If you missed the first showing…it is OK!
Encore Presentations of NEW Sheltering Arms Documentary are Airing soon!
This new documentary features real patients seen in our recent commercials. Inspirational moments are expressed through stories of incredible people finding the Power to Overcome at Sheltering Arms. Spread the word!!!
Showtimes
Saturday, January 28th at 2pm on Channel 8
Sunday, January 29th at 6am on Channel 12
Saturday February 4th at 1pm on Channel 12

See the trailer!

Tune in on Sunday, January 22nd at 2pm on WRIC Channel 8 for a new documentary about Sheltering Arms! See the in-depth inspirational stories behind the patients featured in our recent commercials!  Share with your friends!

Watch this inspirational new commercial featuring real Sheltering Arms Patient “Alyson” walking after a spinal cord illness that paralyzed her.

Watch this inspirational new commercial featuring real Sheltering Arms Patient “George” recovering after his stroke.

Watch this inspirational new commercial featuring real Sheltering Arms Patient Harris rowing crew and strengthening his body and living life on his terms even through he has Cerebral Palsy.

Watch this inspirational new commercial featuring real Sheltering Arms Patients overcoming incredible injuries.

Researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK have found a protein made by blood vessels in the brain that could be a good candidate for regenerative therapies that stimulate the brain to repair itself after injury or disease. They write about their findings in the 9 January online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Although most nerve cells or neurons in the adult brain are made in the womb and soon after birth, they are still produced later on in life, thanks to neural stem cells or NSCs.

NSCs have the potential to specialize into new brain cells, such as in the olfactory bulb, responsible for our sense of smell, and the hippocampus, which plays a key role in forming memories and learning.

NSCs inhabit specialized niches in the adult brain of mammals: these include the subventricular zone and the dentate gyrus, which also control how the stem cells behave.

These niches also contain other cell types, and along with NSCs they are often found next to blood vessels.

The niches generate a range of signals that control how fast the NSCs divide and the types of cell they turn into. Usually these cells become neurons or brain cells that communicate messages, but when the brain suffers an injury like a stroke, more often than not, the NSCs turn into glial cells which become scar tissue.

In this study, the MRC researchers studied the interaction between the cells that line the blood vessels (endothelial cells) and the NSCs, and found that a protein called betacellulin (BTC) boosted brain regeneration in mice by stimulating the NSCs to multiply and form new brain cells.

The researchers found that BTC, which is produced by cells within the blood vessels in the stem cell niches, signals to both the stem cells and to dividing cells called neuroblasts, triggering their proliferation.

When they gave mice more BTC, they noticed a significant increase in both stem cells and neuroblasts, leading to formation of many new neurons in their brains.

But when they gave the mice an antibody that blocks BTC, new neuron production stopped.

Dr Robin Lovell-Badge from the MRC’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), led the study. He said in a statement that we don’t fully understand the function of these stem cell niches in the brain, but it looks as if lots of things have to work together to control what happens to stem cells in the brain.

“We believe these factors are finely balanced to control precisely the numbers of new neurons that are made to match demand in a variety of normal circumstances,” said Lovell-Badge.

“But in trauma or disease, the stem cells either can’t cope with the increased demand, or they prioritise damage control at the expense of long-term repair,” he explained.

Because BTC leads to the production of new neurons rather than glial cells, the researchers hope their findings could help future therapies that aim to regenerate damaged or diseased parts of the brain, such as following stroke, traumatic brain injury, and possibly even in the case of dementia.

However, the work still has a way to go before the learning in the lab translates to therapy in the clinic: more experiments are needed to explain the normal role of BTC, and to explore, with animal studies, what it does on damaged brains, either on its own or together with transplanted NSCs.

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Catharine Paddock PhD. “Brain’s Ability To Self-Repair Boosted By Natural Protein.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 11 Jan. 2012. Web.
11 Jan. 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240168.php>

Three NATO troops were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan Wednesday. That kind of attack has caused nearly 40 percent of fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq. It often causes the what’s considered the “signature wound” of these wars: brain injuries. CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward in Afghanistan says the military is taking a new approach.

Getting treated by Capt. Amy Gray can entail playing with dogs, watching movies, even getting massages.

An occupational therapist, Gray heads the concussion care center at Forward Operating Base Fenty where a simple technique is making the world of difference in treating soldiers with mild traumatic brain injury, known as brain sprain.

“I tell them, ‘Your mission when you are with me is to sleep, relax and get better,’” she said.

Specialist Nick McKee was inside his base when an insurgent rocket exploded less than 20 feet away from him. He escaped without a scratch but quickly knew something was not right.

“I felt nauseous all that day and pretty much had headaches ever since,” he said. “Trouble sleeping mainly. Trying to go on like it didn’t happen — that was probably the hardest part.”

Despite incredible developments with blast-resistant vehicles, traumatic brain injury is still the most common injury on the battlefield. In the last 10 years, more than 320,000 servicemen and women have been diagnosed.

Up until recently, mild concussions often went untreated. If soldiers weren’t visibly wounded, they kept on fighting, sometimes resulting in serious long-term health issues.

Now the military is rethinking its approach.

“What we found is that if we get them in the first 24 hours, get them down, get them a good night’s sleep, their symptoms go away,” said Gray.

More than 200 soldiers have passed through here since Gray arrived in May. Almost all have returned to duty within a week.

“I’m sleeping and eating and pretty much just anxious to get out to my guys,” said McKee.

Gray: “I go from becoming Capt.Gray to mom and they will literally call me ‘mom.’”

Part officer, part mother: Capt. Gray is wholly committed to treating her soldiers.

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By: Clarissa Ward

(CBS News)