Neuro Note: A review of "Can the damaged brain repair itself"

In the TED talk titled Can the damaged brain repair itself? Siddharthan Chandran, a regenerative neurologist, discusses degenerative disorders of the brain such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, and MS, and progress of stem cell treatment of such diseases. 

Before January I had never watched a TED Talk, but after OT school began I realized how not only informative, but powerful these talks are. That is why I chose to consider TED Talks for this assignment. Alzheimer’s and M.S. have impacted and continue to impact my family, so I have a great interest in the techniques that are being developed to combat the effects of, or even stop diseases like this, which is why I chose to listen to and discuss this TED Talk.

My main takeaway from this video (other than education on degenerative neurological diseases) is a sense of hope for a cure of these diseases. I have heard of ‘plasticity’ in the brain, which is the brain forming new pathways after an injury, but I have heard little about progress in treatment of diseases like Alzheimer's and MS. Chandran explains in this talk that there may be a treatment and/or cure in sight. He describes stem cell research that is focused on helping and curing these diseases and how it is used to stimulate damaged neurons to do their job. 

I highly recommend this video, not only for students learning about the brain, but for everyone that is affected by the diseases discussed, especially occupational therapists and OT students. Chandran puts terms and diagnosis into categories that make sense. He doesn’t sugar coat disease, but instead discusses the increasing incidence and mortality rates. Chandran also gives a glimpse of hope that all OT practitioners should have when working with clients of any diagnosis, and especially these degenerative brain diseases. This positive attitude will be reflected onto the client and impact their motivation in intervention, a positive attitude is essential!

I will leave you with Chandran's closing statement:

“I’m hopeful for the future…. I do think that the day we might be able to repair the damaged brain is sooner than we think.”

If you are interested in learning more about this, here is the link to the TED Talk:

https://www.ted.com/talks/siddharthan_chandran_can_the_damaged_brain_repair_itself#t-65135

Chandran, S. (2013, July). Can the damaged brain repair itself? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/siddharthan_chandran_can_the_damaged_brain_repair_itself#t-65135