Science Care newsletter

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month; a full month dedicated to increased awareness for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and improving health care providers' ability to identify, care for, and treat those affected by TBI.

Often overlooked and misunderstood, Traumatic Brain Injuries can produce lasting negative effects and lead to serious long-term health issues, including death.

What is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

Most times when people talk about brain injuries, they are referring to Acquired Brain Injuries (also known as ABI). ABI refers to any injury to the brain that is not hereditary, degenerative, or present at birth. It is caused by trauma to the brain from an external force, such as falls, struck-by-object accidents, motor vehicle accidents, and assaults. Other causes of TBI include hypoxic or anoxic brain injuries, which result from oxygen deprivation; this type of brain injury can result from stroke, substance abuse/overdose, electric shock, near-drowning, or infectious disease.

Tips to improve your odds against TBI

• Buckle your safety belt.
• Whether on the football field or on the construction site, always wear proper personal protective equipment and approved headgear.
• Ensure protective headwear fits properly and securely.
• Wear proper footwear to decrease the risks of slips, trips, and falls.
• Keep common areas and walkways free from debris and tripping hazards.
• Exercise caution when operating vehicles and heavy equipment.

For more information on Brain injuries and how you can better protect yourself visit:
https://www.biausa.org/public-affairs/public-awareness/brain-injury-awareness

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Donors from the Science Care Community contribute to a multitude of training activities, scientific advancements, and research and development projects aimed at improving brain health.  

Donors play an integral part in providing brain specialists and brain surgeons the opportunity to improve their anatomical knowledge and develop crucial surgical skills.

Neuroanatomy training procedures (such as white matter dissection) enhance our understanding of brain connectivity and functionality, while lab-based training in the field of skull-based dissections affords surgeons the opportunity to hone their skills in the proper performance of skull-based procedures, approaches, and techniques allowing for more efficient, less invasive removal of tumors (both cancerous and noncancerous) from the skull, adjoining spinal vertebrae, and the underside of the brain.  

The contributions Science Care makes toward brain health don’t stop there!  Donors have also contributed to the scientific community’s continuing efforts in identifying biomarkers associated with neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Multiple Sclerosis.  Biomarkers are useful in early diagnosis, as well as in tracking the progression of neurological disease.  Early detection aids in facilitating the application of disease-modifying medicines and therapies at the earliest possible stages following the onset of disease when medicines are the most therapeutically effective.  In tandem with biomarker identification, donors have also played a significant role in continuing drug discovery research intended to produce new, more effective treatments for various neurological diseases.

Science Care donors have also assisted in training neurosurgeons in the proper anatomical approaches to be utilized in the implantation of deep brain stimulators, which are relatively similar to a pacemaker placed in the heart.  When implanted in specific anatomical regions of the brain, deep brain stimulators are utilized to regulate brain activity through electrical pulses intended to disrupt the abnormal patterns of brain activity seen in patients with neurological disease.  This disruption of abnormal brain activity has the effect of providing dramatic symptomatic relief to patients suffering from movement disorders such as tremor and rigidity, frequently seen in patients suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and Dystonia.

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Time to check in on your New Year's resolution to eat better.  How's that working out so far? Well, if you’re like most of us, you have begun to backslide into foods we know aren’t that great for us.  That's why March (National Nutrition Month) is a great time to course-correct and get back on track.

Here are a few ways we can make healthier choices every day:

1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
   Fruits and vegetables are high in nutrients that keep you at a healthy weight by keeping you fuller for longer, suppressing hunger the natural way.
2. Choose whole-grain foods
   Skipping overly processed and refined foods means skipping foods that have had the nutrients removed.  As a rule of thumb, filling your plate with 25% whole grain food is a good target to help you stay healthy.
3. Get your protein
   Proteins build healthy bones and muscles.  High protein food includes nuts, seeds, tofu, fish & shellfish, eggs, poultry, lean red meats, lower-fat milk, lower-fat yogurts, and cheeses lower in fat and sodium.
4. Limit highly processed foods
   The best way to spot processed food is by the number of ingredients a food contains.  In most cases, important vitamins and minerals are removed when foods are processed and replaced with salts and sugars.  Do yourself a favor and skip highly processed foods whenever you can.
5. Drink more water
   Try to drink 8 bottles of water a day (roughly 13 cups).  Take a glass of water right after a meal to help you stay full.  Proper hydration is also good for your digestive system.  It prevents constipation, lightheadedness, and eliminates toxins throughout the urinary system.  Water also promotes healthy skin, hair, and nails.  Avoid drinking too much caffeine during the day, as this causes dehydration.

These were just 5 quick and easy things you can do and look out for on a daily basis to make better decisions on what you put into your body.  With good decision-making, you can make every month into National Nutrition Month.

For more information on healthy eating visit:

https://www.heartandstroke.ca/healthy-living/healthy-eating/healthy-eating-basics

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Did you know you can register your intent to donate to BOTH non-transplant donation and organ donation?  Science Care always encourages life-saving donation prior to body donation to science.  You will need to register for both programs separately and let your loved ones know of your wish to donate to both organizations.

For more information about Non-Transplant Organ Donation and Organ and Tissue Donation Visit us at: https://www.sciencecare.com/organ-donation-save-lives

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Eating healthy doesn’t have to mean eating boring.  This delicious recipe turns grilled vegetables into a beautiful whole-grain pasta dish, hearty but still light!  Click here to see the Basil Pesto Pasta recipe: https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/280178/basil-pesto-pasta-with-grilled-vegetables/

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• The Apollo 14 mission, commanded by Alan Shepard, achieved the third manned lunar landing.
• M*A*S*H won the awards for Motion Pictures Best Drama and Best Musical or Comedy.
• In Switzerland, male voters approved giving Swiss women the right to vote in national elections and the right to hold federal office.
• Sylmar earthquake struck the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme) and lasted 12 seconds.
• "President's Day" was celebrated as a legal holiday nationwide in the U.S. for the first time

Top Singles of March 1971

• Mama’s Pearl - Jackson 5
• One Bad Apple - The Osmonds
• Just My Imagination - The Temptations
• She's a Lady - Tom Jones

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