Welcome to your daily round-up of everything happening in the world of neurorehab.
Research
Neuropathy very common and under-diagnosed, finds study
Neuropathy, the nerve damage that causes pain and numbness in the feet and hands and can eventually lead to falls, infection and even amputation, is very common and under-diagnosed, according to a study published in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
New tool links Alzheimer’s disease types to rate of cognitive decline
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a series of brain changes characterised by unique clinical features and immune cell behaviours using a new corticolimbic index tool for Alzheimer’s disease, a leading cause of dementia. The tool categorises Alzheimer’s disease cases into three subtypes according to the location of brain changes and continues the team’s prior work, demonstrating how these changes impact people differently. Their findings are published in JAMA Neurology.
Findings from international study represent major advance in stroke care
The results of ‘LASTE’ (Large Stroke Therapy Evaluation), a prospective, randomised, controlled trial, have been published in what has been described as a major advance in stroke care.
The study has the potential to disrupt current systems of care involving triage and management of patients with acute stroke due to large vessel occlusion by demonstrating that even those patients with the largest areas of “irreversibly” damaged brain as assessed by state-of-the-art imaging technologies still benefit from mechanical reperfusion.
Technology
‘Wraparound’ implants represent new approach to treating spinal cord injuries
A tiny, flexible electronic device that wraps around the spinal cord could represent a new approach to the treatment of spinal injuries, which can cause profound disability and paralysis.
A team of engineers, neuroscientists and surgeons from the University of Cambridge developed the devices and used them to record the nerve signals going back and forth between the brain and the spinal cord. Unlike current approaches, the Cambridge devices can record 360-degree information, giving a complete picture of spinal cord activity.
Company updates
NeuroTherapia receives grant from Alzheimer’s Association for development of first-in-class drug
NeuroTherapia has received a grant from the Alzheimer’s Association Part the Cloud program for the development of its first-in-class drug, NTRX-07, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
The grant will help fund the clinical development of NTRX-07, which has shown promising results in preclinical studies and in a small cohort of AD subjects in a Phase 1 study for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. NTRX-07 is a novel drug that targets neuroinflammation, a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease, and has the potential to slow or even halt the progression of the disease.
$1m in FDOH grants to fight Alzheimer’s disease
Three Florida Atlantic University researchers at the forefront of Alzheimer’s disease AD research have each received a $350,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health’s ‘Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program’. The Program was established to stimulate research into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care management and cure of Alzheimer’s.
