health & wellness

Fragile X from page 42

For the Best Stroke Treatment,
Come to St. Joe's

A stroke is an emergency. When you or a
loved one has a stroke, call 911 and get to an
emergency room immediately.
A stroke is a brain attack and can take two
forms: a clot or a bleed in the brain. As the brain
is deprived of oxygen, millions of neurons can
die. If not treated quickly, you can suffer brain
damage or death.
For the best, technologically advanced stroke treatment, come to the leader in
stroke care—St. Joseph Mercy Oakland (SJMO). As the home base of the Michigan
Stroke Network (MSN), SJMO has top stroke specialists—vascular and interventional
neurologists, a neuro intensivist, neurosurgical and neuroendovascular specialists,
neuroscience nurses and a whole team of clinicians—to treat your stroke and restore
your quality of life.
St. Joe's stroke specialists use the latest treatments to resolve a stroke. In
some cases, a clot-busting drug can dissolve the stroke. In more severe cases, an
interventional procedure is performed using the latest technology, such as stent
retrievers, to remove the clot and restore blood flow to the brain. For a bleed in the brain,
other technologies are available.
In 2004, SJMO, a member of the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, became
Michigan's first certified primary stroke center. This laid the foundation for the MSN,
which was launched in October 2006 by Trinity Health and SJMO. The MSN provides
technologically advanced stroke care not only at St. Joe's, but also to more than 30
partner hospitals throughout Michigan via telemedicine, using two-way, audio-visual
robotics to provide remote clinical health care. The MSN works in partnership with the
Wayne State University Physicians Group to provide access to stroke care, ongoing
clinical trials and stroke research across Michigan.
To protect yourself from a stroke, know your risk factors and the signs and symptoms
of stroke.

By
Jack Weiner,
President and CEO
St. Joseph Mercy
Oakland

Risk factors for stroke include:
• Irregular heartbeat
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Alcohol abuse
• Belonging to certain ethnic groups, particularly African American
• Family history of stroke
• Sleep apnea
• Age greater than 55 years

Use the acronym FAST to remember the signs of a stroke:
• F: Face numbness or tingling
• A: Arm weakness or paralysis
• S: Speech abnormality
• T: Time is critical

Ramesh Madhavan,
MD, DM

Be aware of stroke symptoms, including:
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause
"By knowing the signs and symptoms of a stroke, you can help save a loved one,
says Ramesh Madhavan, MD, DM, an SJMO vascular neurologist and Medical Director of
Telemedicine. "Patients experiencing the symptoms of a stroke need to act fast by calling
911 or going to the nearest primary stroke center, such as SJMO."
Dr. Madhavan advises "to prevent a stroke, follow a healthy diet, reduce your sodium
intake, keep your cholesterol and blood pressure down, exercise and don't smoke."
To learn more about stroke care at SJMO, visit michiganstrokenetwork.com .

DISCOVER

44 . ,lay 30 • 2013

REMARKABLE

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never heard of FXS," Edelson says. "My
brother traveled across the country to
find information about this genetic
mutation. Since there was no facility in
Michigan to diagnose or treat the con-
dition, I decided that my clinic should
provide this service:'
As owner of the Birmingham Maple
Clinic, Edelson spent a year bringing
together a team of physicians, geneti-
cists and therapists who could provide
services to families with children
diagnosed with FXS. When the group
learned more about FXS-related dis-
orders for adult carriers, Edelson and
her committee of medical specialists
agreed the clinic wasn't equipped to
treat such a broad population.
"A new clinic needed to be estab-
lished in a hospital or at an academic
site Edelson says, "so that more spe-
cialists were involved. We pushed and
the result was that the University of
Michigan Fragile X Clinic was estab-
lished in 2012."
One of the adult FXS-related dis-
orders is called Fragile-X-associated
tremor/ataxia syndrome or FXTAS
(pronounced fax-tass). It affects men
over age 50, causing tremors, balance
problems and dementia that progres-
sively worsen over time. A major con-
cern is that many men with FXTAS are
often misdiagnosed with Parkinson's
disease. More men than women are
likely to develop FXTAS. Men inherit
this genetic change from their mother,
while women with FXTAS can inherit
it from their mother or father. People
afflicted by the genetic flaw appear
normal through childhood and much
of their adult life. Both mother and
father can pass the gene mutation to
their children.
FXPOI is another adult Fragile
X-associated disorder. It is a condition
in which the ovaries stop functioning
at full capacity in the female carrier.
Common symptoms are absent or
manifest as irregular periods, symp-
toms of menopause, such as hot flash-
es, early menopause and infertility.
It is expected that more adults will
be identified as carriers of Fragile X
because once a child is identified with
the condition, other members in the
family then are tested to determine the
carrier.
Thirty years ago almost no one

Fundraising For FXS

The Silverton family is holding its
annual fundraiser, Wrinkle Free for
Fragile X Syndrome and Autism,
on Friday, June 14. Hosted by Dr.
Kimball Silverton, a board certi-
fied dermatologist and cosmetic
surgeon, and wife, Jenn, the event
takes place at the Silverton Skin
Institute in Grand Blanc.

knew about Fragile X syndrome, yet
in the United States alone, more than
1 million individuals are impacted by
some Fragile X-associated condition.
A group of Wisconsin researchers
reported that FXS is occurring with
more frequency among Americans
than previously believed.

Autism And FXS
People will learn about FXS because
of its strong relationship to autism.
Autism is a behavioral diagnosis. The
range of symptoms varies and is char-
acterized by a child's impaired ability
to communicate and interact socially
with others. The diagnosis of autism
is made by a pediatrician, neurologist,
psychologist, psychiatrist or other spe-
cialist. It is made after evaluating the
child using behavioral tools and tests.
There is no blood test for autism and
MRIs don't diagnose the condition.
Fragile X syndrome is the most com-
mon known genetic cause of autism.
However, while autism is a behavioral
diagnosis, FXS is medical and has a
genetic diagnosis.
"What we're learning is that many
children who actually have FXS have
been identified as autistic; Edelson
explains. "The problem is the treat-
ment for FXS is specific to FXS and
the gold standard for treating autism is
very different:'
While it has long been known that
individuals with Fragile X syndrome
often exhibit autistic tendencies,
only recently has the possibility been
raised that the two conditions may
overlap more than previously thought.
Scientists at various Fragile X centers
are studying whether this overlap may
extend beyond behavioral similarities
and include genetic or biological com-
ponents.
"There is still much to be learned
about identifying behaviors that sug-
gest the presence or absence of autism
in FXS," Cohen says. "There is even
some discussion that the genes related
to autism may be controlled by the
Fragile X gene, which is why the search
for the connection between the two is
so intense and may have far-reaching
effects. My advice to parents is to find
as much as you can about Fragile X
and have your children genetically
tested:'

❑

Participants can receive
Botox injections for a reduced
price, with all proceeds going to
research at National Fragile X
Foundation (www.nfxf.org ) and
the California M.I.N.D. Institute
for its research on autism.
Appointments, starting at 9 a.m.,
are required. (810) 606-7500.

