MIAMI, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s the medical prognosis no one wants to hear. When their daughter was in a coma, two parents were told to pull the plug by one doctor. So, they sought a second opinion. They are relieved they did, because not only did she wake up, she is on the road to recovery. Ivanhoe has their story.
This is 32-year-old Julia Piantini one month before her father got this phone call.
“’Do you know Julia Piantini?’ I said, ‘Of course, I know her. She’s my daughter.’ ‘Well, this is so and so from fire rescue and we’re here, and she’s not responsive,’” shared Albert Piantini, Julia’s dad.
Julia was in a coma after a blood clot travelled to her lung. Doctors told her parents initial brain scans showed no hope and they should say goodbye. A second opinion from neurologist doctor Kester Nedd told them she would wake up.
“And one of the early signs that I saw from Julia when she was recovering is that she had a sleep-wake cycle. She was able to fall asleep with the sun going down and awake with the sun coming up,” explained Kester Nedd, DO, Neurologist, Design Neuroscience Center.
Her parents believed him. This is Julia one month later in rehab.
Then six weeks later singing before she could see or speak. More than a year later here she is walking to physical therapy.
“Guess what baby, I’m still here. Like the song, I’m still standing, and walking, and talking, and dancing. I danced at my cousin’s wedding,” smiled Julia.
“When you see where she was a year ago to where she is today, it’s really nothing short of a miracle,” stated Albert.
Neurologist doctor Kester Nedd has developed the BHET method which stands for brain, hierarchical, evaluation, and treatment method. A new way to look at how the brain is organized. You can find out more at www.concussion.com.
Contributors to this news report include: Neki Mohan, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor; and Judy Reich, Videographer.
PULLING THE PLUG – Second Opinion Matters!
REPORT #2920
BACKGROUND: The sleep-wake cycle refers to the pattern of time we spend awake and asleep in a 24-hour period. This pattern is one of the body’s many circadian rhythms which are impacted by both internal and external factors. In addition to the sleep-wake cycle, other circadian rhythms exist to regulate numerous bodily functions that rise and fall over a 24-hour pattern which include hormone production, core body temperature, energy levels, and appetite. Circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders are disturbances of wakefulness and sleep and often cause difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and sleeping at typical times, resulting in chronic fatigue. The sleep-wake cycle can be improved through better sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is the sum of healthy habits surrounding a regular sleep schedule.
(Source: https://www.sleep.org/sleepwake-cycle/)
COMA AND ITS IMPACT: A coma is a prolonged state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive to their environment. The person is alive and looks like they are sleeping, but cannot be awakened by any stimulation, including pain. Comas are caused by an injury to the brain which can be the result of increased pressure, bleeding, loss of oxygen, or buildup of toxins. The injury can be temporary and reversible, or it can be permanent. More than 50 percent of comas are related to head trauma or disturbances in the brain’s circulatory system. Prognosis for a coma varies with each situation. The chances of a person’s recovery depend on the cause of the coma, whether the problem can be corrected, and the duration of the coma. If the problem can be resolved, the person can often return to their original level of functioning. Sometimes, though, if the brain damage is severe, a person may be permanently disabled or never regain consciousness.
(Source: https://www.webmd.com/brain/coma-types-causes-treatments-prognosis)
NEW RESEARCH IN VIRTUAL PHARMACOLOGY: New drugs to treat circadian rhythm disturbances may be on the horizon with a cutting-edge technique that allows scientists to rapidly test hundreds of millions of molecules in computer simulations. A research team led by scientists at UC San Francisco, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University at Buffalo screened over 150 million virtual molecules, chemical compounds that don’t exist, but can be easily and inexpensively synthesized, and discovered the first drugs that target one of two mammalian melatonin receptors. The study is the first to show how combining ultra-large-scale virtual pharmacology with the latest findings from structural biology can lead to the identification of new drugs that produce strong, targeted responses in animal models of human disorders. “Starting from the atomic structure of the melatonin receptor, we were able to find potent molecules that had unexpected effects on circadian rhythms in animal models of jet lag. This was only possible thanks to the chemical novelty afforded by an ultra-large virtual library of synthesizable compounds,” said Brian Shoichet, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry in UCSF’s School of Pharmacy.
* For More Information, Contact:
Kester Nedd, DO
elliem98@concussiontbi.com (Public Relations)
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