Medical Myths: All About Stroke

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From Medical News Today

  1. Stroke is a problem of the heart

Although stroke risk is linked to cardiovascular risk factors, strokes happen in the brain, not the heart.

 

“Some people think that stroke is a problem of the heart,” Dr. Ortiz said. “That is incorrect. A stroke is a problem of the brain, caused by the blockage or rupture of arteries or veins in the brain, and not the heart.”

 

Some people confuse stroke with a heart attack, which is caused by a blockage in blood flow to the heart, and not the brain.

 

  1. Stroke is not preventable

“The most common risk factors [for stroke] include hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, trauma to the head or neck, and cardiac arrhythmias,” said Dr. Ortiz.

 

Many of these risk factors can be modified by lifestyle. Exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet can reduce risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes.

 

Other risk factors include alcohol consumption and stress. Working to reduce or remove these lifestyle factors may also reduce a person’s risk of stroke.

 

  1. Stroke does not run in families

Single-gene disorders such as sickle cell disease increase a person’s risk for stroke.

 

Genetic factors including a higher risk for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors may also indirectly increase stroke risk.

 

As families are likely to share environments and lifestyles, unhealthy lifestyle factors are likely to increase stroke risk among family members, especially when coupled with genetic risk factors.

 

  1. Stroke symptoms are hard to recognize

The most common symptoms for stroke form the acronym F.A.S.T.

 

F: face dropping, when one side of the face becomes numb and produces an uneven “smile”

A: arm weakness, when one arm becomes weak or numb and, when raised, drifts slowly downward

S: speech difficulty, or slurred speech

T: time to call 911

Other symptoms of stroke include:

 

numbness or weakness in the face, arm, leg, or one side of the body

confusion and trouble speaking or understanding speech

difficulty seeing in one or both eyes

difficulty walking, including dizziness, loss of balance and coordination

severe headaches without a known cause

 

  1. Stroke cannot be treated

“There is an incorrect belief that strokes are irreversible and can’t be treated,” explained Dr. Ortiz.

 

“Emergency treatment of a stroke with injection of a clot busting drug, minimally invasive mechanical thrombectomy for clot removal, or surgery can reverse the symptoms of a stroke in many patients, especially if they arrive to the hospital early enough for the therapy (within minutes or hours since the onset of the symptoms),” he noted.

 

“The longer the symptoms last, the lower the likelihood of a good outcome. Therefore, it is critical that at the onset of stroke symptoms — ie. trouble speaking, double vision, paralysis or numbness, etc — an ambulance should be called (911) for transport to the nearest hospital,” he continued.

 

Research also shows that those who arrive within 3 hours of first experiencing symptoms typically have less disability 3 months afterward than those who arrived later.

 

  1. Stroke occurs only in the elderly

Age is a significant risk factor for stroke. Stroke risk doubles every 10 years after age 55. However, strokes can occur at any age.

 

One study examining healthcare data found that 34% of stroke hospitalizations in 2009 were under age 65.

 

A review in 2013 points out that “approximately 15% of all ischemic strokes occur in young adults and adolescents.”

 

The researchers noted that stroke risk factors including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, lipid disorders, and tobacco use were among the most common co-existing conditions among this age group.

 

  1. All strokes have symptoms

Not all strokes have symptoms, and some research suggests that symptom-free strokes are far more common than those with symptoms.

 

One study found that out of the over 11 million strokes in 1998, 770,000 presented symptoms, whereas close to 11 million were silent.

 

Evidence of these so-called silent strokes appears on MRI scans as white spots from scarred tissue following a blockage or ruptured blood vessel.

 

Often, silent strokes are identified when patients receive MRI scans for symptoms including headaches, cognitive issues, and dizziness.

 

Although they occur without symptoms, they should be treated similarly to strokes with symptoms. Silent strokes put people at risk of future symptomatic strokes, cognitive decline, and dementia.

