Some day, in the not too distant future, Bermudians will undergo brain-health check-ups in the same way that, today, people have their hearts checked.

This is the view of Dr. Eric Braverman, a director and practitioner at PATH (Place for Achieving Total Health) Medical, and of its non-profit research arm which collects information on the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of brain chemical disorders, with specific focus on the impact of brain illness on overall health. "The major thrust of my work has been in addictions -- and the genetic implications,'' he told The Royal Gazette . "We use the BEAM (Brain Electrical Activity Mapping) Test which was developed at Harvard Medical School less than 15 years ago. You could say that we work up the brain in the same way in which doctors work up the heart! Everybody accepts it for the heart -- no one, today, would dare treat the heart simply with a stethoscope -- so we have done the same for the brain. There is now medical proof that addiction, for instance, is a brain disorder.'' The BEAM technique has also proved to be an accurate clinical tool in diagnosing such disorders as depression, epilepsy, head trauma, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, behavioural changes, anxiety, and dysfunction of the structural areas (lobes) of the brain.

These medical advances in the understanding of brain disorders help to free patients from the sense of sin, pain and guilt generally associated with substance abuse, said Dr. Braverman. During a recent vacation trip to Bermuda, Dr. Braverman met with several representatives of the Council Partners' Charitable Trust, which oversees the various agencies dealing with the problems of substance abuse in Bermuda. Austin Warner, their director of programme stands and development explained, "As our agencies prepare for international accreditation, we continue to explore our relationship with Dr.

Braverman and his innovative assessment model, understanding that the key to providing excellent treatment rests strongly on state-of-the-art diagnostics which Dr. Braverman has developed at the PATH Clinic.'' And, as Gordon Johnson, executive director of Council Partners, pointed out, "We are students of addiction, so we are very interested in Dr. Braverman's work in the understanding of diagnostic tools. We are delighted that he is giving us his time -- especially while he's on vacation -- in offering us an overview, and also giving us the opportunity of introducing him to our work here in Bermuda.'' One of the most exciting aspects of PATH's work, is the indication that BEAM tests more easily identify brain disorders in children and adolescents, allowing them to receive early and appropriate treatment. These days, said Dr.

Braverman, this combines various tools, such as medication, nutritional adjustment, anti-depressants "and, for instance, even seizure medication, which can be used for cocaine. I do think,'' he added, "that medication is often under-utilised.'' Using a non-invasive, hour-long procedure, the BEAM test provides a look into the brain, the electrical `mapping' identifying metabolic, organic and electrical imbalances. "Research has shown,'' said Dr. Braverman, "that brain damage is consistently associated with the use of marijuana, alcohol and cocaine and we have found that patients with chronic fatigue or long-standing anxiety and depression also have persistent metabolic and organic brain chemical imbalances.'' Emphasising that, although he is the author of several books and medical bulletins, he is very much a `hands on' practitioner who works "on a daily basis'' with patients at his clinic. There, he makes assessments from the details of medical data, together with personal medical history. "For example, a young, very successful man came to my office, complaining of chronic headaches. He'd been all over the place, getting check-ups and it was only after he'd been through our `brain system' that we were able to see that he'd been doing `lines' of cocaine. Similarly, a doctor came in, suffering from memory problems. He went through the system and it turned out he had been smoking three or four joints every weekend! Marijuana, cocaine and alcohol are all dementia producers -- so those who are overdrinking and using drugs are the people whom society will be caring for later on -- because they won't be functioning too well.'' Agreeing that addiction is indeed "complex'', Dr. Braverman pointed out that the name of his organisation recognises an inter-related approach to `total health'. "Medicine separated from the church long ago and has separated from the `higher power' approach. We advocate medical, psychological counselling and attention to the spiritual side, because brain imbalance, which is aggravated by drug use, leads to negative and violent behaviour.'' Pointing out that 80 percent of all cases in New York emergency rooms are related to some kind of substance abuse, Dr. Braverman said, "Yes I am a `higher power' person! You have to get your head together! The medical profession, I am sorry to say, has been approaching brain health in a somewhat brainless fashion! So many illnesses begin in the brain. For example, when people have been `using' excessively, indications of that are all over the place -- it affects the heart, violence level, and the HIV rate because sexual behaviour changes as a result of drug use -- we could go on forever. So, in that sense, you could say that a brain health check-up is more valid than a cancer check-up. This is the future of medicine -- going in `head first'!'' "We are very interested in Dr. Braverman's level of success in this field,' said Mr. Johnson, "because if we can move treatment into an area where people, through various medical and dietary remedies, can feel comfort -- rather than discomfort -- around changing their lifestyles, it will generate a new level of success for us. I believe his approach validates the medical, psychological and spiritual approach -- and provides a `path' through to overall good health.'' Revealing that PATH has already established around seven clinics around the US, Dr. Braverman said, "We are finding more and more doctors who are becoming very `switched on' to this kind of medicine and are convinced that brain health centres are the way of the future. I think we could soon end up with about 50 of these centres.'' Dr. Braverman, who specialised in physiology at New York University Medical School and internal medicine at Yale Medical School affiliate Greenwich Hospital Association, has been invited to return to Bermuda, to speak at the upcoming annual general meeting of the female rehabilitation centre, Fairhavens Christian Care Association.

ELECTRICAL BRAIN MAPPING -- A `BEAM' image reveals (from left to right) (A) typical normal brain map (B) Dysfunction potentially associated with depression and anxiety and (C) Double temporal lobe damage, when depression h as been `treated' with drugs and alcohol. (Courtesy PATH Foundation).

BEAMING IN ON THE BRAIN -- Dr. Eric Braverman, whose New York-based research organisation is devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders.