Brain Damage

Jockey Michael Rowland was in critical condition yesterday, 1 day after being involved in a three-horse spill at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky. Rowland's agent, Mike Greenfield, said he was told by the jockey's family that Rowland was in a coma and had brain damage. "It's not looking good," Greenfield said. "But from what I've heard, even the best-case scenario is not going to be really good. " Rowland had surgery Wednesday night, but the extent of his injuries was not immediately known, a track spokesman said.

When asked in a recent psychiatric interview who was president and who was mayor, demolition contractor and reputed mob associate Ralph "Big Ralph" Costobile replied, Ronald Reagan and Frank Rizzo. Nor could the 46-year old contractor, who owns Big Ralph's Saloon on Passyunk Avenue, remember his age or address, his psychiatrist reported. With Costobile facing trial for racketeering and the defense contending he suffers from brain damage stemming from an infected foot, the psychiatrist's report yesterday led to an unusual joint request by Strike Force prosecutor Barry Gross and Costobile's defense attorney, Edward Reif.

Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe should receive a reduced sentence because he was brain-damaged when he pleaded guilty to abducting his wife and five children, attorney Johnnie Cochran told a judge yesterday in Charlotte, N.C. Under the plea agreement, Bowe faces a sentence of 18 to 24 months in prison. Cochran told Mullen Bowe, 32, suffers from a mental disorder caused by blows to the head during his years of fighting. He said Bowe and his defense lawyers were unaware of his mental problems when he agreed to plead guilty.

Karen Burton-Lister's obstetrician went on vacation the day before she went into labor in October 1990. Two of his partners apparently weren't aware of her need for a Caesarean section birth, said attorneys Gustine J. Pelagatti and Alisa Marion yesterday. They should have checked the records, the lawyers said. Burton-Lister's daughter was born with brain damage. The mother sued. A jury has awarded Burton-Lister $2 million on behalf of her daughter, now 10. The panel deliberated about two hours before returning the verdict to Common Pleas Judge Mary D. Colins.

A Philadelphia neurologist has invented a vaccine aimed at preventing brain damage from stroke. Matthew During of Thomas Jefferson University and a team of scientists report in today's issue of Science that when they gave the vaccine to rats and then induced a stroke, it appeared to reduce the death of brain tissue by about 70 percent. The vaccine is not designed to prevent strokes but is meant to protect the brain against some of the permanent damage that often leaves people paralyzed or impaired in their speech or memory.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority will pay the family of a girl $9.68 million to settle a lawsuit prompted by brain damage she sustained when mold in her public housing apartment triggered an asthma attack. Ebony Gage, now 16, was 12 when the episode occurred at the apartment in Frankford. Attorneys for the family claimed that PHA was aware of the condition, continued to pay the landlord full rent, and required the family to give 30 days' notice before it could vacate the apartment. It was during that time Gage had the asthma attack.

Two-year-old Jonathan Braccio needs a lot of help. It became apparent four months after his birth in February 1985 that the brown-haired, brown-eyed Cherry Hill child had suffered severe brain damage. Now, in an effort to remedy the damage, Jonathan is undergoing patterning therapy - a series of repeated exercises designed to teach the undamaged portions of his brain to take over for the parts that previously controlled his sight, movement, sensation and coordination. The therapy is being provided entirely by his family and volunteers.

Child counselor Maria Rosa Primus, 25, wanted to show a young boy she cared. So Primus left her Northeast Philadelphia home shortly before 7 p.m. on Aug. 9, 1999, and drove toward a roller skating rink to be with the boy she was counseling. But on the way, a car driven by a drunken driver plowed into her car on Roosevelt Boulevard near Comly Road and almost killed her. Primus, of Summerdale Avenue near Hartel, suffered brain damage and remains in a vegetative state at a nursing home, said Assistant District Attorney Guy Garant.

A potential drug identified by researchers at Merck Sharp & Dohme laboratories in West Point might be useful in reducing damage to the brain caused by an interruption in the supply of oxygen. Such damage most often occurs when a heart attack or stroke disrupts the flow of blood to the brain. The substance, known as MK-801, originally was considered as a possible anti-convulsive agent for the control of epilepsy. That prospect was dampened, however, when tests conducted by Merck researchers indicated that the substance could not be administered orally.

