Free Republic

The Republican senator elected in 2010 to fill the seat once occupied by Barack Obama suffered a stroke Saturday and underwent surgery today to repair related damage, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Mr. [Mark] Kirk, 51 years old and a freshman Republican, checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital on Saturday, and doctors found damage to his carotid artery on the right side of his neck. He was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where tests revealed he had suffered a stroke. His office said the surgery was successful.“Due to his young age, good health and the nature...

Sen. Mark Kirk undergoes surgery after suffering stroke 9:31 a.m. CST, January 23, 2012 U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk underwent surgery today at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after suffering a stroke, his office said. "On Saturday, Senator Kirk checked himself into Lake Forest Hospital, where doctors discovered a carotid artery dissection in the right side of his neck," his office said in a statement.

Doctors believed Sam Goddard would be in permanent vegetative state after eight strokesFiancée who stood by him discovered Ambien had helped other sufferers Read more: here

Taking aspirin regularly can cut the long-term risk of cancer, according to the first major study of its kind. British researchers found it can reduce the risk by 60 per cent in people with a family history of the disease. The landmark research covering 16 countries is the first proof that the painkiller has a preventive action that is likely to benefit anyone using it every day.

TAMPA, Fla. - Multiple sources are confimring Buccaneers great and Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon has died after suffering a massive stroke. SnipIn his first year with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Lee Roy won the team's Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. Selmon went to six straight Pro Bowls and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1979. A back injury made the 1984 season his last, and the Bucs retired his number, 63, in 1986.

Chocolate Good for the Heart and Brain Michael O'Riordan   August 29, 2011 (Paris, France) — In a city renowned for its love of food, it is only fitting that researchers presented the results of a new study in Paris, France, showing that chocolate is good for the heart and brain. In a presentation at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) 2011 Congress, British investigators are reporting that individuals who ate the most chocolate had a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke compared with individuals who ate the least amount of chocolate. In the study, published online...

Quebec City, August 25, 2011—A diet rich in omega-3s reduces the severity of brain damage after a stroke, according to a study conducted by Université Laval researchers. The team, co-directed by professors Jasna Kriz and Frédéric Calon, showed that the extent of brain damage following a stroke was reduced by 25% in mice that consumed DHA type omega-3s daily. Details of the study can be found on the website of the journal Stroke. Researchers observed that the effects of stroke were less severe in mice that had been fed a diet rich in DHA for three months than in mice...

Freepers, I need your help. A couple of weeks ago, I had a mini-stroke. As of this writing, I still feel horrible. I get fatigued easily (like I've read the New York Slimes )and I get constant headaches. Also, my short term memory is non-existent and my spelling has gone from lousy to it looks like Joe Biden is my editor. Has anyone else had any experience with this ?

Harold Camping, the Family Radio minister who inaccurately predicted that the world would experience Judgment Day last May 21, has suffered a stroke. Camping, the 89-year-old head of the Oakland-based evangelical media company, suffered a stroke on Thursday night after a radio broadcast and was taken to a local hospital, according to a message posted on a Family Radio-oriented Yahoo group by Charlie Menut, station manager of Family Radio affiliate WFME. Harold Camping doomsday prediction record: 0-2 Harold Camping "flabbergasted" by non-Rapture Apocalypse ... uhm, when? A neighbor of Camping told the Oakland Tribune that the Alameda minister was taken...

Kim Jong-il back in the high-heel shoe groove May 17, 2011 From left: Kim Jong-il in high heels in October 2007, Kim in 1-inch heels in November 2008, and Kim in 2- or 3-inch heels on May 14. [YONHAP] North Korean leader Kim Jong-il seems to have gotten back on his feet after his 2008 stroke - or back in his high heels, to be exact. The communist leader has recently been seen strutting about in 1-inch heels, a shift from the more comfortable shoes he had taken to wearing since he reportedly fell ill in August 2008. The change,...

In 1898, German doctors fed fresh cow ovaries to a young woman suffering from severe hot flashes after having her ovaries removed. It was a milestone of sorts in women’s medicine, leading to crude hormone treatments and eventually commercially prepared drugs to relieve the symptoms of menopause. It was also the beginning of a seemingly endless controversy about the safety and necessity of drug treatments for women at the end of their reproductive years. By the 1960s, pharmaceutical companies and doctors were promoting hormones as a way for women to stay “feminine forever,” even as scientists and women’s health activists...

