Plasticity and recovery from nervous system damage

[wonky1]

After talking to a Polish Doctor recently who felt that rather than nerve cells regrowing post liberation, it is more likely that the brain would make use of redundant cells, to take on the work of areas that have been damaged.

I have therefore been reading with great interest work done on brain plasticity, there is a lot of work being done in this area by The Cambridge Centre For Brain Repair http://www.brc.cam.ac.uk/Plasticity.htm amongst others.
I would welcome your thoughts on this and whether you think it may be the icing on the cake?

I have fired off an email to Cambridge, in the hope that they will see potential in attempting to enhance plasticity, in post CCSVI treatment patients.

[ozarkcanoer]

Marvelous idea, wonky !!! I have been thinking along similar lines since there seems to be a lot of rewiring in stroke patients. It seems to me that once the reflux is stopped and the autoimmune attacks stop, then the brain should be able to repair itself just like in stroke.

[Dovechick]

There is a great book about the ability of the brain to use spare capacity to recover lost function. Its a bit like that other interesting book by Oliver Sacks (the Man to mistook his wife for a hat)
The book I am refering to is by Norman Doidge and is called The brain that changes itself. It is not expensive and is a great read, offering some case studies and pointers on how to encourage the brain to do its business.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brain-That-Chan ... 483&sr=8-1

[Ruthless67]

Wonky1,

Great article, I goggled Proteoglycans + chondroitinase and this is what I came up with.

Chondroitin Sulfate for Relief of Osteoarthritis Symptoms in Prostate Cancer Patients By Charles “Snuffy” Myers, MD
information last updated on May, 2005
http://www.malecare.org/prostate-cancer ... ent_26.htm

All of this science suggests that taking the sufficient amount of chondroitin sulfate to protect the cartilage lining of your joints might also foster prostate cancer progression, as well as the growth of other malignancies. I recommend you avoid chondroitin sulfate until clinical trials can demonstrate its safety.

Alternatively, I recommend glucosamine, because there is no evidence that glucosamine fosters the progression of prostate cancer. Furthermore, a randomized controlled clinical trial shows that glucosamine preserves the thickness of joint cartilage, thus slowing the progression of osteoarthritis. In this trial, they used daily glucosamine sulfate doses of 1,500 mg over a three-year period.

Chondroitinase treatment is a treatment of proteoglycans, a protein in the fluid among cells where (among other things) they affect neural activity (communication, plasticity).[1] Chondroitinase treatment has been shown to allow adults vision to be restored as far as ocular dominance is concerned.[2] Moreover there is some evidence that Chondroitinase could be used for the treatment of spinal injuries. [3]

Proteoglycans are glycoproteins that are heavily glycosylated. They have a core protein with one or more covalently attached glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain(s). The chains are long, linear carbohydrate polymers that are negatively charged under physiological conditions, due to the occurrence of sulfate and uronic acid groups. Proteoglycans occur in the connective tissue.

How do others interpret this? Should we be taking glucosamine as a supplement to increase our plasticity for brain repair?

[SammyJo]

This is so great, we can now talk about brain repair, now that we have figured out how to stop the CCSVI damage. Here is a very inspiring video by neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, who had a massive stroke, and then slowly recovered.

[ozarkcanoer]

SammyJo... I just watched the Jill Taylor Volte video. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[Johnson]

Brain plasticity is very real. I see that someone has brought up Jill Bolte Taylor, and Norman Doidge's book (well worth the read).

I believe that i got this link - http://www.positscience.com/ - from Doidge's book, and although they are selling something, they offer a lot for free too.

I read on another thread that the person writing thought that RRMSers who were younger would heal better. I'm not sure that I would agree with that. I think that they may heal faster, but not necessarily better. Bolte-Taylor was not "young" when she had her stroke, and although she has not completely recovered (yet), her recovery is remarkable. I am 48 years old, but I am in very good health (besides MS, and being a "heavy" smoker). I still recover very quickly from any injury, and it is almost impossible to bruise me. I have rarely been sick (besides amoebic dysentery, Giardia and e-coli - the hazards of Third World travel) Dietary support is, I believe, critical.

There are still quite a few Model Ts around, and they are older than most of your grandmas... I don't believe that age is always a determination of health.

[jay123]

I'm not sure which comment you are talking about re the healing part of the RR's, but my thought is that just by the definition of RR's they don't have the accumulation of damage that the progressives have, which is why I think progressives will have a tougher time. If this stops the accumulation of damage, RR's should be in better shape than others as they won't have as much damage to rebuild.
I don't know how age effects the healing process, that for someone else!

[chrishasms]

123

[Johnnymac]

I am a firm believe that if you don't use it you will loose it. I believe if you can only move your little finger you had better keep moving it because your brain will eventually want to move the ring finger. Mt PT therapist agrees.

so true

[jay123]

Johnny, check out my link in the 'phase 2..' thread for PT.