This is a great book and I thought I would share. The full title of the book is The Angel and the Assassin: The tiny brain cell that changed the course of medicine and is written by Donna Jackson Nakazawa.
Below I include what is written on the back of the book, and is a good summary of a compilation of amazing research coupled with personal stories of three women named Katie, Heather and Lia in their struggles with their health. I work with many survivors of trauma and this brings the research together to explain how trauma can affect the body and the brain.
“Until recently, microglia were thought to be helpful but rather boring: housekeeper cells in the brain. But a recent groundbreaking discovery has revealed that they connect our physical and mental health in surprising ways. When triggered—and anything that stirs up the immune system in the body can activate microglia, including chronic stressors, trauma, and viral infections—they can contribute to memory problems, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s. Under the right circumstances, however, microglia can be coaxed back into being angelic healers, able to make brain repairs in ways that help alleviate symptoms and hold the promise to one day prevent disease.
With the compassion born of her own experience, award-winning journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa illuminates this newly understood science, following practitioners and patients on the front lines of treatments that help to “reboot” microglia. In at least one case, she witnesses a stunning recovery—and in others, significant relief from pressing symptoms, offering new hope to the tens of millions who suffer from mental, cognitive, and physical health issues.” – The Angel and the Assassin: The tiny brain cell that changed the course of medicine by Donna Jackson Nakazawa
Here are some reources below to review Nakazawa’s work.
An Evening with Donna Jackson Nakazawa, Author of The Angel and the Assassin
Donna Jackson Nakazawa: “The Angel and the Assassin” in Conversation with Prof. Beth Stevens
In the book, they follow three different individuals and their process going through various treatment modalities including, fasting using Prolon, Neurofeedback, and TMS. Below is some information and links to the doctors and clinicians cited in the book.
Prolon – Fasting Program
Prolon Starvation Diet – Technology Review
Microglia: The Immune Cells of the Brain
Neurofeedback
TMS
