The Worst Pain of All

All of us have some time or another have experienced pain. When the word pain is mentioned we associate it as the sensation felt in an area of your body which has felt damage. That is the sensation when your body collides with a solid structure, when someone steps on your foot, or when you prick your finger on a sharp object. So physical pain is something we are quite used to because it happens almost on a daily basis. But have you ever felt “social pain”?

You can recognize it as that tightness in the chest feeling and even as a feeling of lightness in your stomach. This type of pain occurs when someone has hurt our feelings or more commonly when we feel rejected and left out. An example would be being “heartbroken” because someone you love has hurt your feelings or maybe a friend has left you out of an important activity.

Yes social pain is a very bitter reality in fact, because there seems nothing that can be done to make it better. It’s not like you can take Tylenol to alleviate the pain as you would with a headache right? Well in fact according to the Association of Physiological Science; research has revealed that participants in an experiment reported a decrease in social pain when taking Tylenol.

Wow! Who would have thought Tylenol could also help to mend a broken heart. This research finding may be the answer for those of us who suffer frequently form social pain. It is a beam of hope that may help with a type of pain that seemed to have no remedy.

 

Memory Spice

Alzheimer’s disease today is something we have all probably heard about or even know someone who suffers from it. I for example have first-hand experience with this disease having worked with Alzheimer’s patients at a nursing home. It is a very sad disease because it affects memory to the point that the patient forgets family relatives and even everyday functions such as eating. According to Chemical & Engineering News in the United States about five million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s, and the future predicts an increase of cases.

            The disease is caused by the clumping of a peptide called amyloid-B. As the peptide clumps it creates structures called plaques that cause cell death in the area they accumulate in the brain. Cell death causes the brain to not function properly and areas that pertain to memory are extensively affected.

            There are medications to slow down Alzheimer’s disease but they have not proven to be very effective according to research. Apart from that the medications are extremely expensive sometimes costing patients tens of thousands of dollars annually. Today scientists have been performing research on a spice compound that is found on the root of a turmeric plant called Curcumin.

The spice Curcumin is used mostly in India to give the curry dish its distinct color yellow. Research on mice with Alzheimer’s has revealed that Curcumin decreases inflammation and most importantly reduces clumping of the peptide Amyloid-B. Studies are still being done to find out of this spice can also be beneficial for humans with Alzheimer’s disease. Curcumin would be a great option because besides being a natural treatment it would be a lot less expensive since the spice is derived from plants.

The natural world has so many wonderful things to offer and it would be great if many more scientists would jump on the opportunity to research Curcumin. The fact that Curcumin has a low uptake rate in the body proves as a challenge to be attractive to researchers. What counts is that there is hope that maybe soon there will be a successful and inexpensive treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Missing a Corpus Callosum

As we all know by now the Corpus Callosum is a very important brain structure that serves as a bridge between the two hemispheres. The Corpus Callosum connects both hemispheres and allows for transfer of information from one side to the other. So what happens when an individual is born without a Corpus Callosum?

 

The correct term is agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, where a person is born missing the entire structure or parts of it. It is actually a very rare occurrence and according to the Scientific American only one in four thousand babies are born with this agenesis. The lack of this brain structure can only be detected by neuroimaging such as an MRI test. During pregnancy agenesis of the Corpus Callosum can also be seen in an ultrasound. In fact most cases of agenesis of the Corpus Callosum go undetected because it is not something that can be seen. A person with this disability is more likely to be diagnosed with other brain disorders such as autism or depression. Symptoms of this condition also include poor coordination, attention deficit, and vision and hearing problems.

 

The absence of the Corpus Callosum can cause disabilities ranging from severe to mild. One disability can be a learning delay while another can be cognitive deficits caused by other malformations apart from the Corpus Callosum. The brain finds other alternatives to be able to send information between the left and right hemisphere. An example of adaptation is the enlargement of the five brain commissures. Larger brain commissure, that also connect both hemispheres allow for proper information sharing.

 

As with many brain disorders or disabilities they are no cures for agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. What do exist are treatment options such as prescribed medication and even occupational therapy. Most people who suffer only from this disorder are able to carry out a normal life with only a couple of limitations.