From intensive care to a degree in art: one woman’s brain injury journey
Lorraine Currie has watched her daughter recover from a serious brain injury and go on to exceed her expectations. She tells NR Times what it’s been like to see her daughter’s slow recovery.
When she was just 17 years old, Grace was hit by a car as she crossed a small village road after finishing college. She suffered a severe head injury and was resuscitated twice at scene. After being taken to Shrewsbury hospital, her only hope was to be transferred to Stoke hospital, which is a regional trauma centre, who accepted Grace even though it didn’t have a bed.
The neuropsychologist teaching tai chi
When lockdown began, many people with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) were faced with their treatment and support being paused, or having their face-to-face services moved online.
Giles Yeates, consultant clinical neuropsychologist and tai chi instructor, spoke to NR Times about how he’s wasted no time in moving his classes online. Yeates hosts online tai chi classes, which are streamed live on the charity Different Strokes’ Facebook page and YouTube channel. The classes are moderated by Alison Smith, who had a stroke last year. Tai chi involves physical routines to strengthen the body and improve flexibility, achieve regulated breathing and focus on the body to improve inner energy, which in turn, is believed to improve circulation. It’s based on attaining a flow state of mind, which is said to be achieved when people become fully immersed in what they’re doing.
Concussions could cause lasting sleep problems according to new research
In the first days after a concussion, common symptoms include headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, increased sleepiness or difficulty sleeping. Most of the time, people fully recover from these symptoms quite quickly.
But new research published in the Journal of Neurotrauma suggests some people’s symptoms can linger after a concussion and cause long-term sleep problems, which, in turn, can lead to other symptoms including reduced cognitive functioning, emotional distress and a lower quality of life.
Cashew nuts could help treat multiple sclerosis
Researchers have found that a chemical compound found in the shell of cashew nuts could repair myelin, which could have benefits for the treatment of autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis (MS).
In lab experiments, researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, US, found that anacardic acid could help in the treatment for demyelinating diseases, which cause damage to the protective covering surrounding nerve fibres in the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord. Anacardic acid is known to inhibit an enzyme involved in gene expression called histone acetyltransferase, and whatever inhibits this, induces the production of IL-33. Researchers already knew that IL-33, a chemical made in response to injury, induces myelin formation, and is therefore an immune response regulator. MS and other neurological disorders stem from damage to myelin.
New device could improve spinal injury outcomes
When the spinal cord is injured, it swells, which restricts blood flow and can cause permanent motor, sensory, and autonomic function damage.
Preventing initial swelling, therefore, is key to minimising damage. But the only treatment available for this is a steroid therapy that has minimal effects. But a team of researchers have devised a new therapy device that removes fluid from the spinal cord using osmosis to reduce swelling. While the device has only been tested on injured rats, they’re confident it will soon be applied to humans. The researchers, from the University of California’s Department of Bioengineering, found that spinal fluid can increase in the area within one hour of the injury happening, and levels can remain elevated for 28 days.
Charity launches ‘Step-by-step Cookbook’
Brain injury charity the Children's Trust is launching a recipe book developed by children and rehabilitation therapists.
'The Step-by-step Cookbook’ features 16 recipes with simple icons to show what equipment and ingredients are needed, and steps that can be ticked off with a wipeable marker. Recipes include breakfast dishes and drinks, main meals and desserts, with cooking tips and information on healthy eating. Therapists came up with the idea for the cookbook when they recognised a need for more accessible recipes.
Diet linked to reduced Parkinson’s symptoms
Eating a healthy diet in middle age may help reduce some of the symptoms that can come before a Parkinson’s diagnosis, according to new research.
People with Parkinson’s can experience symptoms including constipation, daytime sleepiness and depression for more than 10 years before any movement-related symptoms start. Researchers from Harvard University in Boston, US, analysed the diets of almost 50,000 people. They were asked about their diets every four years from the 1980s until they were middle-aged. They were then asked, in 2012, if they experienced two symptoms: constipation, and rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, which causes people to shout and rapidly move in their sleep. Both symptoms are associated with Parkinson’s.
Action among the daffodils
William Wordsworth urged to the world to “come forth into light, let nature be your teacher”. He was obsessed with the natural world’s power to help, heal and nourish. Surely then, the lake poet would have approved of the owners of his old Cumbrian bolt hole. For they are also channelling the power of nature, in the name of rehabilitation.
Leading the remote resistance
COVID-19 could spark a cultural renaissance, according to some in the art world. Artists thrive on isolation, BBC arts chief Jonty Claypole points out, and therefore an explosion of new work could emerge from current conditions. The spirit of renaissance – meaning ‘rebirth’ in French – might also course through our workplaces. Kitchen tables, spare bedrooms and garden sheds are among the many residential quarters to have been commandeered by home workers recently.
