Category: Recovery

Verizon fell for fake “search warrant,” gave victim’s phone data to stalker

By JON BRODKIN: Complete Post through this link…

Verizon tricked by fake cop, fake search warrant despite obvious warning signs.

Verizon Wireless gave a female victim’s address and phone logs to an alleged stalker who pretended to be a police officer, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI special agent. The man, Robert Michael Glauner, was later arrested near the victim’s home and found to be carrying a knife at the time, according to the affidavit submitted in court yesterday.

Glauner allegedly traveled from New Mexico to Raleigh, North Carolina, after finding out where she lived and, before arriving, sent a threatening message that said, “if I can’t have you no one can.” He also allegedly threatened to send nude photos of the victim to her family members.

Novel Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Shows Promise

From Neuroscience News: Complete Post through this link…

Summary: Researchers developed a small molecule drug showing potential as a new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS). This research focuses on targeting the glutamate system rather than the immune system, differing from existing MS therapies.

The drug not only reduced MS-like symptoms but also showed potential in repairing damaged myelin in two animal models. This innovative approach is a significant leap toward clinical trials, offering new hope for MS patients.

Key Facts:

  1. The new drug targets the glutamate system, a novel approach in MS treatment, showing effectiveness in pre-clinical models.
  2. The treatment has demonstrated the potential for rescuing myelin and motor function, key challenges in MS.
  3. CAMH and the University of Aberdeen are moving towards human trials, backed by extensive pre-clinical research and funding support.

Tinnitus Linked to Auditory Nerve Loss

From Neuroscience News: Complete Post through this link…

Summary: A new study reveals that tinnitus, a common auditory issue characterized by ringing in the ears, is associated with undetected auditory nerve loss. This finding challenges the traditional understanding that tinnitus is solely a result of brain maladaptation to hearing loss.

The study shows that individuals with normal hearing tests but experiencing tinnitus actually suffer from cochlear synaptopathy, a type of “hidden hearing loss.” This discovery paves the way for potential treatments, including nerve regeneration through neurotrophins, bringing hope for millions affected worldwide.

Key Facts:

  1. Tinnitus in individuals with normal hearing tests is linked to undetected auditory nerve loss.
  2. The study identifies cochlear synaptopathy, or hidden hearing loss, as a key factor in tinnitus genesis.
  3. Future treatment possibilities include auditory nerve regeneration, offering hope for a potential cure for tinnitus.

Soccer Players Beware – New Research Links Heading to Significant Decline in Brain Function

By RADIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA: Complete Post through this link…

New findings recently presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) links soccer heading, a technique where players strike the ball with their heads, and a notable decrease in both the microstructure and functionality of the brain over a span of two years.

“There is enormous worldwide concern for brain injury in general and in the potential for soccer heading to cause long-term adverse brain effects in particular,” said senior author Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and affiliate professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University. “A large part of this concern relates to the potential for changes in young adulthood to confer risk for neurodegeneration and dementia later in life.”

Arizona first state to stop seizing social security, disability benefits of foster children

By Bridget Dowd: Complete Post through this link…

The Arizona Department of Child Safety has adopted a new program that creates savings accounts for children in foster care.

Kids who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI) benefits will have those funds placed in a Personal Needs Account.

For decades, child welfare agencies have seized those benefits to pay for the child’s foster care. DCS head David Lujan said Arizona is the first state in the country to stop that practice.

“Also, we are looking at other services that we can provide while children are in the foster care system, like financial literacy, financial planning, education, so that they can make good choices with those dollars as well,” he said. 

Lujan said creating the new savings accounts will create a $4 million hole in the DCS budget. He’s hoping the Legislature will make up for that deficit with money from the state’s general fund.

“I think it helps in terms of [foster children] going into adulthood, I think it helps them be able to plan more long term, and I think it just helps put all of these youth that are coming out of the foster care system on a much sounder footing,” he said.

Michigan lawmakers vote to end most juvenile court fees, citing harms

By Lauren Gibbons: Complete Post through this link…

  • Michigan lawmakers approved bills ending most court fines and fees levied in juvenile courts 
  • It was part of a larger overhaul of the state’s juvenile justice system
  • The bills’ passage follows Bridge reporting on how some counties pass the costs of juvenile detentions onto families, leaving many in debt

Michigan lawmakers gave final approval to a series of bills overhauling the state’s juvenile justice system late Wednesday evening, including legislation that would eliminate most court fines and fees currently levied on youth and their families. 

The legislation, which will now head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature, would keep mandatory crime victim payments and restitution, but eliminate most other references to fines, costs and assessments. They were passed with little debate as lawmakers rushed to finalize a slew of Democratic priorities before the Legislature adjourns for the year. The bills’ passage follows recent Bridge Michigan reporting on the financial burden fines and fees impose on juvenile offenders and their families.

Is a Common Bacteria a Trigger For Multiple Sclerosis?

From Neuroscience News: Complete Post through this link…

Summary: Researchers have discovered a potential link between the microbe C. perfringens and the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The study suggests that an epsilon toxin from the bacteria might degrade the blood-brain barrier, initiating the debilitating symptoms of MS. This breakthrough sheds light on the potential environmental trigger of MS and paves the way for therapeutic innovations.

The study hints at the prospect of developing a vaccine or alternative treatments in the near future.

Key Facts:

  1. The epsilon toxin produced by C. perfringens may break down the blood-brain barrier, possibly initiating MS.
  2. People living in regions with high sheep populations, where C. perfringens is prevalent, have a higher incidence of MS.
  3. 61% of MS patients had high levels of epsilon-toxin-producing C. perfringens in their guts compared to 13% of healthy individuals.

Source: Rockefeller University

Social Security Backlogs Have Left Over 1 Million Americans Awaiting Benefits

By Vance Cariaga: Complete Post through this link…

ngd-The fundemental difficulty is that initial application consideration uses a set of rules for decisions that aren’t consistent with the intent of the statutory definition of disability under SSA. This results in a doubling of the number of people who are denied, with half of the denials being bogus…

The Social Security Administration has become so overwhelmed by customer service problems that even officials with the agency admit that their performance is “not acceptable.” That was how Linda Kerr-Davis, the SSA’s acting deputy commissioner of operations, described things during a recent Congressional hearing.

Kerr-Davis was there to explain why more than 1 million Americans are still waiting for initial decisions on disability benefits that currently take an average of 220 days to process.

“Pending levels and wait times for determinations on initial disability claims and disability reconsiderations are at all-time highs,” Kerr-Davis told the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last month. “For the first time since the programs began, pending initial disability claims have exceeded 1 million. Applicants are waiting on average seven months for a decision. This is simply not acceptable — to the public, to you, or to us.”

Members of Congress — from both political parties — did not dispute that assessment. Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), chairman of the Social Security panel of the Ways and Means Committee, said the consequences of SSA’s various service failures “are devastating.”

The question now is what the SSA plans to do about it. Kerr-Davis told the committee that her agency has worked to identify issues that led to the backlog and plans to take “immediate steps” to address and resolve them.

Viagra could slash risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 60%: study

By Brooke Steinberg: Complete Post through this link…

Viagra could cut the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 60%, according to a new study.

Researchers from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York found that Viagra (sildenafil), a drug most commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction, blocks an enzyme found in the brains of those who suffer from the disease.

The study looked at more than 27,000 people over 65, comparing half of the participants who had been prescribed sildenafil with half who had not. Findings showed that Viagra suppresses a protein called PDE5.

In Alzheimer’s patients, PDE5 is “significantly increased” in the part of the brain that manages memory.

“We found sildenafil was significantly associated with a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” study author Xingyue Huo told The Sun.