Sleep Apnea, which affects about 20 million Americans, results in memory loss, poor concentration, and chronic fatigue. (from an earlier Smartkit post)

Your brain is extremely fragile, and easily damaged by concussions and other forms of acceleration/deceleration injury. Back in January, I posted the story about Andre Waters

Ecstasy damages your brain

A new study, to be published in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental [Authors Keith Laws and Joy Kokkalis from the University of Hertfordshire] shows that the drug ecstasy [MDMA] moderate to markedly damages both

[click on image above to jump to journal article detailing brain-heart interactions]

My wife got an email from one of her friends tonight about ‘Strawberry Quick’. As if parents don’t have enough to worry about, this strawberry flavored methamphetamine candy (looks like ‘Pop-Rocks’) is being passed around schools nationwide.

Fourteen 6th graders were hospitalized yesterday in Oklahoma after consuming the little pink crystals.

In the last 12 months, several articles have come out that have forced neurologists to seriously reconsider their basic understanding of vegetative states and coma.

From the March 2007 issue of Annals of Neurology

A study conducted by researchers out of Stanford University

Andre Waters was an NFL defensive back for 12 years. During his playing years, he sustained multiple concussions. He committed suicide November 2006 at the age of 44.

I’ve posted earlier about how harmful stress can be for your brain and body. Recently came across some very helpful info on the

Came across some amazing research

Nicotine is so powerful and addicting, it turns out a smoker’s craving will not go away until nearly every single one of his brain’s nicotine receptors are completely saturated by the drug.

Based on new research out of the UCLA School of Medicine published in the Archives of General Psychiatry

This week, my wife and I both have had colds. Whereas she’s had a lot of congestion, I’ve had a nagging cough. While going through 10 bags of Kleenexes one thing I began to wonder yesterday was: Do people who get frequent respiratory infections (”colds”) have poorer lung function later on in life? In other words, is there a direct relationship between the number of colds

In a fairly remarkable study, progesterone given shortly after traumatic brain injury (TBI) appears to cut the risk of death by 50%. This is important because currently there is no good treatment that improves the outcome of TBI.

Furthermore, those patients given the progesterone had significantly less disability.

If you live in or near a big city, chances are you’ve heard TV or radio stations proclaim an ‘ozone alert’ during those hot, sunny summertime days.

A number of case reports have cropped up recently documenting an absolutely shocking discovery:

Zolpidem, a common sleeping pill, can miraculously awaken some patients from a Persistent Vegetative State or “semi-coma”.

A recent study out of the New York University School of Medicine reveals that the drug Exelon (Rivastigmine) can improve memory in patients who have moderate-to-severe memory loss from traumatic brain injury.

Specifically, improvements were seen in measures of

What do these famous people have in common?

• Thomas Edison
• Albert Einstein
• Charles Schwab

All had dyslexia.

People with dyslexia have difficulty reading; however, “

A recent report in the journal Neurology notes that people who were exposed to lead many years ago may develop progressive, ongoing brain degeneration and injury.

Bombay, Shanghai, Delhi, Beijing, New York, London, Los Angeles, Tokyo are some of the most populated cities on earth. It turns out living in these sorts of places may be really bad for your long term brain health. A new study out of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California indicates that

A new study out of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that exposure to

Diethanolamine (DEA) is a chemical that can be found in shampoo, hairspray, and soaps. When researchers at the University of North Carolina applied it to pregnant mice, the offspring suffered from

Back pain and injuries are an epidemic. The cost to the U.S. economy is staggering: $50-$100 billion per year (an estimate

Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of strokes that occur in your brain are silent: most people do not realize they’re getting hit with one. And most remain blissfully unaware even after the fact.

One of the hottest news stories this week involves the recently published brain scan findings on Terry Wallis.

Back in 2003, however, I read about Terry Wallis on Yahoo News with great interest, and even called and spoke to Dr. Zini, the director of the rehabilitation center where Terry Wallis was staying.

A new study suggests that exposure to even small amounts of lead during pregnancy can stunt fetal brain growth and development, leading to lower IQ scores later on in life.

Common sources of lead exposure include:

• tap water (especially from older pipes that contain lead)
• lead dust arising from older homes (lead-based paints)

A recent study using MRI brain imaging adds more weight to the argument that