PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers report technique that enables patient with 'word blindness' to read again

2014-01-03
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Jim Ritter
jritter@lumc.edu
708-216-2445
Loyola University Health System
Researchers report technique that enables patient with 'word blindness' to read again MAYWOOD, Il. - In the journal Neurology, researchers report a novel technique that enables a patient with "word blindness" to read again.

Word blindness is a rare neurological condition. (The medical term is "alexia without agraphia.") Although a patient can write and understand the spoken word, the patient is unable to read.

The article is written by Jason Cuomo, Murray Flaster, MD, PhD and Jose Biller, MD, of Loyola University Medical Center.

Here's how the technique works: When shown a word, the patient looks at the first letter. Although she clearly sees it, she cannot recognize it. So beginning with the letter A, she traces each letter of the alphabet over the unknown letter until she gets a match. For example, when shown the word Mother, she will trace the letters of the alphabet, one at a time, until she comes to M and finds a match. Three letters later, she guesses correctly that the word is Mother.

"To see this curious adaption in practice is to witness the very unique and focal nature" of the deficit, the authors write.

The authors describe how word blindness came on suddenly to a 40-year-old kindergarten teacher and reading specialist. She couldn't make sense of her lesson plan, and her attendance sheet was as incomprehensible as hieroglyphs. She also couldn't tell time.

The condition was due to a stroke that probably was caused by an unusual type of blood vessel inflammation within the brain called primary central nervous system angiitis.

Once a passionate reader, she was determined to learn how to read again. But none of the techniques that she had taught her students – phonics, sight words, flash cards, writing exercises, etc. – worked. So she taught herself a remarkable new technique that employed tactile skills that she still possessed.

The woman can have an emotional reaction to a word, even if she can't read it. Shown the word "dessert," she says "Oooh, I like that." But when shown "asparagus," she says, "Something's upsetting me about this word."

Shown two personal letters that came in the mail, she correctly determined which was sent by a friend of her mother's and which was sent by one of her own friends. "When asked who these friends were, she could not say, but their names nevertheless provoked an emotional response that served as a powerful contextual clue," the authors write.

What she most misses is reading books to children. She teared up as she told the authors: "One day my mom was with the kids in the family, and they were all curled up next to each other, and they were reading. And I started to cry, because that was something I couldn't do."

### END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Odor receptors discovered in lungs

2014-01-03
Odor receptors discovered in lungs They're just like those in your nose but instead of conjuring up a cup of coffee they might make you cough Your nose is not the only organ in your body that can sense cigarette smoke wafting through the air. Scientists at Washington ...

Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity

2014-01-03
Local factors cause dramatic spikes in coastal ocean acidity Fluctuation 'adds insult to injury' for marine creatures DURHAM, N.C. – A new Duke University-led study has documented dramatic, natural short-term increases in the acidity of a North Carolina estuary. "The natural ...

EARTH Magazine: Geological travels in Antarctica

2014-01-03
EARTH Magazine: Geological travels in Antarctica Following in the footsteps of giants Alexandria, VA – Yesterday, 52 scientists, journalists and tourists were rescued from frozen Antarctic waters, where their ship, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, had been stuck ...

UT Arlington research may unlock enzyme's role in disease

2014-01-03
UT Arlington research may unlock enzyme's role in disease A UT Arlington chemist doing National Science Foundation-funded research on enzymes that regulate human biology has uncovered characteristics that could be used to identify predisposition to conditions ...

South African trauma center launches portable electronic trauma health record application

2014-01-03
South African trauma center launches portable electronic trauma health record application Canadian surgeons collaborate with South African hospital to successfully develop an iPad app for capturing trauma patient data in a low medical resource environment according ...

How 'slippers' can end mascara irritation

2014-01-03
How 'slippers' can end mascara irritation New test reduces need for animal testing An end to mascara testing on animals could be in sight thanks to tiny organisms nicknamed 'slipper' and 'eyelash'. Mascara is a mild irritant, and rabbits have, historically, ...

How best to go about getting seed money through crowdfunding

2014-01-02
How best to go about getting seed money through crowdfunding It can be by touting yourself, Hebrew University research shows Jerusalem, January 1, 2014 --- Early on in our careers, many of us were tutored as to how to best write an effective and ...

Earthquake lights linked to rift environments, subvertical faults

2014-01-02
Earthquake lights linked to rift environments, subvertical faults SAN FRANCISCO – Rare earthquake lights are more likely to occur on or near rift environments, where subvertical faults allow stress-induced electrical currents to flow rapidly to the ...

Longmanshen fault zone still hazardous, suggest new reports

2014-01-02
Longmanshen fault zone still hazardous, suggest new reports Seismological Research Letters publishes special issue on 2013 Lushan, China earthquake SAN FRANCISCO – The 60-kilometer segment of the fault northeast of the 2013 Lushan rupture is the place ...

Jumping DNA in the brain may be a cause of schizophrenia

2014-01-02
Jumping DNA in the brain may be a cause of schizophrenia Stretches of DNA called retrotransposons, often dubbed "junk DNA", might play an important role in schizophrenia. In a study published today in the journal Neuron, a Japanese team revealed that LINE-1 retrotransposons are abnormally ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Africa acacias ‘go for broke’ to grow, use up water to survive drought

An app, an Apple Watch and AI: UMass Amherst creates a new way for researchers to study sleep health

Sharing positive emotions with a partner is good for health

Ergonomic insect headgear and abdominal buckle with surface stimulators manufactured via multimaterial 3D printing snap-and-secure installation of noninvasive sensory stimulators for cyborg insects

Pharmacological insights into Scleromitrion diffusum (Willd.) against gastric cancer: active components and mechanistic pathways

Advanced imaging strategies based on intelligent micro/nanomotors

How climate-damaging nitrous oxide forms in the ocean

N6-methyladenosine methylation emerges as a key target for treating acute lung injury

Distributor-type membrane reactor for carbon dioxide methanation

Mapping the missing green: An AI framework boosts urban greening in Tokyo

Pharmacists help cancer patients manage high blood sugar more effectively

Babies’ gut bacteria may influence future emotional health

Scientists create new type of semiconductor that holds superconducting promise

Genes associated with obesity shared across ancestries, researchers find

Antidepressants improve core depressive symptoms early on

Superconducting germanium made with industry-compatible methods

Synthetic biology to supercharge photosynthesis in crops

Soil ‘memory’ can help plants respond to drought

Illinois researchers convert food waste into jet fuel, boosting circular economy

Under embargo: We learn physical skills by feeling rewarded, even in the absence of a reward, finds new study

Scientists on ‘urgent’ quest to explain consciousness as AI gathers pace

Drones reveal unexpectedly high emissions from wastewater treatment plants

Dancing alleviated perceived symptoms of depression and helped to understand its root causes

Tricky treats: Why pumpkins accumulate pollutants

Revealing the molecular structures of sugars using galectin-10 protein crystals

World’s leading medical journal details the climate emergency

GLP-1 drugs effective for weight loss, but more independent studies needed

Researchers uncover previously unexplored details of mosquito’s specialized detection mechanisms

Stem cell therapy linked to lower risk of heart failure after a heart attack

The NHS is reaching a crisis point in consultant recruitment, new report warns

[Press-News.org] Researchers report technique that enables patient with 'word blindness' to read again