There may be a way to protect brain energy to preserve cognition—and the secret could lie on your plate. Think fish and seafood, meat, non-starchy vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, eggs and even high-fat dairy products. University of Missouri researchers are now testing just how powerful these foods can be.
Back pain is common, but several myths about it persist. Meghan Murphy, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, describes eight of them and provides the facts.
Concussions and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) have been considered a potential cause of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. But a new study argues the association might be the other way around, with concussions providing an early warning sign among folks already in the early stages of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Metal rods, screws and bone grafts have long been the backbone of spinal fusion surgeries — a fix for fractured spines, worn-out discs or bones that refuse to heal on their own. The hardware works. But it’s also rigid and invasive, and often leaves patients with lingering pain, stiffness and the need for follow-up surgeries down the road. At the University of Missouri, a team of engineers is working on a new approach. In the Biomodulatory Materials Engineering Laboratory in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, researchers led by Principal Investigator Bret Ulery are building a future where spines heal not through steel, but through biology — using tiny, bioactive materials made from therapeutic peptides to guide the body’s natural repair processes from the inside out.
According to a recent study, older Americans with chronic low back pain who received acupuncture had greater improvement in physical function and reduced pain than those who received usual medical care only, generally prescribed medications or physical therapy.
