Monthly Archives: November 2012

How-to videos – getting out of bed, walking with a walker, etc.

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This series of how-to videos was recently produced by CurePSP (psp.org).  These videos are not specific to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) but are applicable to anyone coping with a movement disorder.  The videos are available on CurePSP’s YouTube site:

www.youtube.com/user/CurePSPHowTo

CurePSP gave me a bunch of DVDs of these videos for our October 2012 atypical parkinsonism symposium.  I just got around to watching one of the DVDs.

There are 41 videos in the series.  The videos are divided into those which show someone how to do the activity on his/her own and show someone (family member, caregiver, aide) how to help with this activity.  The videos are short — 30 seconds to a couple of minutes.  The activities are broken down into small segments such as walking with a rolling walker and turning with a rolling walker.

Some of the 41 topics include:

* Getting Out of Bed
* Walking with a Rolling Walker
* Walking with a Cane
* Approaching a Chair
* Common Mistakes When Getting Out of a Chair
* Correctly Getting Out of a Chair
* Using the Power Stance – when brushing your teeth, for example
* Getting into Bed without a Handrail
* Getting Dressed
* Grooming Techniques
* Getting Up From a Fall

There are also some videos with strengthening exercises, upper body exercises, and flexibility exercises.  (My father’s physical therapist and occupational therapist gave my father the same exercises.)

Robin

WSJ Article About Tau Researcher

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This post is about tau protein. Tau is the protein involved in PSP, CBD, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

This Wall Street Journal article is on researcher Claude Wischik, tau protein, and Alzheimer’s research. Dr. Wischik “has long backed a minority view: that a protein in the brain called tau – not plaque – is largely responsible” for Alzheimer’s. Since this article is from the WSJ, there is an investment focus to part of the article.

For me, the most interesting part of the article was one sentence in parentheses. Dr. Wischik founded a company called TauRX Pharmaceuticals. They did a small study of a tau drug, called Rember, in Alzheimer’s patients. They never published the full results. “(Dr. Wischik says it didn’t to protect the company’s commercial interests.)”

There’s also a 5-minute video that focuses on the tau vs. amyloid debate. (This is sometimes called the “tauists vs. the BAPtists.” BAP = beta amyloid protein.) I’d recommend watching the video and then reviewing the article, if you are still interested.

Robin

5-minute video (after 15-second ad) on tau tangles, why Dr. Wischik focused on tau, why the rest of the community focused on amyloid, and what else is going on besides protein accumulation:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 … bs%3Dvideo

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 … %3Darticle
(I was able to view the full article this morning though it’s listed as “subscriber content only.” Probably this website error will be fixed soon)

HEALTH INDUSTRY
Updated November 9, 2012
Wall Street Journal

An Outcast Among Peers Gains Traction on Alzheimer’s Cure
By Jeanne Whalen

Some people collect stamps, others vintage cars. As a young Ph.D. student at Cambridge University in the 1980s, Claude Wischik was on a mission to collect brains. …