Gabriel's Life

Over the span of the ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy series, Hydrocephalus has been included in the storyline several times. In last night’s episode, (May 5, 2011) two of the main characters, Derrick and Meredith, consider adopting a baby with Hydrocephalus. The following clip from last night’s episode, explains that children born with Spina Bifida often develop Hydrocephalus.

Scientists with the Van Andel Research Institute believe a new invention that “mimics” a patient’s internal environment could better help treatment of child hydrocephalus patients. Working with researchers at the University of Utah, scientists at the Michigan-based institute studied a number of different shunts working “under a variety of conditions by creating a bioreactor that mimics the environment inside patients.” “Tragically, practically all patients with hydrocephalus are at risk for shunt malfunctions, which invariably produce more brain injury, and most”

Today marked the official start of several key provision of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress’s recently-passed health care reform bill. However, as one Glendale News-Press commentator wrote, some enacted measures potentially present exciting developments for patients and families dealing with child hydrocephalus. “As a mother of a young child with hydrocephalus, a lifelong, life-threatening medical condition, all I can say is ‘Hallelujah!’” exclaims Shannon Raghavachary, a contributor to the Press. Among the health care reform provisions she feels benefits”

Tonight, ABC will air the season premier of their hospital drama “Grey’s Anatomy.” On the same day, Gabriel’s Life will launch a campaign to get a Gabriel’s Life sticker on the prime time television show. How you can help. * Buy the stickers. Buy three Gabriel’s Life stickers for $12. We will send you two stickers. Keep one and give the other to your favorite doctor or nurse, take a picture of them with the sticker and email it Gabriel’s”

We’ve made some changes to the site, which you can read about here. We put together a quick video to show you what you’re able to do with the new and improved Gabriel’s Life!

A research team headed by a bioengineering professor at the Unviersity of Illinois at Chicago may soon uncover an alternative way to monitor and maintain brain fluid levels. According to the university, associate professor Andreas Linninger will soon test a new fluid sensor on an animal in order to see if the patented volume device can regulate cerebrospinal fluid in the brain better than the traditional shunt. Linninger recently received a $423,000 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders”

We just finished an upgrade to GabrielsLife and we welcome you to check it out! Whether you’re already a member or this is your first time visiting, we’d love for you to take a minute and explore our new features. Most of what we’ve done in this update is focused on improving the layout of the website and we’ve also added features which will help keep us all connected in order to share our stories and support! More Intuitive Layout”

Last month, the California-based Hydrocephalus Association held its 11th Annual Hydrocephalus Conference, with presentations on pregnancy and hydrocephalus, shunt problems and varieties, and more. One exciting presentation–featured recently on the association’s website–highlighted the peculiar difficulties adolescent patients face as they make the already-awkward transition from childhood to adulthood. Given from a medical expert’s perspective, the presentation focuses on the large amount of awareness and maturity a hydrocephalitic teen must foster in order to make it through the difficult changes ahead.”

While world events have continued their chaotic pace and drawn attention to new disasters, elections, or athletics, a determined group of medical workers have continued their own pace in assisting the still, much-needed humanitarian work in Haiti. (Post continues below) Not even a year after its disastrous earthquake, a team of compassionate doctors, nurses and photographers have devoted their time to helping crop relief efforts, treating rampant illnesses and also providing irreplaceable surgeries for hydrocephalus patients. As featured at the”

Based on three case studies, a psychology professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand discovered interesting memory function improvement in one of their patients following a shunt surgery. Following 16-, 26- and 33-year-old hydrocephalitic patients, associate professor Jenni Ogden an article in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology detailed the effects a shunt surgery had on the subjects’ relative memory function. Each had demonstrated lower performance for memory, but none had issues with incontinence, dementia or lack”