As some of you know, we've both been having some health issues. My leg is frequently infected from diabetic wounds on my feet. I can't afford to lose my leg because there's no one else who can help my wife who had a stroke last year. Now my ancient car's brakes are giving out, which will make it almost impossible for us to get to the doctor, pharmacy, hospital and store. Thank you for your prayers and good wishes and don't forget JimRob as well. Thanks in advance.

TAU researchers develop a vaccine that staves off stroke as wellOne in eight Americans will fall prey to Alzheimer's disease at some point in their life, current statistics say. Because Alzheimer's is associated with vascular damage in the brain, many of them will succumb through a painful and potentially fatal stroke. But researchers led by Dr. Dan Frenkel of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences are working on a nasally-delivered 2-in-1 vaccine that promises to protect against both Alzheimer's and stroke. The new vaccine repairs vascular damage in the brain by...

Los Angeles reporter Serene Branson has given her first interview since the Grammy night live report that catapulted the KCBS-TV journalist into YouTube fame. “My head was definitely pounding and I was very uncomfortable and I knew something wasn’t right,” Branson told KCBS anchor Pat Harvey Thursday night. “I was terrified and confused. Confused. What had just happened? At that point they sat me down, then my right cheek went numb. My right hand went numb and I lost some sensation in my arm.” The live report, where Branson become visibly confused and had trouble speaking clearly, led many to...

One of the most memorable performances from Sunday night's Grammy broadcast was also one of the most terrifying: Serene Branson, an Emmy-nominated CBS entertainment reporter began speaking gibberish during the network's post-Grammy newscast. However, after initial fears that Branson may have suffered a stroke on-air, she is reportedly doing OK. "She was examined by paramedics on scene immediately after her broadcast. Her vital signs were normal. She was not hospitalized," the CBS affiliate that employs Branson said in a statement posted late Monday on its website. "As a precautionary measure, a colleague gave her a ride home. And while Serene...

CBS Los Angeles reporter Serene Branson has reportedly been taken to hospital for tests after stumbling incomprehensibly over her words during a Grammy's broadcast. After being introduced from the studio, Branson began "Well a very, very...", before mispronouncing "heavily". Trying again, she was still unable to get the word out and continued with a train of unintelligible sounds. It is feared that she may have suffered a stroke on air.

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke…totally. RECOGNIZING A STROKE in ‘3’ (+1 new) steps, STR . . .a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: S *Ask the individual to SMILE. T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. It is sunny out today.) R*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency numberimmediatelyand describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. NOTE:...

At first glance, the video is funny, just another in the long line of on-air bloopers from news reporters. However, it now appears that KCBS in Los Angeles’ Serene Branson may have suffered something far more serious than a live TV mistake. Shortly after the bizarre moment in the night’s broadcast where she seemed to be unable to speak coherently, Branson was hospitalized with some speculating that she may have had a stroke. In the video, Branson is attempting to cover the Grammys when her words just turn to gibberish and she tries and fails to correct herself. After the...

A drug derived from the curry spice turmeric may be able to help the body repair some of the damage caused in the immediate aftermath of a stroke. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles are preparing to embark on human trials after promising results in rabbits. Their drug reached brain cells and reduced muscle and movement problems. The Stroke Association said it was the "first significant research" suggesting that the compound could aid stroke patients. "This is the first significant research to show that turmeric could be beneficial to stroke patients by encouraging new cells to grow and...

American Stroke Association meeting reportA new anti-clotting agent is vastly superior to aspirin at reducing stroke risk (1.6 percent per year versus 3.6 percent per year) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients unable to take stronger drugs, according to final data reported today at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2011. Researchers found the drug also works better in people with a history of stroke or a warning stroke. Atrial fibrillation is a heartbeat abnormality that can cause blood clots which raise the risk of stroke, particularly in the elderly. The AVERROES: Apixaban Versus Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA) to Prevent Strokes...

