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We are very pleased and excited to announce our first attendance to an international conference put on by ATSK-Alternative Therapies for Special Kids a now recently renamed foundation ASK-Alternatives for Special Kids- http://www.4healthykids.org.

4/1/2002 - Mother of 13 yr brain injured child organizes Euromed conference to provide increased awareness of the Poland based therapy program.

Below is Lynette's introduction to the upcoming Euromed conference which she is organizing. Lynette has tried many therapies in Cody's 13 years, including two years of intensive IAHP, HBOT, etc. Now she is advocating for Euromed. The Bright Foundation does not have direct experience with Euromed, however we will hold an official interview with their staff and report our findings of what is unique about Euromed and what kind of success they are seeing.

Thirteen year old Cody LaScala, who has cerebral palsy, return to Poland for his fourth visit to the Euromed Center. Prior to his visit, Cody, walked only with total support. After returning he took his first REAL steps. His second visit gave him gross motor skills of his arms and further improved his walking. His parents, Lynette and Rick are thrilled, "We have all been amazed with the progress Cody has made, each trip he comes back to show off his new abilities. He is living proof that the therapy does work!" Visit number three was as exciting and eventful as well, Cody learned to stop and turn which is yet another step to independent walking.

Since the program’s inception in 1994, over 70% of the children who have therapy have seen significant improvements. Currently Euromed’s patients include children from all over the world. LaScala’s belief in the Adeli Suit therapy prompted her to coordinate this conference so that other children can benefit as Cody has. For more information or a reservation for the conference, please contact Lynette LaScala-Kropf (563)264-2158. http://www.euromed.pl/

WHO: Dr. Przybyl, Orthopedic Surgeon, and Director of the world renowned Euromed Rehabilitation Center in Mielno, Poland

WHAT: Euromed Chicago Conference with the the Adeli Suit Therapy, which is specifically intended for the rehabilitation of motor function in patients with Cerebral Palsy and other related muscle disorders. The presentation will include a detailed analysis and in-depth discussion of the program, demonstration of the therapeutic exercises using the Adeli Suit, video of patient sessions, and individual evaluations for treatment. The conference and evaluations are FREE.

This free conference with the premier introduction of the Adeli Suit Therapy is coming to the Midwest. A new method of therapy utilizing the Russian cosmonauts Adeli Suit, returns motor function, balance, coordination of the both upper and lower limbs, and trunk to normal patterns. This will be a one-time opportunity for parents and therapists to learn first hand about this therapy. Free evaluations will be offered after the conference by Euromed Rehabilitation Center.

http://www.iahp.org/institutes_report/coma/coma_glenn.html

Here is a really great article on neurogenesis:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/10/991015080607.htm

Life among dead brain cells, new hope.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990208071802.htm

Awesome article. Teaching with the brain in mind

http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/books/jensen98book.html

Another reason to put on your running shoes. http://www.salk.edu/NEWS/rungage.html

Better Thinking thru playing

http://www.boston.com/globe/columns/meltz/123198.htm

Growth Factor Stimulation Leads To Increase In New Neurons In The Brain

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/08/010831092954.htm

Importance of protein called Integrin

http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/7/NERVE.UUT.html

Regeneration of subcortical pathways in rats

http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/6/JUNE1PR.LWW.html

Healing the brain inside & out

http://www.newswise.com/articles/2000/6/NEURO2.HMS.html

Another sensory article about brain growth/primates:

http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1728.56998

Here is an article about brain dominance (asymmetry). This proves an early Doman theory.

Brain 'Asymmetry' Works for Reading Skills

By Nancy A. Melville
HealthScoutNews Reporter

SATURDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthScoutNews) -- Asymmetry may suggest an imperfection or misalignment, but when it comes to the right and left
sides of the brain, the variations appear to have an important role
in children's reading and verbal skills.

Language and reading abilities are known to be associated with the
left side of the brain, and, as seen in many matching parts of the
body, a natural asymmetry is normal, with the left side being
slightly larger.