 

  1. A ministroke is not so risky

“The term ministroke has been used incorrectly as some think that it is related to small strokes that carry low risk,” said Dr. Ortiz. “That statement is incorrect, as a ministroke is a transient ischemic attack (TIA).”

 

“It is not a small stroke, but a premonition that a large stroke can occur. Any symptom of acute stroke, transient or persistent, needs emergency workup and management to prevent a devastating large stroke,” he added.

 

  1. Stroke always causes paralysis

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, but not everyone who has a stroke will experience paralysis or weakness. Research shows that stroke leads to reduced mobility in over half of stroke survivors aged 65 and over.

 

However, the long-term impacts of stroke vary on many factors, such as the amount of brain tissue affected, and the area affected. Damage to the left brain, for example, will affect the right side of the body and vice versa.

 

If the stroke occurs in the left side of the brain, effects may include:

 

paralysis on the right side of the body

speech and language problems

slow and cautious behavior

memory loss.

If it affects the right side of the brain, paralysis may also occur, this time on the left side of the body. Other effects may include:

vision problems

quick and inquisitive behavior

memory loss.

 

  1. Stroke recovery happens fast

Recovery from stroke can take months, if not years. However, many may not fully recover. The American Stroke Association says that among stroke survivors:

 

10% will make an almost complete recovery

another 10% will require care in a nursing home or another long-term facility

25% will recover with minor impairments

40% will experience moderate to severe impairments

Research suggests there is a critical time window between 2–3 months after stroke onset, during which intensive motor rehabilitation is more likely to lead to recovery. Some may also be able to spontaneously recover during this period.

 

Dr. Birken highly recommends Arterosil for all patients over 50 and for those with high blood pressure, elevated lipid profile, or diabetes.

 

“Arterosil has a similar chemical structure to heparan sulfate found abundantly in human endothelial glycocalyx and may exert its biological activities by regenerating endothelial glycocalyx of blood vessels,” Dr. Birken said.  “This can decrease artherosclerosis, or plaque, in both coronary and cerebral arteries.”

Low Dose Rapamycin – New Anti-Aging Agent?

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From Psychology Today

Don’t we all want to live longer, look younger, run faster, and be stronger? A longer, healthier life means more time with our loved ones and more opportunities for happiness. Longevity is not necessarily about extending the human lifespan to 200 years per se, but rather about keeping adults happy, active, and alert throughout their later years in life. The search for youthfulness typically turns to lotions, supplements, exercise routines, and diets, but there may soon be a new FDA approved medication joining the force to maintain the fountain of youth. Rapamycin, also known as Sirolimus or Rapamune may be the answer to our desire to live a longer, healthier life.

 

Today, rapamycin is an FDA-approved drug used to prevent organ rejection after transplant surgery and is also used to treat certain cancers, thus improving longevity.

 

Rapamycin prevents the body’s defense system from fighting off foreign invaders and infections. It tricks the immune system into believing that the new liver or pancreas is not a foreign invader and allows the newly transplanted organs to live harmoniously in your body.

 

This medication has been studied for decades in worms, mice, dogs, and humans and has shown great potential for anti-aging properties.

 

The history of rapamycin

Rapamycin was first discovered in the mid-1900s as a medicine to fight fungal infections. It was originally found from a soil sample in Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) during a 1960’s Canadian research expedition. The sample sat in a Montreal lab for a few years until a researcher discovered its powerful cancer-fighting and organ transplant properties. In 1994, the FDA approved rapamycin to prevent organ rejection in liver transplant patients (5). Rapamycin is not only used as a cancer-fighting drug and an anti-rejection drug for patients undergoing organ transplants, but it is also used after heart surgery to prevent the re-narrowing of blood vessels in the heart in order to improve blood flow, thus improving longevity(4)

 

The inner workings of rapamycin

Rapamycin slows down the aging processes in healthy cells and blocks the growth and metabolism in unhealthy and cancer cells. Cancer cells grow and replicate faster than normal healthy cells in our body and as a result, cancer cells often overtake our healthy cells. Rapamycin targets specific signals in cancer cells, impairing and slowing their growth process. As a result, rapamycin blocks cancer cell metabolism and is considered a promising anti-cancer treatment.