Strokes are rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people, a sign that the obesity epidemic may be starting to shift the age burden of the disease. The numbers, reported Wednesday at an American Stroke Association conference, come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age. Government researchers compared hospitalizations in 1994 and 1995 with ones in 2006 and 2007. The sharpest increase — 51 percent — was among men 15 through 34. Strokes rose among women in this age group, too, but not as fast — 17 percent. "It's definitely alarming," said...

Researchers in Korea and the US have shown that modified carbon nanotubes can protect brain tissue from the damage caused by ischaemic stroke, where the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. The work could lead to new treatments to help the brain repair itself after this type of stroke.Sung Su Kim, of Chung Ang University in Seoul, and colleagues treated commercially available carboxylated nanotubes with a nitrogen and hydrogen plasma, resulting in positively-charged amine groups on the surface of the nanotubes. These amine-modified nanotubes were then injected in the brains of rats. A week later ischaemic stroke was artificially induced in the rats by surgery....

Some of you may know him as Packerboy. He is my brother Jack. He had a major stroke on the morning of Christmas Eve. He was unconscious for several days, but he has since reawakened, and is able to talk, but is very slow and sleepy. The stroke affected his thalamus, so he is having trouble with wakefulness. But he can move all his extremities, can answer questions (subtle ones even), still has his sense of humor, and is starting to speak as I write this. I am updating this group on Facebook with his status regularly: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/home.php?sk=group_179708002048803&ap=1

N.Korea Releases Footage of Kim Jong-il Using Left Hand North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been spotted using his left hand fairly adeptly, suggesting that he is recovering from paralysis following a massive stroke in 2008. Some observers believe North Korean media deliberately showed footage of Kim using the hand to quash rumors that his days are numbered. In a documentary broadcast Wednesday by the North's state-run Korean Central Television, Kim repeatedly uses both hands to open and close a closet door in a newly-built apartment for artists on the banks of the Daedong River in Pyongyang. The footage was...

Graham Miles, 66, said that through sheer willpower he regained the use of his body after he was left completely paralysed except for his eyes by a stroke in the stem of the brain which connects it to the body. His recovery is such that he can now walk, talk and even races cars. But while it has amazed doctors and his family and friends, it has also reopened the debate about assisted suicides and the assumption that completely paralysed patients can never recover. Mr Miles, a father-of-two, believes he overcame the devastating condition by tapping into the "extra capacity"...

S. T. R. STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ..she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening Jane's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 PM Jane passed away.) She had suffered a stroke...

When Alain Reyes’s hair suddenly fell out in a freakish band circling his head, he was not the only one worried about his health. His co-workers at a shipping company avoided him, and his boss sent him home, fearing he had a contagious disease. Only later would Mr. Reyes learn what had caused him so much physical and emotional grief: he had received a radiation overdose during a test for a stroke at a hospital in Glendale, Calif. Other patients getting the procedure, called a CT brain perfusion scan, were being overdosed, too — 37 of them just up the...

Talk about surviving by a whisker. The most common type of stroke can be completely prevented in rats by stimulating a single whisker, according to a new study by UC Irvine researchers. Strokes are the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer. About 795,000 Americans suffer them annually, according to the American Heart Association, and more than 137,000 die as a result. So should we be tickling our own whiskers? And what about women, who are less likely to have facial hair? While it’s too soon to tell if the findings will translate to...

/begin my excerpts Kim Jong-il Losing his Marbles Lee Yong-soo 2010.07.07 Watching the same performance again in less than two weeks Ordering the rebuilding of a theater still in good shape N. Korea leader Kim Jong-il continues to show signs which put his judgment in doubt, for example, ordering the rebuilding of a theater still in good shape Quoting a source in China, Radio Free Asia (RFA) based on U.S. reported, "National Theater located in Joong-gu District of Pyongyang was torn down in last May and now being rebuilt. Citizens of Pyongyang have trouble understanding why the building which underwent...

Kim Jong-il Lights Up Again North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has apparently taken up smoking again after kicking the habit following a massive stroke in August 2008, South Korean government sources say. An ashtray sits at Kim's right hand in a Korean Central News Agency photograph showing the dictator at a football stadium in North Pyongan Province on Saturday. "If a stroke patient smokes again, the chances of a relapse increase," said one neurologist. And for diabetics like Kim "smoking can cause heart disease by damaging blood vessels," he added. Kim apparently underwent heart surgery around May 2007. In this...

