Ackee (Blighia sapida) is a Jamaican favorite despite its lethality. The yellow part of the fruit is boiled and served with salted fish. The scientific name honors Captain William Bligh who took the fruit from Jamaica to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, England in 1793 and introduced it to science. The fruit was imported to Jamaica from West Africa likely on a slave ship. The fruit contains the toxins hypoglycin A and B which when ingested uncooked leads to Jamaican vomitting sickness and hypoglycemia. It is a major export from Jamaica ($4.5 million US).
Christopher Prusinski,DO,FAHA,FAAN and Steven Lewis,FAAN meet with Senator Mark Kirk (a victim of stroke himself) for Illinois to discuss supporting the FAST Act to improve access to Neurologists in urban and suburban ares (those areas most effected by stroke) to improve stroke care and reduce costs to medicare overall. Of course, continued funding of the BRAIN initiative (Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies) a cause personal to Dr. Prusinski is always emphasized with every meeting with lawmakers.
University of Colorado School of Medicine researchers have found that phenylbutyrate stops the progression of PD in mice. The drug, previously approved for treatment of a rare metabolic disease in infants, has been found to increase alpha-synuclein in the bloodstream of both patients with early PD and age matched controls. Alpha-synuclein accumulates in excess in the brain's of patients with PD. Therefore, the finding of an increase in alpha-synuclein in the blood of phenylbutyrate treated patients with PD suggests that this protein that accumulates in excess in their brain's is being cleared by the drug. This new research follows the earlier study of Zhou as published in 2011.
http://bit.ly/NT-SfN-phenylbutyrate
J Biol Chem 2011;286:1491-1451
Dr. Prusinski demonstrates ear lavage to Christian Prusinski OMSII as intrigued children critique his technique.
Profoundly hearing impaired patient...after EAC lavage by Christian and me (resulting in a Guiness World record 3cm cerumen impaction extracted from the left ear and similar result on the right) had complete return of hearing and resolution of tinnitus as inspired supervising perspective future physicians observe in amazement. IRIE my Jamaican extended family.