 

In 2007 and 2009, two other FDA-approved medications, temsirolimus, and everolimus, known as “rapalogs”, were derived from rapamycin, for the treatment of advanced kidney cancer (4). Since then, a large number of research studies have shown that rapamycin and its “rapalogs” are not only beneficial for treating organ rejection and cancer but are also used to treat other chronic medical conditions, and more recently aging.

 

We can all recognize the physical signs of aging; wrinkled skin, grey hair, and visible bony structures, but what is happening inside our bodies that drive these physical changes? The aging process can be traced down to the level of our cells. As we become older, the biological processes inside our cells, combined with environmental factors such as sunlight, air pollution and toxins in our diet, begin to change our cells’ structure and function. As we age, our cells accumulate damage to their DNA. DNA is the “brain” of the cells and contains all the information that our cells need to survive and function properly.

 

During stressful conditions such as sun damage, environmental toxins, or internal cell damage, damaged cells are programmed to commit “cell suicide” and die off. The healthy cells are programmed to stay alive. Partially damaged cells can be repaired. The irreparable parts can be tossed out, leaving the aging cell’s healthy parts to undergo a repair process and survive. Rapamycin triggers uncontrolled growth in cancer cells by slowing their growth and even inducing “cell suicide”, allowing healthy, non-cancer cells to survive while the unhealthy cancer cells die. Anti-aging research has shown that rapamycin has the same potential to trigger aging cells by throwing away the irreparable cell parts, leaving aging cells to survive by using their “healthy parts” to repair and grow, thus prolonging our longevity. It is similar to fixing an old car that does not run. The broken engine and radiator are either repaired or replaced and the working parts are left in the car, leaving the car good as new and prolonging its life.

 

 

Anti-aging properties in humans

One can learn a lot about the aging process by looking at human skin, particularly the hands and face. Aging skin is chalked full of wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging areas, and the repair and growth rate of skin cells is incredibly fast, meaning that there is room for repairing this damage, potentially resulting in younger-looking skin. A recent study from Drexel University discovered that rapamycin showed promising anti-aging properties on aging human tissue, specifically skin. The study enrolled 13 participants, 40 years of age and older, who applied rapamycin cream to one hand and a placebo cream to the other hand every one to two days for a total of eight months.

 

After eight months, most of the hands treated with rapamycin showed an increase in collagen production and a decrease in age spots and wrinkles (1). Collagen is an important protein that gives skin its structure. When collagen is damaged, wrinkles often appear. This study offers a new use for rapamycin when used at low doses, including new applications to increase the human lifespan and improve longevity.

 

Side effects

Although rapamycin has many benefits, it has been shown to have some powerful side effects, particularly when given at a high dose. Rapamycin can cause mouth sores, cataracts, high blood pressure, anemia, and diabetes. It can also raise the risks of infection, bleeding, and some types of cancers, such as skin cancer. It is important to note that these side effects are seen when rapamycin is given at higher doses to treat cancer and prevent organ transplant rejection. When given at low doses in studies for anti-aging, the side effects were minimal, if any at all.

 

Looking to the future of anti-aging

Although the above research and studies are promising, and rapamycin has considerable potential to improve the human lifespan, this research is still in the early phases of development. The science is far from being settled and it may be years before experts come to a conclusion on whether rapamycin can help slow down the aging process in humans. Another area of study is looking at how to reduce the side effects of rapamycin.

 

Researchers know that the majority of the side effects associated with rapamycin are seen in individuals who have serious health concerns. It is still uncertain whether healthy individuals can tolerate this medication over a long period, even at low doses and longer-term human studies may be necessary in order to prove its long-term use for anti-aging.

 

“My wife and I have both started rapamycin and are not experiencing any side effects,” Dr. Birken said

 

If interested in rapamycin, a consent must be signed before prescribing.  Contact the office at 281-419-3231 and press option 2, or email Vanessa@drbirken.com