According to a new study, that extra space may pay off in language abilities.

The study, published in a recent issue of the journal Child
Development, found that children with greater symmetry between the
two sides of the brain don't perform as well on reading-skill tests
as those with the more-common asymmetry between the two sides.

The finding was based on study of 39 sixth-graders in Florida. The
children were given magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, then
tested for a variety of reading abilities, including pronouncing
unfamiliar words, determining missing words in a paragraph and
reordering nonsense syllables into words.

The researchers found that children whose MRIs showed more symmetry between right and left sides of the brain didn't do as well on the tests as those who displayed asymmetry.

In addition to examining the MRIs and the tests, the researchers
also considered the socio-economic status of the students, because
children from low-income families often have poor reading and verbal
skills.

Although kids from low-income families did indeed perform more
poorly on the reading tests and low-income kids who had little
asymmetry showed the weakest mastery of language, overall the kids
with less brain asymmetry had consistently lower reading scores,
regardless of income levels.

And those from lower income families had no greater levels of brain
symmetry than children from other income levels.

"There were two main findings," says lead study author Mark A.
Eckert, an instructor in the department neuroscience at the
University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute. "One is that brain
asymmetry predicted the children's verbal ability, and the other was
that it was true in both economic groups."

Eckert speculates that because the language facilities are known to
reside, for the most part, in the left side of the brain, those who
have more symmetrical brains, and hence smaller left sides, may be at
a language disadvantage.

"It may be that if you have this reversed asymmetry, your language
isn't completely lateralized to the left hemisphere and you might not
be as good at processing oral language as other people," he says.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that the correlation
between reading ability and brain asymmetry only applied to
right-handed participants. Eckert says the patterns were not as clear
in left-handed people.

"In our studies, we frequently see relations between the asymmetry
and verbal ability of right-handers, but that relationship is
sporadic in left-handers" he says.

Eckert says that before brain symmetry is even considered as a
factor to look at in children with learning problems, research must
be done to find out what kinds of intervention could help these
children.

Child development expert Dr. Jean Berko Gleason, a professor of
psychology at Boston University, says that regardless of the size or
shape of a child's brain, early intervention can almost always help
with reading and verbal skills.

"I don't think you can draw the conclusion that you're predestined
to be a good or bad reader, because it's conceivable that early
language experience can indeed contribute to the development of your
brain," she says.

"If people are reading to you and talking to you, and you have a lot
of linguistic experience from your earliest years, there's no reason
not to assume that your brain wouldn't develop to represent the
experiences you have."

Early experiences of being regularly read to and spoken to can have
a powerful impact on not only reading skills later in life, but even
on the physical development of the brain, Gleason adds.

"You have a period in early development where there is an enormous
proliferation of neurons in the brain and then there is a pruning of
those neurons to represent what your experiences have been," Gleason explains.

Those experiences profoundly shape the development of the brain,
regardless of the amount of asymmetry between left and right sides,
she adds.

1/14/2002 - Professor Neville Hogan's work with Robot-aided neuro-rehabilitation

Using robots to assist the rehabilitation process will inevitably provide more precise, objective, and detailed data on what actually happens during recovery. That will in turn lead to a better understanding of the key biomechanical and neurological (and perhaps even psychological) factors required for successful rehabilitation. A better understanding of the biology of recovery will lead to better ideas of how technology can help rehabilitation. It promises to be an exciting future.

Watch THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BRAIN on PBS on January 22, 2002. This five-part series informs viewers of exciting new information in the brain sciences, introduces the foremost researchers in the field, and utilizes visual imagery and human-interest stories.

For more information visit the PBS web site at http://www.pbs.org/brain

Information about this educational opportunity is provided, courtesy of
B R A I N
Brain injury Resource And Information Network, Inc.
An Acquired Brain Injury Advocacy Alliance
817-477-3300