Cannabinoids may help limit secondary damage of TBIs
In the hours and days after a traumatic brain injury, inflammation inside the brain can accelerate to the point that more brain damage occurs, says a scientist working to better understand the acceleration and whether interventions like cannabinoids can improve patient outcomes.
While some TBI patients do well, most would benefit from therapy to create a better balance between the vigorous inflammation needed in the immediate injury aftermath to clean up the site and the deceleration needed to complete healing and avoid more brain damage, says Dr. Kumar Vaibhav, translational neuroscientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Georgia. "You cannot suppress the entire pro-inflammatory process otherwise it would be difficult to recover from your injury," Vaibhav says. But in this case, there is too much inflammation, a major factor in the reality that one-third of hospitalized patients with a TBI die from damage that continues after their acute injury.
Pain management technology innovator wins prestigious award
A key figure in UK case management has won a prestigious award in recognition of her work in opening up access to chronic pain management support through innovative use of digital technology.
Deborah Edwards has overseen the creation of the RESTORE programme, an eight-week online support and coaching initiative which is helping people across the country to improve how they manage and deal with pain. The “revolutionary” programme, which delivers evidence-based improvements in sleep and movement for chronic pain sufferers, has enabled people to bypass long NHS waiting times to access a tailored programme and bespoke advice from specialists.
Astrocytes identified as master ‘conductors’ of the brain
In the orchestra of the brain, the firing of each neuron is controlled by two notes - excitatory and inhibitory - that come from two distinct forms of a cellular structure called synapses.
Synapses are essentially the connections between neurons, transmitting information from one cell to the other. The synaptic harmonies come together to create the most exquisite music--at least most of the time. When the music becomes discordant and a person is diagnosed with a brain disease, scientists typically look to the synapses between neurons to determine what went wrong. But a new study from Duke University neuroscientists suggests that it would be more useful to look at the white-gloved conductor of the orchestra - the astrocyte.
Brain metastases cause severe brain damage that can be inhibited by treatment
Researchers from the University of Seville and the University of Oxford have described how the presence of brain metastases causes acute cerebrovascular dysfunction from the early stages of the disease.
The study, whose main author was Manuel Sarmiento Soto, Marie Curie researcher and member of the Group on Mechanisms of Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Seville, shows that this alteration is chiefly caused by the activation of cells called astrocytes.
App improves the cognitive health in Parkinson’s – study
An NHS-approved cognitive training app is helping to improve the lives of those with Parkinson’s Disease, research shows.
A paper by Radboud University Medial Center Nijmegen and Maastricht (UMC) in the Netherlands shows that patients who used the app regularly for 24 weeks reversed the decline in their global cognition – their memory, their ability to concentrate, make decisions and learn new things. This was when compared to a controlled group of patients in a similar condition who didn’t use the app. Keiron Sparrowhawk, neuroscientist and founder of the MyCognition app says: “These results are fantastic news for people who are suffering with Parkinson’s Disease, or have loved ones who are. Not only has it shown that it can prevent the decline of cognition, but it actually helps to reverse decline, giving patients the ability to self-assess and self-train their cognition.
Neurons stripped of their identity are hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, study finds
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified new mechanisms in neurons that cause Alzheimer's disease.
In particular, they discovered that changes in the structure of chromatin, the tightly coiled form of DNA, trigger neurons to lose their specialised function and revert to an earlier cell state. This results in the loss of synaptic connections, an effect associated with memory loss and dementia. The study was founded on the question: how do neurons in patients with Alzheimer's disease differ from neurons in healthy individuals?
Researchers generate a brain cell type crucial to support neural activity
The loss of oligodendrocytes (OLs) - highly specialised cells of the brain that produce myelin, an essential structure enabling an efficient transmission of electrical signals and the support of neural activity - is a frequent condition in patients suffering neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers of the Department of Cellular Biology, Genetics and Physiology of the University of Malaga (UMA) have succeeded in generating human OLs from pluripotent stem cells derived from patients with nervous system diseases, specifically multiple sclerosis or ALS.
Drivers warned about speed in effort to tackle leading cause of TBI
Drivers are being urged to reduce their speed on the roads to avoid the potential for crashes - the estimated cause of up to 50 per cent of traumatic brain injuries.
New research has revealed the extent of the problem of speeding on the UK’s roads, with a third of all drivers admitting having been in a vehicle which has exceeded 100mph. More than a quarter of men - 28 per cent - said they had driven at such a speed on a public road, compared to 9 per cent of women, with those in the 25 to 34 year old bracket being the most prolific offenders, research from road safety charity Brake has revealed.
The stroke survivor turned rehab provider
When Mark Fricker suffered a stroke aged just 32, the lack of access to dedicated rehabilitation inspired him to retrain as a stroke rehab specialist. Here, he shares his inspirational story
Mark Fricker is very matter-of-fact about the impact of his stroke.
“I view it as a positive moment in my life,” he says.
