Get the latest on Active Gaming!
Click here
for the latest
NEWS CYCLE eNewsletter
For past issues, Click Here
Click above to play
CBS News Segment
GameBike and GamePads in Physical Education Classes?
We wrote the book.
Rehabilitation of Stroke with Active Gaming | Send Feedback
Survivors of strokes say that there is no more helpless feeling. Strokes are caused by either blood clots or ruptured blood vessels which lead to hemorrhaging which disrupt blood supply to a portion of the brain. As oxygen and other nutrients that are critical to the functioning of the brain are stopped, brain cells die and the stroke victim can suffer paralysis, lose ability to understand or form speech, have vision difficulties or lose parts of their memory.
In the United States alone, approximately 780,000 people are affected by strokes each year. According to the American Stoke Association, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the country, killing about 150,000 people every year.
Neurologists estimate that for every minute a patient suffers from an untreated stroke, approximately two million brain cells are lost. Once these brain cells die, they do not regenerate.
As with most widespread diseases, stokes are the result of genetics or lifestyle. While there is little anyone can do about their race or a family history of stroke at the present time, success of the human genome project will no doubt impact this in the foreseeable future.
Lifestyle considerations, such focusing on healthy diet, smoking cessation and regular exercise, are very much under the control of an individual and can enable them to avoid the terrible consequences of a stroke. Atherosclerosis, which is caused by a build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances along the lining of the arteries that are also known as "plaque" is the main cause of stroke in adults
The symptoms of stroke have been well documented but deserve repeating. Victims can have difficulty speaking or understanding speech of others. They might also experience slurred speech. Victims can also experience confusion, weakness or numbness on one side of the body and have difficulty seeing or walking.
When any of these symptoms present themselves, it is critical for the victim to receive immediate medical attention. Time, three hours to be precise, is a critical component of stroke survival.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has approved only one pharmaceutical therapy for stroke patients. This is "tissue plasminogen activator" or "tPA." This drug, also available in some European and Asian countries, has the ability to dissolve blood clots, reestablish blood flow and thus reduce brain damage. However, in order to be effective, tPA must be administered within three hours of the stroke's occurrence and it can only be administered once brain scans and other tests have been administered.
Older people are not the only victims of stroke. In fact, infants and children can suffer strokes as well. The first year of life is the most risky time for childhood strokes. Unlike the plaque found in adult stroke victims, the primary risk factors for infant stroke are sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease, trauma to the head and dehydration.
The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association and pediatric specialists, using improved diagnostic tools including vascular ultrasound and MRI evidence estimate that the risk of a child having a stroke is about 11 for every 100,000 children each year.
The strategies for rehabilitation of stroke victims are evolving almost as fast as the preventative tools resulting from human genome research. The most exciting rehabilitation therapies are based on the recently discovered "plasticity" of the human brain.
This "neuroplasticity" or natural malleability of the brain allows the blocked neurons, damaged by the stroke, to "re-wire" themselves on a constant basis. Using such tools as computer gaming, cognitive fitness tools and other repetitive rehabilitation tactics, many stroke victims are regaining all or part of their original capacities.
Experiencing a stroke will always be terrifying but it doesn't have to be a death sentence. Exciting drug treatments such as tPA and innovative rehabilitation therapies will help the victims of stroke overcome this shock to the system. However, the best solution for stroke is prevention and this starts with a healthy lifestyle.
Later--
The Clue