).... |
Von: JCMPelican@aol.com |
Datum: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:06:22 EDT |
SUBJECT: MEG
(magnetoencephalography) identifies six disorders related to changes in brain
cell signaling -- 100% accuracy
To
All: The information regarding the MEG test is highly significant
not only because six different brain disorders can be identified 100%
but also because this is able to be done by observing how the brain cells
actually communicate with each other in each instance.
Since we are all "human guinea pigs,"
it does not sound unreasonable to me that volunteers from prisons
(":lifers") might be willing to be test subjects for the good of
humanity by volunteering to undergo various EMF/EMR-exposure tests.
Since we constantly hear "we don't know how much
of what happens to animals happens to people," perhaps there is no purpose
in continuing on with animal studies. As we know, animals are used for
studying pretty much every medication. How can the "powers that
be" allow such reckless, uncaring methods of determining safety of a
medication when facts regarding animals subjected to chronic, prolonged EMF/EMR
exposures are minimized and ignored when it comes to protecting humans from
toxic electromagnetic pollution!!!???
What they aren't saying, of course, is that "no
investigation" is taking place re "close, chronic, prolonged
.EMF/EMR exposures regarding individuals diagnosed with the six
disorders.
The situation regarding not only this test but also
EMF treatments, if not so serious, would be "laughable." It
is so obvious that interference with electrical activity in the brain and therefore
"cell signaling" causes severe, adverse changes to the point
that the involved scientists should "hang their heads in
shame!!!!"
They want to use this accurate test method to develop
new drugs and treatments -- NOT to help with PREVENTION....!!!!!
Take care everyone and look forward to "a better
tomorrow....!!!" Joanne
Joanne C. Mueller
Guinea Pigs "R" Us
731 - 123rd Avenue N.W.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55448-2127 USA
Phone: 763-755-6114
Email: jcmpelican@aol.com (8-27-07)
WEBSITE: http://guineapigsrus.org
"The things that will destroy us are: politics without principle;
pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character;
business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without
sacrifice." --Mahatma Gandhi
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A technique developed by a U scientist
shows promise in detecting several neurological disorders for which there is no
other single test.
A University of Minnesota scientist has
discovered a way to detect Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and other brain
disorders by using a device that tracks magnetic signals in the brain.
Although the research is still in its early stages, it
could lead to a relatively quick and painless test for a wide range of conditions
that affect the brain, experts say.
The scientist, Dr. Apostolos Georgopoulos, calls it an
"elegantly simple test" that has been surprisingly accurate so far in
assessing nearly 300 patients and healthy volunteers.
He and his research team used a technology known as
MEG (magnetoencephalography) at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis to study
people's brains as they stared at a point of light for 45 to 60 seconds.
In a study published Wednesday, they found that they
were able to identify six types of disorders "with 100 percent
accuracy."
They included patients with Alzheimer's, chronic
alcoholism, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, Sjogren's syndrome (an
autoimmune disease) and facial pain.
What they found, Georgopoulos said, is that each
disease affects the brain differently, and alters the way brain cells
communicate with one another.
There are no such tests for most brain diseases, which
can be difficult and time-consuming to diagnose. They're usually identified
over time by observing behavior, such as memory loss in Alzheimer's patients,
and other external symptoms.
Georgopoulos, a regents professor of neuroscience
known internationally for his work on how the brain affects movement, said even
he was surprised by the apparent accuracy of the test. "It's just too good
to be true," he said in an interview. But the results have continued to
hold up, he said, even after they concluded the initial study, which involved
142 patients.
"We're approaching our 300th subject," he
said, "and it looks better and better."
A tool for tracking treatments?
If it pans out, the new test could be used to diagnose
brain disorders earlier, monitor their progress and track the effectiveness of
new drugs and treatments.
"I think it has that potential," said
Georgopoulos, who also heads the Brain Sciences Center at the VA hospital.
Tim Denison, a senior engineer who specializes in
brain devices at Medtronic Inc., agrees. "I believe that if it works out
how he's described it in the paper ... it could definitely help identify
[diseases] much earlier and with greater precision," he said.
At the same time, he and other scientists agree that
more research is needed to prove its value.
"This certainly is an innovative technique,"
said Dr. John Richert, executive vice president for research at the National MS
[multiple sclerosis] Society in New York. But "it's not yet clear how
helpful this technique will be as a diagnostic tool."
He noted that a relatively small number of MS patients
were in the study, and they appeared to have advanced disease. He wonders if
the test could identify patients at earlier stages, when it's tougher to
diagnose. "We need to know a lot more about this study and what it's
detecting before we will know how useful it will be," he said.
Currently, there are only several hundred MEG devices
in the world, used mostly for research, Georgopoulos said. But that could
change, he said, if the tests prove as effective as they seem.
Georgopoulos developed a method for analyzing the
results, and holds a patent for it that he shares with the university and the
VA. They have licensed that technology to a startup company, Orasi Medical
Inc., in Edina.
His research team plans to study the technique with other
disorders, such as depression, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, Parkinson's
disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The MEG device at the VA hospital cost about $2
million, including the specially built room that houses it on the fourth floor.
It must be sealed in a vault-like space because noise can interfere with the
results.
No risk to patients
For patients, though, there is no risk of radiation or
other dangerous exposure, Georgopoulos said. They lie on a gurney as a helmet
covers the top of the head. By tracking tiny magnetic fields produced by
electrical activity in the brain, the superfast device can monitor the way the
brain cells communicate with one another. After only a minute, it has tens of
thousands of bits of data, which can be analyzed by computer for distinct
patterns.
Georgopoulos said he got the idea after testing the
device on 10 healthy volunteers and was struck by how identical their brain
patterns were. When he tried the test on chronic alcoholics, who had agreed to
be volunteers, the results were distinctly different.
Eventually, he tested it on volunteers with six
separate conditions, and found that each group had its own distinct pattern.
Wednesday's study was published online by the British
Journal of Neural Engineering.
Maura Lerner • 612-673-7384
Maura Lerner • mlerner@startribune.com
© 2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1377928.html