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Boost to MS treatment options in England and Wales

The drug siponimod (Mayzent) has been approved by NICE for active secondary progressive MS in England and Wales.

MS charity the MS Trust hailed the news a “significant advance in the treatment of progressive MS”. Siponimod (Mayzent), an oral treatment taken once daily, has been approved for people with secondary progressive MS who continue having relapses or show signs of MS activity on MRI scans. In clinical trials for secondary progressive MS, siponimod delayed disability progression by 26 per cent compared to placebo, the MS Trust reports.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:05+01:0030 October 2020|News, Multiple sclerosis|
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Physicists circumvent centuries-old theory to cancel magnetic fields

A team of scientists has found a way to circumvent a 178-year old theory and effectively cancel magnetic fields at a distance - in a study that could have implications for the treatment of neurological disease.

For example, patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s might in future receive a more accurate diagnosis. With the ability to cancel out ‘noisy’ external magnetic fields, doctors using magnetic field scanners will be able to see more accurately what is happening in the brain. The study “Tailoring magnetic fields in inaccessible regions” is published in Physical Review Letters. It is an international collaboration between Dr Mark Bason and Jordi Prat-Camps at the University of Sussex, and Rosa Mach-Batlle and Nuria Del-Valle from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, as well as other institutions.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:05+01:0029 October 2020|Research|
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New device for detecting TBI on the spot

A method for detecting traumatic brain injury at the point of care has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.

Using chemical biomarkers released by the brain immediately after a head injury occurs, researchers are able to pinpoint when patients need urgent medical attention. This saves time in delivering vital treatment and avoids patients undergoing unnecessary tests where no injury has occurred. The technique was developed by multi-disciplinary team of researchers in the group of Advanced Nanomaterials, Structures and Applications (ANMSA) led by Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer at the University of Birmingham.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0029 October 2020|News|
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Children with asymptomatic brain bleeds as newborns show normal brain development at age 2

Study finds that neurodevelopmental scores and grey matter volumes at age two years did not differ between children who had MRI-confirmed asymptomatic subdural hemorrhages when they were neonates, compared to children with no history of hemorrhage.

In 2007, researchers published unexpected and surprising results from a study based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of newborn brains. Twenty-six percent of the newborns in the study were found to have asymptomatic subdural hemorrhages, or bleeding in and around the brain. It was an unexpected finding because subdural hemorrhage had been considered unusual in full-term newborns. But the 2007 findings suggested that small, asymptomatic brain bleeds might be a fairly common consequence of a normal vaginal delivery.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0028 October 2020|News|
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Vital rehab spaces being used for storage in Scotland

Patients are missing out on physiotherapy and rehabilitation services because vital spaces are being de-prioritised by Scottish health boards, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has warned.

Reports from across Scotland reveal that rehabilitation facilities are being used for storage space and meeting rooms while the pace of re-opening and re-starting services remains slow. During this second wave of the pandemic, physiotherapy will be critical to Covid-19 rehabilitation. Physiotherapists assist Covid and “Long Covid” patients recovering from fatigue, ongoing respiratory problems, deconditioning and poor mental health. In addition, the closure of rehabilitation services means that many non-Covid patients with long-term conditions have deteriorated, and now require more rehabilitation, alongside the ongoing needs of cardiac, stroke and respiratory referrals in the community.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0028 October 2020|Uncategorised|
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US defence body backs SCI research

DARPA - the research and development agency of the US Department of Defense - is putting its weight behind spinal cord injury (SCI) research.

The organisation has awarded a consortium of universities, biomedical startups, and nonprofit organizations an award that supports the development of interventions for SCI. Karen Moxon, from University of California, Davis (UC Davis), will lead the five-year project supported by the $36 million award, according to reports. The consortium will focus on three primary technologies, including a near-infrared spectroscopic sensor. Brian Kwon, co-principal investigator and spine surgeon from the University of British Columbia (UBC), will develop the sensor. Pathonix Innovations Inc., also in Vancouver, Canada, will then commercialize the device to assess blood oxygenation and blood flow at the site of spinal injury.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0028 October 2020|News, Brain injury|
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International Stroke Conference 2021 goes virtual

After months of thorough review and discussion, the American Stroke Association will present the next International Stroke Conference as a 100 per cent virtual experience due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event will now be held March 17-19, 2021, virtually, and registration will open in December. The American Heart Association's Board of Directors and the Committee on International Stroke Conference Programming are focused on providing a robust and meaningful scientific exchange in a virtual format to help ensure the health and safety of all.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0028 October 2020|News|
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Gene linked to autism directs speed of human brain cell development – study

A gene whose disfunction is linked to autism and other brain-development disorders has a critical role in the growth of healthy neurons, directing the speed at which the neurons mature, according to a new study.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Neuroscience by Scripps Research neuroscientist Gavin Rumbaugh, PhD, investigates the role of the gene SYNGAP1 in the early development of human neurones. Changes to SYNGAP1 that inactivate the gene cause a rare autism disorder called MRD5, which also typically features intellectual disability and epilepsy. When these mutations occur spontaneously in the womb and alter one of the two copies of the gene, they cause neurodevelopmental problems.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:06+01:0027 October 2020|News|
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A malformation illustrates the incredible plasticity of the brain

People born without a corpus callosum do not have a bridge between the two cerebral hemispheres. Neuroscientists from UNIGE have shown how the brain manages to adapt.

One in 4,000 people is born without a corpus callosum, a brain structure consisting of neural fibres that are used to transfer information from one hemisphere to the other. A quarter of these individuals do not have any symptoms, while the remainder either have low intelligence quotients or suffer from severe cognitive disorders. In a study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, neuroscientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) discovered that when the neuronal fibres that act as a bridge between the hemispheres are missing, the brain reorganises itself and creates an impressive number of connections inside each hemisphere.
By |2024-07-04T17:46:07+01:0027 October 2020|News|
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