When a person sustains a brain injury and has to endure the long and difficult road to recovery, there seems no more unlikely time for an unexpected and prodigious talent to emerge.
Yet there are examples from around the world of people who develop such new-found capabilities after suffering a brain injury, in areas they had little or no interest or ability in beforehand.
After being assaulted in 1998, Dean Harding’s life was turned upside down. Years of rehabilitation followed to help him cope with his traumatic brain injury. But the world of work seemed a place he would never return to, believing that he “wasn’t capable”.
However, the birth of his son 17 years later changed his whole outlook on life.
“I didn't want him growing up thinking, ‘why isn't my dad working?’,” remembers Dean.
“Most people work, or they’re supposed to. It gives me a sense of feeling like a ‘normal’ person, although I've still got my disabilities.”
Care provider Cygnet Health Care has officially opened of Pindar House, a new 22-bed facility in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. The new facility will provide a much-needed service not currently catered for in Yorkshire and the Humber, helping to reduce out of area placements and support people returning to community living. Cygnet Pindar House is designed to aid the recovery of patients affected by ABI, and provide longer term care to help and manage progressive neurological conditions, such as Huntington’s disease. It will offer specialised care and treatment for men over 18 years old, also catering for patients with complex physical needs, such as mobility impairments. The purpose-built facility has been designed to provide clinically-led, evidence-based neuropsychiatric care for service users.
Part of the funds will be used to boost research and development resources related to its lightweight exo-suit technology for various lower limb disabilities. The device is designed for use after stroke and in other indications affecting the ability to walk. Alongside other purposes, the funds will alo support the continued development of its spinal cord injury device.
NSCs hold great potential for treating a variety of neurodegenerative diseases and injuries to the spinal cord. The stem cells possess the ability to differentiate into multiple types of neural cell, depending upon their environment. As a result, there is great interest and much effort to use these cells to repair spinal cord injuries and effectively restore related functions.
Daily exposure to blue wavelength light each morning has been linked to enabling people to sleep better by ‘re-entraining’ their circadian rhythm. And researchers at the University of Arizona have now demonstrated that it may be particularly useful in people recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). In a randomised clinical trial, adults with mTBI used a cube-like device that shone bright blue light at participants for 30 minutes early each morning for six weeks. Control groups were exposed to bright amber light.
The company is evaluating the use of tavapadon in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Tavapadon is a potent, orally-bioavailable, selective partial agonist of the dopamine D1 and D5 receptors. It is being evaluated as a once-daily symptomatic treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Australian medicinal cannabis company Zelira Therapeutics is working with America’s Parkinson’s Foundation to gather insights from people with PD about their understanding of and use of medical cannabis and hemp-derived therapies. Zelira is assisting in the development of a survey to understand the current use and perceived benefits of medical cannabis among people with PD. The results will be reviewed, and will possibly pave the way for a future clinical trial on the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis use by people with PD. Zelira will also incorporate survey insights to inform future development of clinically validated medical cannabis and hemp-derived CBD medicines for people with Parkinson's disease.
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