A patient, believed to be having a stroke, says an officer with the Chattanooga Police Department blocked her husband from taking her to the emergency room at Erlanger Wednesday night. Aline Wright is a cancer survivor, amputee and a newlywed. Wednesday night she began to show signs she was having a stroke. "I started feeling some left arm numbness and a facial droop," said Aline. "It appeared to me that I was probably having a stroke." That's when her husband of four days, Jesse Wright, put her in the car and rushed her to the Erlanger Medical Center. Wright knows...

Johns Hopkins researchers discover pathway in mice for epicatechin's apparent protective effectResearchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that a compound in dark chocolate may protect the brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals already known to shield nerve cells from damage. Ninety minutes after feeding mice a single modest dose of epicatechin, a compound found naturally in dark chocolate, the scientists induced an ischemic stroke by essentially cutting off blood supply to the animals' brains. They found that the animals that had preventively ingested the epicatechin suffered significantly less brain damage than the ones that had not been given...

A Bakersfield police officer who handcuffed and detained a local neonatal surgeon moments after the doctor suffered a massive stroke has left the police department after she was investigated for making a false crime report in a separate case. The revelation could have implications for a multimillion dollar lawsuit against several taxpayer-funded agencies filed after the 2007 incident -- during which hospital care for Dr. Mohamad Harb was apparently delayed for more than an hour. Former BPD Officer Claudia Payne no longer works for the police department, Sgt. Mary DeGeare confirmed Friday. "Officer Payne resigned on March 1, 2010," DeGeare...

Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes...

I just took Mrs. 2ndDivisionVet (Barbara) to the hospital. She'd been having trouble speaking, slurring words and now numbness in one hand. The CAT scan says she may have had a small stroke and they're keeping her a few days for observation.

STROKE HAPPENS. To you. To those you love. Know the signs. Act fast. A stroke happens when a part of the brain dies from lack of blood, usually because one of the arteries that supply oxygen-carrying blood to the brain has been damaged. There are two ways this can happen: Clogged vessel or ischemic stroke: Caused by blockage of a blood vessel in the brain, usually by a blood clot or by fatty deposits on the vessel wall. 85% of strokes are ischemic. Burst vessel or hemorrhagic stroke: Caused by a ruptured blood vessel, preventing normal flow and allowing blood...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – American country music performer Charlie Daniel, whose hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" won him a Grammy in 1979, is recovering at home after suffering a mild stroke, his agent said. Daniels, 73, was snowmobiling in Colorado on Friday when he suffered the stroke and was released from hospital two days later. He has no plans to cancel any upcoming concert dates. "Charlie is doing well and looking forward to beginning The Charlie Daniels Band 2010 concert dates on February 27th in Ft. Pierce, Florida and February 28th in Brooksville, Florida," his agent said in...

Fiddle player extraordiare Charlie Daniels, most famous for his song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", suffered a stroke Friday Jan 15th while snowmobiling in Durango Colorado. The news was announced yesterday via his blog www.charliedanielssoapbox.com. Mr. Daniels was treated in Durango, then airlifted approx. 230 miles to Denver for further treatment. Although the stroke was caused by a blood clot to the brain, it was considered a "minor" stroke ... Charlie has started physical therapy and is reportedly doing fine. Daniels, 73, was snowmobiling with friends when he noticed numbness in his left hand ... According to Charlie Daniels:...

(snip) The day was magnificent. The snow was smooth and deep and the trail had just been groomed. We were skimming across the snow at a good clip doing one of my favorite things in the whole world, snowmobiling in the beautiful Rocky Mountain backcountry with our snowmobile buddies Cy and Jeannie Scarborough and some other friends, hitting the high spots and just having a wonderful time. I noticed that my left hand was getting numb and thought that it was because I had been hanging on to the handle bars of my snowmobile for so long that it had...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Blocking the function of an enzyme in the brain with a specific kind of vitamin E can prevent nerve cells from dying after a stroke, new research suggests. In a study using mouse brain cells, scientists found that the tocotrienol form of vitamin E, an alternative to the popular drugstore supplement, stopped the enzyme from releasing fatty acids that eventually kill neurons. The Ohio State University researchers have been studying how this form of vitamin E protects the brain in animal and cell models for a decade, and intend to pursue tests of its potential to both...

