Tag Archives: Brain

Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease

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What is Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease?
Muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB) is an inherited condition causing a number of symptoms including muscle weakness, vision abnormalities, brain structure abnormalities, and severe mental disability.MEB causes congenital muscular dystrophy, a form of muscle weakness that is present from birth or develops shortly after birth. It causes an infant to feel floppy in all of his or her muscles, including those of the face. He or she may also exhibit involuntary muscle jerks or twitches.Eye problems associated with MEB include severe near-sightedness and glaucoma, among others.Another hallmark of MEB is a brain abnormality known as cobblestone lissencephaly (or type II lissencephaly). The brain develops a bumpy “cobblestone” appearance and lacks the normal folding structure. Other structural changes in the brain are also present. Children with MEB may have a buildup of fluid around the brain that can create a dangerous amount of pressure.The severity of symptoms can vary among people with MEB.

How Common is Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease?
MEB is very rare, although its exact prevalence is unknown.

How is Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease Treated?
There is no successful treatment or cure for MEB. Medical specialists can help treat specific symptoms, such as using medication to control seizures, physical and occupational therapy to aid in movement, and special eye glasses to help make the most of the child’s vision.

What is the Prognosis for a Person With Muscle-Eye-Brain Disease?
The prognosis for a person with MEB varies depending on the severity of the symptoms, but is generally poor. Studies have shown people with MEB typically die between the ages of 6 and 16.

Resources
Muscular Dystrophy Association
A non-profit organization that supports research into and education about neuromuscular diseases. It is best known for its annual telethon led by entertainer Jerry Lewis.

  • 3300 East Sunrise Drive
    Tucson, AZ 85718
  • Phone: (800) 572-1717
  • Secondary Phone: (520) 529-2000
  • mda@mdausa.org

Traumatic Brain Injury

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Traumatic Brain Injury and Closed Head Injury commonly occur due to motor vehicle collisions. Injuries can range from a loss of consciousness of less than five minutes to being comatose for many months. Any level of injury can cause an increase in pre-injury bad driving behaviors or create new, unsafe driving issues. These issues can stem from problems with vision, accuracy and speed of eye movements, speed of response, attention, memory, problem solving, judgment and/or loss of physical skills. It can spare one skill and wipe another skill completely from memory. It commonly makes learning new information difficult and may keep a survivor from quickly learning from their mistakes. All of the above can result in unsafe driving encounters, unpredictable driving actions or repeat collisions for the survivor.

If someone you know has been in an accident or has had a TBI, look for the following warning signs:

  • Inappropriate driving speeds
  • Is slow to identify and avoid potentially hazardous situations
  • Needs help or instruction from passengers
  • Doesn’t observe signs or signals or speed limits
  • Leaves out important road, traffic or warning information
  • Slow or poor decisions to traffic or road changes
  • Easily frustrated or confused
  • Pattern of getting lost, even in familiar areas
  • Collisions or near misses
  • Blames their driving mistakes on the behavior of other drivers

If you or those that drive with you notice any of the above warning signs and need a driving evaluation, give us a call at 508-697-6006 and we can, help you with with knowledge about medical conditions, and help with a comprehensive evaluation and determine your ability to drive.

  • Visual Perception
  • Functional Ability
  • Reaction Time
  • Behind-the-wheel evaluation

National Congenital Cytomegalovirus Awareness Month

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Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that infects people of all ages and is usually harmless to people with a healthy immune system. Most people have been exposed to CMV at some point in their lifetime without realizing it. It is estimated that 50-80% of adults in the United States have been infected with CMV by the time they reach 40 years old. Most infections with CMV are “silent” or asymptomatic, meaning most people who are infected with CMV have no signs or symptoms. Once CMV is in a person’s body, it stays there for life. no signs or symptoms occurs when a pregnant woman is exposed to CMV and the CMV passes from the pregnant woman to her unborn child, causing birth defects and developmental disabilities.

Acquired CMV infection is when a person is infected with CMV after birth, during childhood or adulthood.

Acquired CMV
Most healthy people with an acquired CMV infection will generally have few, if any, symptoms or complications from the infection. Because infections among healthy persons are common and typically asymptomatic, efforts to prevent transmission among healthy children and adults are not necessary.

At-Risk Populations
CMV can cause serious problems for people with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised) due to organ transplants, HIV/AIDS infection, chemotherapy, and medications such as glucocorticoids, cytostatics, antibodies, drugs acting on immunophilins, as well as other drugs.

In children and adults with organ transplants, CMV infections are linked with rejection or malfunction of the transplant.

In immunocompromised people, CMV can attack specific organs. Types and symptoms of CMV infections include, but are not exclusive/limited to:

  • Esophagus (CMV esophagitis)
  • Stomach or intestines (CMV gastroenteritis) – Diarrhea, swallowing difficulties or pain, and ulcerations with bleeding
  • Eye (CMV retinitis) – Blindness, floaters in the eye, and visual impairment
  • Lung (CMV pneumonia) – Pneumonia with impaired oxygen uptake (hypoxia)
  • Brain – Coma, encephalitis with behavioral changes, and seizures

Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness

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Traumatic brain injury, often referred to as TBI, is most often an acute event similar to other injuries. That is where the similarity between traumatic brain injury and other injuries ends. One moment the person is normal and the next moment life has abruptly changed.

In most other aspects, a traumatic brain injury is very different. Since our brain defines who we are, the consequences of a brain injury can affect all aspects of our lives, including our personality. A brain injury is different from a broken limb or punctured lung. An injury in these areas limit the use of a specific part of your body, but your personality and mental abilities remain unchanged. Most often, these body structures heal and regain their previous function.

Brain injuries do not heal like other injuries. Recovery is a functional recovery, based on mechanisms that remain uncertain. No two brain injuries are alike and the consequence of two similar injuries may be very different. Symptoms may appear right away or may not be present for days or weeks after the injury.

One of the consequences of brain injury is that the person often does not realize that a brain injury has occurred.

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.

Types of MS


Four disease courses have been identified in multiple sclerosis: relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), primary-progressive MS (PPMS), secondary-progressive MS (SPMS), and progressive-relapsing MS. Each of these disease courses might be mild, moderate or severe.

Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)
RRMS — the most common disease course — is characterized by clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function. These attacks — also called relapses, flare-ups or exacerbations — are followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions), during which symptoms improve partially or completely and there is no apparent progression of disease. Approximately 85 percent of people with MS are initially diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS.

Secondary-progressive MS (SPMS)
The name for this course comes from the fact that it follows after the relapsing-remitting course. Most people who are initially diagnosed with RRMS will eventually transition to SPMS, which means that the disease will begin to progress more steadily (although not necessarily more quickly), with or without relapses.

Primary-progressive MS (PPMS)
PPMS is characterized by steadily worsening neurologic function from the beginning. Although the rate of progression may vary over time with occasional plateaus and temporary, minor improvements, there are no distinct relapses or remissions. About 10 percent of people with MS are diagnosed with PPMS.

Progressive-relapsing MS (PRMS)
PRMS — the least common of the four disease courses — is characterized by steadily progressing disease from the beginning and occasional exacerbations along the way. People with this form of MS may or may not experience some recovery following these attacks; the disease continues to progress without remissions.

 For More Information please contact the The National MS Society