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Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

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Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#81

Post by danso »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #53
mabbo wrote: post #49

I was worried this would be a case of neural plasticity, where the brain just rewires itself around the damage (which is a thing, and it's super cool). But then I read this part: > An MRI scan a month after the 40th HBOT session showed almost complete reversal of the brain damage initially recorded. Researchers believe the oxygen therapy, coupled with Eden having the developing brain of a child, had activated genes t…

> We can reverse brain damage. Wow I'm going to tell you that I have never been more glad to read Hacker News first thing in the morning. I am sleeping in my mother's ICU room @ UIUC after she's suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage causing substantial brain damage. This is coming with me to the ICU team huddle this morning. Side note: if you're in neurological field or specialize in neurogenesis, please get in touch wi…

Best wishes to you and your mother.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#82

Post by sleepychu »

madilonts wrote: post #55
astalwick wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> However, don't forget that when a baby is left unsupervised and is submerged in a pool for 15 minutes, it's called neglect. Whoa there, slow down. Kids are quick. One moment, your three kids are happily watching Finding Dory on the tv, while you're making dinner. The next, only two are: the third has quietly wandered off. Unless you know the particulars, be very careful about tossing around words like 'neglect'.

Yeah, I realized that would be a controversial statement, and modified it to be a little less so. However, I have a 2 and a 3 year-old. And I would consider it my fault if they wandered into a freezing pool.

So first, the child managed to get through a baby gate, sounds like this wasn't completely unconsidered by the parents.

> And I would consider it my fault if they wandered into a freezing pool.

What about a warm pool? Are you telling me that you consider all environmental factors at all times and act accordingly to reduce the risk as far as possible? If so, you're pulling off a superhuman feat, IMHO.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#83

Post by bonniemuffin »

amykhar wrote: post #38

What frustrates me is that in the United States, most insurance companies won't pay for hyperbaric oxygen treatment for traumatic brain injuries. My son, 26, was injured in a car accident last November. I would love to be able to get Oxygen therapy for him, but cannot.

You really shouldn't extrapolate from this particular story that HBOT would necessarily have any impact on an adult brain. Developing children's brains have the capacity for regeneration in a way that adult brains don't.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#84

Post by verbify »

mholmes680 wrote: post #78
Sleeep wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also be aware of "dry drowning," it's incredibly rare but worth knowing it exists and it's symptoms if you or anyone you are caring for has a near drowning episode. http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/outdoor/dry-drowning/ " Any child pulled from the pool needs medical attention ," says Dr. Berchelmann. "At the very least, call the pediatrician."

since i first heard of dry drowning earlier this summer, i haven't been able to enjoy a pool with my 1 and 2 year olds. It's taken the place of SIDS for me.

I assume you take the preventative measures for SIDS?

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sudden-infant-death-syndrome/Pa...

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#86

Post by sillysaurus3 »

melling wrote: post #3

No, not really. You're making a hyperbolic statement. I've been watching Star Trek for 40 years. We're definitely still in the Dark Ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMaGnpVaSGQ

This comment shouldn't be flagged. It's a response to the grandparent comment's second edit, asking why they're downvoted. Whoever is flagging it is abusing the flag button. Downvote to disagree.

This is why you shouldn't even mention downvotes, however.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#87

Post by Sleeep »

mnw21cam wrote: post #61
SmellTheGlove wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it does. Lifeguards will tell you it's part of their training. It may be non-PC, but the statistics say that when you're watching the water, African-American children are more likely to drown. I don't know if it's specifically African American children, or black children (of any origin) in general. I've heard it's socioeconomic - potentially less likely to be able to swim, but I'm not sure honestly. If you're wa…

One of the things I was taught mumble years ago was that black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle. Hence, white people float more easily, and black people dominate the 100m sprint. We did an experiment where we would cannonball the swimming pool and see who floated. Admittedly, the amount of air you have in your lungs affects your buoyancy…

This is silly - even if it was true that "black people tend to have more dense fast twitch muscle, while white people tend to have less dense slow twitch muscle" (and I doubt it is) its not relevant. All people who are not physically handicapped can be taught to not drown, and that's what we are talking about here, "not drowning." We aren't talking about competitive level swimming, not swimming as a sport, and not even recreational swimming, we are talking about "stating alive if you find yourself in water." The fact that most (~70%) of black people lack this skill is a serious public health issue.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#88

Post by WhitneyLand »

dna_polymerase wrote: post #20
nerdponx wrote: post #2

This is approaching Star Trek levels of medicine. Congratulations to the team who discovered and pull this off, and of course my heart goes out to the family and their child. Drowning is very serious and very scary. Edit: somewhat unrelated since this girl fell into an unattended pool, but it's important to know the signs of drowning, which are not what you see in movies: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-to-spot-signs…

> “The startling regrowth of tissue in this case occurred because we were able to intervene early in a growing child, before long-term tissue degeneration. Although it’s impossible to conclude from this single case if the sequential application of normobaric oxygen then HBOT would be more effective than HBOT alone, in the absence of HBOT therapy, short duration, repetitive normobaric oxygen therapy may be an option u…

>we really are in the dark ages still

No, we'd be in the dark ages if we were in still the dark ages. Our current level of progress would seem like science fiction or even magic as little as a century ago.

I think I understand your point, that we have so much more to learn we're not even able to quantify what we don't know.

But this is not some kind of endless quest. We're dealing with a machine in the end with finite complexity and eventually it will be understood fundamentally.

I don't think I would be surprised if the most common diseases were eliminated in the next 100 to 200 years.

Re: Scientists Reverse Brain Damage in Drowned Toddler?

#89

Post by slr555 »

quotha wrote: post #73
slr555 wrote: post #48

Drowning is from a medical standpoint more complex than the simple notion I grew up with which was in essence "water fills your lungs so you can't breathe air". In fact drowning does not require filling the lungs completely. Even a volume of a few milliliters/Kilogram of body weight is enough to cause drowning. Additionally, drowning can cause serious damage to the lungs themselves even if the patient survives initia…

Have you heard of dry drowning? It can happen after exposure to water: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_drowning

My primary reference is Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine 7th Edition. It states that a consensus definition of "dry drowning" has been somewhat elusive. While laryngospasm may play a role in some drownings, opinion seems to lean now towards at least some aspiration of water on a consistent basis. The phenomenon is still the subject of debate.
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