It's well established that social factors, such as income, race and education, are associated with poorer health. Now, researchers have found that some of these social determinants of health are linked to a cumulative increased risk of stroke.
Researchers in the US have found that people under the age of 75 with three or more social determinants of health (SDOH) are almost 2.5 times more likely to have a stroke than those who don't have any.
Race, education, income and social isolation were associated with a higher risk of stroke, and the risk increased alongside the number of social determinants of health a person had.
By News desk|2024-07-04T17:46:57+01:001 September 2020|News|
Researchers have, for the first time, shown that synchronising electrical and magnetic stimulation therapy, otherwise known as paired associative stimulation therapy (PAS), can improve a paraplegic patient’s ability to walk.
Researchers at the BioMag Laboratory, operated by the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Hospital and Aalto University, have previously found that stimulating the motor nerves of the brain and limbs can be useful for motor rehab in patients with spinal cord injuries by strengthening neural connections and, in turn, restoring patients' mobility.
In 2016, researchers showed that applying a modified version of the original PAS to two spinal cord injury patients can enhance motor output of paretic muscles and return movement to such paralysed muscles.
By News desk|2024-07-04T17:46:57+01:001 September 2020|News|
A particular combination of bacteria in the gut could worsen symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), research suggests.
Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences in Japan have found that two specific gut bacteria enhance the activity of immune cells that attack the body's own brain and spinal cord.
MS is characterised by the immune system attacking the myelin that covers the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord in a process called demyelination. This process affects how the communication between neurons and with muscles, which causes the symptoms associated with the disease.
NR Times speaks with SNP MP, Lisa Cameron, about her background as a clinical psychologist and how long-term issues related to brain injuries are often overlooked.
Lisa Cameron's attention is on countless important issues in her role as SNP MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow in Scotland, but she tells NR Times why she is particularly interested in policies relating to brain injuries. Before becoming an MP, she previously worked as a consultant clinical psychologist and is chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Disability.
“When I was working as a psychologist, I was undertaking assessments of people with brain injury in relation to memory, executive function and language,” she tells NR Times.
Neuroscientists have discovered the potential next step in stroke therapy, after finding that blood replacement therapy leads to improved stroke outcomes in mice.
The procedure would involve replacing the blood of a stroke patient with the blood of a healthy person who's never suffered a stroke. This could lessen brain damage and avoid any neurological injury.
The researchers, from West Virginia University, found that blood substitution therapy preserved the brains of mice from stroke damage. Replacing 20 percent of a mouse’s blood showed a profound reduction in brain damage.
By News desk|2024-07-04T17:46:57+01:0026 August 2020|News|
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.
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.
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.
By News desk|2024-07-04T17:46:58+01:0025 August 2020|News|
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.
By News desk|2024-07-04T17:46:58+01:0024 August 2020|News|
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.
