Glia and Chronic Pain

From the November 2009 Scientific American Magazine | New Culprits in Chronic Pain Glia are nervous system caretakers whose nurturing can go too far. Taming them holds promise for alleviating pain that current medications cannot ease By R. Douglas Fields Helen’s left foot slipped off the clutch on impact, twisting her ankle against the car’s…

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Brain Damage from High Altitude Mountaineering

Are the Mountains Killing Your Brain? Alarming new science shows that thin air can wreck brain cells—at lower altitudes than you’d think. Here’s how to protect yourself. Douglas Fields “YOU HAVE TO BE poco loco to be a climber,” says Dr. Nicholás Fayed. A neuroradiologist at the Clinica Quirón de Zaragoza, in northern Spain, Dr.…

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