Did you know that the human brain is made up of 86 billion neurons that are responsible for sending and receiving information to and from the outside world? Yes, you read that correctly, billion, not million. Our brains are crucial to our well-being and dictate how we function on a day-to-day basis. Medicine is constantly discovering new ways to help diagnose and treat a myriad of conditions ranging from common forgetfulness, i.e., “Where did I put my keys?” to advanced stages of dementia.
Margie S., a 44-year-old accountant, did not know what was going on with her brain. She felt way too young to be having cognitive struggles. She loved numbers and spreadsheets, though noticed in the last year that her work no longer came easy to her. She admittedly was having a hard time staying focused and was making errors in calculations that were not like her. She felt her overall performance was not what it should be and she wanted to know why, and more importantly, what to do about it.
Many people can relate to Margie’s problems with suboptimal cognitive functioning, and like Margie, they can feel very frustrated and perplexed about what to do next. Luckily, there are a few comprehensive programs that offer solutions based on precision medicine assessments. The aim of a precision approach is to tailor treatment plans according to the individualized needs of the patient.
There are many possible explanations for why Margie’s brain may not be working as sharply as it once did. Unresolved symptoms from a head trauma or concussion for example, are common and many people write them off as minor, though they can yield long-term post-concussive effects such as fatigue, brain fog and headaches. There also are common degenerative disorders that can cause dysfunction in the neural pathways of the brain, as well as infectious and post-infectious problems such as long-COVID. Even prolonged stress and nutritional deficiencies can be at the root of the problem.
The good news is that advances in neuroscience technologies are now capable of assessing the functionality of our brains and can be layered with other precision assessments. One place that has been creating these leading-edge brain assessment technologies is the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and its individually tailored and medically advanced Optimal Brain Program.
The finely tuned, precision-driven Optimal Brain Program includes a day-long assessment with multiple components created for one mutual goal: understanding and enhancing your brain’s resiliency and performance. Members of this advanced care team include world-renowned neuroscientist, Andrew Newberg, MD, lead neurologist Daniel Kremens, MD, seasoned biofeedback specialist, Pam Calvert-Hirt, PhD, and New York Times best-selling author on brain health, Sara Gottfried, MD.
“The Optimal Brain Program allowed me to discover not only crucial information about my brain but also my whole body. I now have a strong understanding of how my brain is wired and feel relieved that I now know what is going on instead of guessing. This has changed my daily living,” Margie S.
To learn more about the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health’s Optimal Brain Health assessment and treatment program, visit JeffersonHealth.org/MarcusBrain.
