Benefits for people nearing the end of their lives are currently sanctioned through the special rules for terminal illness (SRTI). If a person can prove they are living with a terminal illness, they can fast-track benefit applications and be paid at an enhanced rate. Charities have continuously campaigned for applicants not to have to prove whether or not they have up to six months to live. Announcing the review, the Department for Work and Pensions said the rules were often seen as favouring those living with cancer when other illnesses can also limit life. Rudd said she wanted to look again to make sure that these processes were working effectively and to see if more could be done to improve engagement with the department for claimants living with the most severe conditions.

A newly published audit on stroke services in Scotland shows that no health board was able to meet the Scottish Government target of giving “appropriate care” to 80 per cent of stroke patients. Overall, only 68 per cent of patients received an “appropriate care bundle” (stroke unit admission, swallow screen, brain scan and aspirin) in 2018 – a slight improvement on the 65% registered in 2017. But only Ayrshire and Arran came close to the 80 per cent target, with Highland (48 per cent) and Dumfries and Galloway (63 per cent) among the worst performing boards.

Researchers at the University of Texas (UT) scanned obituaries and high school yearbooks of 2,566 individuals whose brain autopsies are a part of the Mayo Clinic Tissue Registry. The study focused on a variety of contact sports: baseball, basketball, boxing, football, hockey, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling; while non-contact sports such as tennis and golf were excluded. This analysis identified 300 former athletes and 450 non-athletes, with brains screened for evidence of CTE in a blinded fashion. Forty-two cases had CTE pathology (5.6 per cent of the total), while CTE was found in 27 athletes and 15 non-athletes; and in 41 men and one woman.

The parents of three young people with learning disabilities launched legal action in the Court of Protection to challenge the current welfare deputyship law, which relates to how decisions are taken on behalf of adults over 18. Under the current law, the parents are responsible for their children up until they become adults, at which point the Mental Capacity Act states that decisions on their behalf should be taken collectively by everyone interested in their welfare, and the family should only be appointed as welfare deputies in ‘the most difficult cases’.

People suffering from bipolar disorder are seven times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, a new study has found.

A toxic protein linked to Huntington’s disease can move between neurons through a nanotube tunnel, scientists have revealed.

A major scientific advance has been made in research into multiple sclerosis (MS) which is hoped will lead to the development of preventative treatments for the condition.