Many strokes cannot be explained by known risk factors like high blood pressure and smoking, and scientists have speculated that infection could play a role. A new study is linking cumulative exposure to five common pathogens with an increased risk for stroke. The infections in order of significance are Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, according to the study, published online on Nov. 9 in The Archives of Neurology. “Each of these common pathogens may persist after an acute infection and contribute to perpetuating a state of chronic low-level infection,” said the paper’s lead...

After World War II, the U.S. government invested an enormous amount of money in medicine; medical research, medical procedures and medical technologies. This investment made contemporary scientific medicine into American medicine, characterized by a continuing flow of new treatment possibilities. These advances raised all kinds of ethical questions. Some were personal and individual, others were social and political. Both type questions are addressed by a new academic discipline called bioethics. The first attempt to develop a scientific medicine took place in Greece in the 5th century B.C. It was called Hippocratic medicine. Closely linked with this first scientific medicine was...

Asking for prayers for my 77 y/o Mother-in-law, who had a stroke Sunday morning. She holds down two part-time jobs for the Church, which she will probably now lose due to her condition and the need for extended rehab.

/begin my excerpts N. Korea's Kim Jong-il, Irascible and Hallucinating(S. Korean Think Tank Head) (Seoul = Yonhap News) Kim Sung-jin = Due to complications from the stroke suffered August last year, N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly 'tends to be irascible and have trouble accepting negative reports,' according to Nam Sung-wook, the director of the Institute for National Security Strategy. He said, "During the first half of this year, Kim Jong-il's health is believe to be stable in general but he shows some idiosyncratic symptoms which are believed to be complications from his stroke." The comments are from excerpts of...

  Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue!         I will continue to forward this every time it comes around! STROKE:Remember the 1st Three Letters....S.T.R.  My nurse friend sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously.. Please read: STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics).  She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new...

SEATTLE — Optimally controlling lipid and blood pressure levels can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 65% in patients at high risk, Dr. Pierre Amarenco reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The findings are based on a new analysis of data from the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial. The results of this trial, as well as the findings of a recent meta-analysis of stroke-prevention trials (Lancet Neurol. 2009;8:453-63), suggest that the risk of stroke falls steadily in direct proportion to declines in the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol...

A stroke victim who has been paralysed for more than two decades can walk again after being injected with Botox. Russell McPhee was a healthy meat worker who played football, cricket and basketball when, at the age of 26, he collapsed suddenly at work. When he woke in hospital he was told he had suffered a stroke and would never walk again. “I felt my life had ended,” he said. “I lost my job, my wife left me, I ended up with nothing.” Today, Mr McPhee, 49, of Gippsland in Victoria, can walk almost unaided for up to 20 metres...

SAN DIEGO — Physicians in rural Georgia are achieving the optimal window for administration of tissue plasminogen activator, tPA, to stroke patients thanks to a telemedicine network spearheaded by the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta. Known as the Georgia REACH Telestroke Network, the setup involves the use of phone consultations, videoconferencing, audio recording, review of images, and other aspects of telemedicine delivered by a neurologist to physicians in rural hospitals who don't have the benefit of a neurologist on staff or on call when a stroke patient presents to the emergency department. “The idea is that you're getting tPA [tissue...

AN ELDERLY stroke patient was left without food or water for 20 hours after delays in her care by the NHS, a report revealed yesterday. The woman was taken to the Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland after her feeding tube became blocked. But after delays in getting an ambulance and then discharging her from the hospital, she had been without fluid or nutrition for 20 hours and was becoming dehydrated. Yesterday, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman upheld complaints made by the woman's husband about her treatment. The report said that the patient – known as Mrs C – suffered a...

After her stroke, Francine V. Corso, a software engineer who worked on NASA’s lunar lander, was housebound from 1992 to 2001. Her left arm was twisted up near her neck, making it difficult to pull on a blouse, and her fingers curled so rigidly that her nails buried themselves in her palm. When she finally learned to rise from her wheelchair, her contorted left leg had the so-called horse gait of many brain-injury victims — she stepped toe-downward, and then fought to keep her foot from rolling over. Now, with injections of botulinum toxin every three months, she says, “I’m...