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| Mosaic 2 Reading, 4/e Brenda Wegmann Miki Knezevic Marilyn Bernstein
Advances in MedicineNarrator: Jerry Lineberger is off and rolling, a wheelchair controlled by head movements and an eye-controlled computer help Jerry and his wife Donna keep life as normal as possible.Wife: Actually, we've been able to do some traveling and some things that we wanted to do.Narrator: Less than two years ago Jerry was diagnosed with ALS. His motor nerve cells were dying. Doctors said that he would lose the ability to move, talk and eventually breathe.Wife: [It's] mind boggling to think that you get a diagnosis like that, and they pretty much just say there's nothing we can do.Narrator: Then they found neurologist Jeffrey Rosenfeld. He had a different outlook.Rosenfeld: In the history of ALS, there's never been a time where as many advances, as many people are involved, as many hypotheses are being tested as there are right now.Narrator: One theory is BDNF, a synthetic protein, may help slow down the disease.Rosenfeld: What're we're attempting to do is to keep nerve cells alive that would otherwise be vulnerable to death in ALS.Narrator: A pump the size of a hockey puck is implanted in the abdomen. A catheter is inserted between two vertebrae. Tiny holes continuously release the drug into the spinal fluid. Rosenfeld: Whenever I see a person who is progressing perhaps slower than I would have expected, I always optimistically hope that it's the treatment that we're offering them. And I have seen scenarios like that with this drug.Narrator: The Linebergers are optimistic too.Wife: I believe that the drug has already prolonged his life. Narrator: That means more time with Donna and their daughters, Jill and Melissa, and more time to laugh. |
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