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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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28-Dec-2023
Article Links: What’s a stinger? Is 49ers’ Brock Purdy prone to keep suffering them? (sfchronicle.com) What’s a stinger and is 49ers’ Brock Purdy prone to keep suffering them? (msn.com) Brock Purdy has suffered a stinger in each of the past two games, which leads to a few obvious questions: What exactly is a stinger? And does its reoccurrence in Purdy signal potential ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
The winter months are among the toughest for people experiencing the effects of chronic pain. The latter part of the calendar year is characterized by holiday activities, which can bring tremendous joy but also significantly affect one’s routine, including sleep and dietary choices. Of course, the burgeoning chill in the air can also contribute to pain's impact on the body and feelings ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
Often, when people think about "research," it brings to mind sterilized labs where closely controlled tests are conducted by scientists in white coats on various subjects. Although lab research is fundamental to the progress of science and medicine, it isn't the only way scientific research studies are performed. Recently, I was involved in a type of research called the Modified ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Dec-2023
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN), the organization involved in promoting high-quality neurologic care and assistance to neurologic health professionals, recently released a position statement on its goals for the brain health of all Americans by the year 2050. In its report, the AAN provides a highlighted overview of its plan to help people improve their brain health across the lifespan. ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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30-Oct-2023
"What a headache" is a figure of speech used to describe stressful situations. Of course, we know actual headaches are equally—if not more—troubling. The physical pain may result in the need to cancel plans, lost PTO and a reduced quality of life. Some headache causes, such as viral symptoms, can't be avoided (sorry). However, neurologists want you to know that other ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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26-Sep-2023
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You go to bed intending to sleep at least seven hours so that you’re ready to start the next day bright and early. When your alarm goes off, you think, “Great, I got so much sleep,” only to find yourself yawning non-stop and fending off the urge to lie back down. What gives? Well, optimum sleep is more than just the number of hours you get each ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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25-Sep-2023
A neurologist is a doctor who specializes in conditions that affect your brain, spinal cord and nervous system. Your nervous system controls all you body's functions – from processing memories to the beating of your heart. Neurologists focus on understanding and treating neurological problems, including headaches, sleep disorders and Alzheimer’s disease. In this guide we explore ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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15-Sep-2023
By 4:30 p.m. most days, after 10 hours of demolishing concrete, sanding railings and installing light switches, Cade Hall’s muscles ache. It’s a pain he can live with. After spending well over a decade battering his body as he blitzed quarterbacks, Hall has found peace working construction. His hourly wage is a fraction of what he could be making as a professional football player. A ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Sep-2023
As you age, preserving and promoting your cognitive health becomes ever more important. And while there are countless tools and programs that claim to keep your mind sharp as you get older, experts say that the most important things you can do are actually simple, accessible, and free. Not only do these everyday interventions promote excellent cognitive health, but many of them also contribute to ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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14-Aug-2023
Ninety-five days before Damar Hamlin collapsed on the same yard line on the same field, Tua Tagovailoa was thrown to the turf at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. His elbow slammed down first, then his back, then finally his helmet ricocheting off the field and leaving him unconscious. It was a legal play with a vicious consequence, a horrifying scene similar to the one that played out three months ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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1-Aug-2023
A new analysis looking at data from five population-based studies delved deeper into the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea, lack of sufficient sleep, and cognitive function. The analysis found that preventing obstructive sleep apnea — when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep — and better sleep consolidation was linked to better cognitive function in the ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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31-Jul-2023
As you get older, it's normal to notice some minor changes in your cognitive abilities. For instance, you may find as you reach your senior years that it's a bit more difficult to sustain your attention, multitask, find the right word, or recall information as quickly as you once did. "Some changes in the ability to think are considered a normal part of the aging process," says ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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12-Jul-2023
Researchers looked at cognitive function over 10 years in 8,958 people aged 50 and older in England. The study found people who slept between 6 and 8 hours per night and engaged in higher levels of physical activity were linked with better cognitive function. People who slept fewer than 6 hours a night, even if they engaged in higher levels of physical activity, experienced more rapid cognitive ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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7-Jul-2023
As a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain, I am often faced with the truth that pain is not simply a sensation but an experience unique to the individual. Each person's pain response to an acute injury or chronic condition is contingent upon a wide array of factors that aren't only physical. Among the many reasons that pain can be challenging to manage is ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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7-Jul-2023
Lower back pain is the single leading cause of disability worldwide. In 2020, 619 million people globally were affected by the condition. By 2050, this figure is expected to increase to 843 million. Neck pain is also a leading contributor to disability worldwide and is estimated to be the fourth leading cause of disability in terms of “years lived with disability.” Clinical guidelines ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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26-Jun-2023
Pain occurs when nerve cells detect damage and transmit signals to the brain for interpretation. Everyone feels pain differently, which makes it challenging for doctors to define and treat. A new study, using brain scans, has found that gamma oscillations — brain waves linked to pain perception — have different timing, frequency, and location in different people. This finding could ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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8-Jun-2023
Drinking plenty of water is essential to your health : It helps your organs perform their vital functions, regulates your body temperature, lubricates your joints, and helps rid your body of waste, among other things. And with so many important functions hanging in the balance, it doesn't take long for problems to arise when you're inadequately hydrated, experts say. "Dehydration is ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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5-Jun-2023
As a neurologist who has cared for many patients experiencing migraines and chronic headaches, I can confidently state that rarely are two patients’ experiences the same. What one person may find debilitating, another may experience as only a nuisance. Some people can maintain a high quality of life with specific headache symptoms, while others may be unable to work or live well while ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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10-May-2023
Whatever age you are, the best time to start prioritizing your health is now. However, certain health habits are especially beneficial as you reach your 50s, before the health consequences of not doing so set in. Adopting a few simple interventions could be the key to health and longevity, doctors say, helping to stave off disease, preserve cognitive function, improve your quality of life, and ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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5-May-2023
Migraine affects more than 1 billion people globally every year. There is currently no cure for migraine headaches, which can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life. Researchers from Vall d’Hebron University Hospital in Spain recently presented research showing the drug atogepant helps prevent headaches in people with episodic migraine who have had no success with other ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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24-Apr-2023
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem that can significantly impact a person's quality of life, the healthcare system, and society as a whole. Health disparities in TBI refer to the unequal distribution of TBI-related morbidity (the state of having a specific illness) and mortality (the number of deaths due to a particular disease) across different populations. These ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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13-Apr-2023
Migraine is a neurological condition characterized by recurring headaches felt as a throbbing pain on one side of the head. Other symptoms include nausea, dizziness, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Between 14% and 15% of the world’s population are affected by migraine. Women are 2 to 3 times more likely than men to have the condition. Recently, several new ways of treating ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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12-Apr-2023
Getting enough high-quality sleep —a minimum of seven hours of sleep per night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—is essential to maintaining a healthy body and mind. Yet as the Cleveland Clinic points out, sleep deprivation is a common problem, affecting between 50 million to 70 million adults in the U.S. at any given time. "Virtually every human ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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6-Mar-2023
If you’re like most humans, Patrick Mahomes and Steph Curry excluded, you’ve experienced a time or two in your life where you felt like your body’s reaction to something was out of your control. Whether it was an anxious response to something stressful that got your heart galloping inside your chest or fear of something chasing you that left you frozen, with breath racing, ...
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Posted By Vernon B. Williams, MD
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20-Feb-2023
E.O. Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist known for developing the field of sociobiology, said – “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.” The “answer” to many of life’s questions can now be “found” with a few keystrokes on a computer keyboard or swipes on a smartphone. Especially for patients experiencing chronic pain, they ...
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