Evelyn Donley got chills when she read about Rachel Tierney and Kristen Daniels. It was her son Peter's story all over again. Rachel, Kristen and Peter each suffered brain damage as babies after running a high fever and falling into a coma. In all three cases, doctors never could explain what caused the virus that led to the fever. The only real difference is that Rachel Tierney and Kristen Daniels still are babies. Peter Donley is 16 years old. His case goes back to 1978.

DEAR ABBY: I'm convinced my father's wife killed him and I don't know where to turn. I'm pretty sure it was assisted suicide, which is illegal in most states, including the state where he lived. I feel cheated and angry at my father's wife for not having the guts to talk to us about his plans, and Dad for relying on her to tell us when she never had a good relationship with any of us. It has been several years now, and I still feel guilty for letting it happen, although I'm not sure how I could have stopped it. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

FORMER CITY Councilman Leland Beloff and his wife, Diane, are suing a luxury Florida drug-rehab center, claiming its treatment caused her to suffer a seizure and other medical problems. The Beloffs claim that Diane Beloff suffered a seizure and "change in mental status" in May, two weeks after checking into Seaside Palm Beach for an addiction to painkillers. The complaint, filed Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, contends that the Beloffs agreed to pay $49,500 for a 30-day treatment.

For a problem that has no doubt been around as long as humans have been falling on hard objects and bashing one another's skulls with clubs, brain injuries are still surprisingly mysterious. Scientists, including a cadre at the University of Pennsylvania, are lifting the veil, though, and what they're seeing is already "dramatically" changing American sports, said Douglas Smith, who heads Penn's Center for Brain Injury and Repair. Everyone from parents to pro athletes to military leaders is suddenly paying more attention to "mild" brain injuries, or concussions, and their long-term consequences.

At the time, it seemed like a great idea, a nocturnal outing on a spring evening for a dozen or so Temple University friends. "Let's go to the Divine Lorraine," Brian Jerome, then a 19-year-old art student, suggested to all those assembled on the benches outside Peabody Hall. It was before midnight on April 6, 2010. Brian had been inside the abandoned hotel on North Broad Street many times. He had felt the lure of the graffiti-draped Divine Lorraine from the moment he arrived on campus as a freshman the year before.

John Pettit's lawyer called the 2009 death of James Koons a tragic occupational hazard. Koons, said the defense lawyer, was a loud and aggressive drunk - ejected for conduct unbecoming a patron of the Oasis Gentleman's Club - who fell and hit his head in the parking lot of the Southwest Philadelphia nightspot. Or, as the prosecutor put it, was Koons fatally "tuned up" by Pettit and bouncers when his conduct became an excuse to settle years of bad blood between Koons and Oasis owner Robert Laflar?

BIRMINGHAM, England - A teenage Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has responded well to treatment and impressed doctors with her strength, the British hospital where she was being treated said Tuesday. Experts are optimistic that 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai, who was airlifted Monday to Britain to receive specialized medical care, has a good chance of recovery because unlike with adults, the brains of teenagers are still growing and can adapt to trauma better.

BIRMINGHAM, England - A teenage Pakistani activist shot in the head by the Taliban arrived in Britain on Monday to receive specialized medical care and protection from follow-up attacks threatened by the militants. Officials said she was stable and had a chance at "a good recovery. " The attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai as she was returning home from school in Pakistan's northwest a week ago has horrified people across the South Asian country and abroad. It has also sparked hope that the Pakistani government will respond by intensifying its fight against the Taliban and its allies.

Delaware state officials yesterday suspended the license of an internationally-known pediatrician accused of "waterboarding" his 11-year-old daughter. Melvin Morse, 58, poses a "clear and immediate danger to the public health," declared a filing published on the website of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. Morse, who has written several best-sellers about near-death experiences and appeared on numerous TV talk shows, was arrested Tuesday at his Georgetown home after his daughter told investigators Morse waterboarded her as a punishment.

The Delaware father of five children who was arrested Tuesday for "waterboarding" his 11-year-old daughter is a internationally-known pediatrician who specializes in so-called near-death experiences. Dr. Melvin Morse, who has written several books on children and near-death experiences, has appeared on numerous TV shows including Oprah , Larry King , 20/20 and Good Morning America to talk about his research. State troopers have charged Morse, 58, with multiple felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child after the girl told social workers about her father's punishments.