Researchers to create AI models for early prediction of Alzheimer’s
Researchers in the US have received a National Institutes of [...]
Case managers and NHS clinicians praise Calvert Reconnections
In an early new year boost for Calvert Reconnections, case [...]
Contradictory role of neuro disease marker discovered
Researchers have discovered that a protein called phosphorylated α-synuclein, which [...]
Bright future for rehab robotics, data suggests
The value of the global market for rehab robotics is [...]
Planar robot shows post-stroke promise
A US university has developed a new robotic platform, which utilises a patient’s brainwaves and muscle activity, to enable post-stroke rehab.
The assistive planar robot includes a closed-loop feedback system to monitor the muscle and brain activity of the user in order to trigger the execution of reach and grab in an adaptive way.
In a new paper, researchers at the University of Rhode Island Motor Control and Rehabilitation lab write: “Numerous rehabilitation approaches such as muscular electrical stimulations, brain-computer interfaces, and transcranial magnetic stimulation have been investigated to assist the affected individuals.
Could brain organoids revolutionise neuro research?
Scientists have developed 3D mini-organs from human foetal brain tissue that self-organise in vitro, presenting new possibilities for neuro research.
These lab-grown organoids open up a brand-new way of studying how the brain develops. They also offer a valuable means to study the development and treatment of diseases related to brain development, including brain tumours.
Scientists use different ways to model the biology of healthy tissue and disease in the lab. These include cell lines, laboratory animals and, since a few years, 3D mini-organs.
These so-called organoids have characteristics and a level of complexity that allows scientists to closely model the functions of an organ in the lab.
Organoids can be formed directly from cells of a tissue. Scientists can also ‘guide’ stem cells – found in embryos or in some adult tissues – to develop into the organ they aim to study.
Hopes raised in hunt for earlier PD diagnosis
Scientists believe they may be closing in on a breakthrough in pursuit of earlier diagnosis in Parkinson’s.
In the development of Parkinson’s, the changes that will lead to neurodegeneration take place in the brain long before patients show any symptoms.
But without a test that can detect these changes, it’s difficult to intervene early to more effectively slow disease progression.
Doctors generally must rely on neurological examination and patients’ medical histories when diagnosing Parkinson’s.
Once clinical symptoms appear, however, the disease has already wreaked irreversible damage in the brain.
Charting new ground in post-stroke exploration
The role of immune cells in the aftermath of a stroke has been mapped out in detail in a new study.
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have catalogued the cellular response to stroke in a preclinical model, identifying the immune cells involved and the roles they may play in the days and weeks following a stroke.
During a stroke, loss of oxygen leads to brain damage and cell death. It also triggers a powerful inflammatory response in which the brain’s resident immune cells, along with cells recruited from the blood, infiltrate the injured tissue.
Notes from the frontline of the Parkinson’s fight
Boston University's neuro-rehab centre has published an in-depth account of [...]
