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So far Opinion Editor has created 188 blog entries.

Looking into the future of a world transformed by Neurotechnology

"The recent advancements in neurotechnology will significantly transform various aspects of society, offering profound implications for healthcare, communication, and human capabilities" - Alexandrea Day, CEO of MetaBrain Labs

By |2024-07-04T17:28:58+01:005 December 2023|Uncategorised|

Expert analysis: New dimensions in our understanding of MS

By Norman Putzki (MD PhD), global head development neuroscience and gene therapy at Novartis.

Over the last 30 years, remarkable progress has been made in the advancement of treating multiple sclerosis (MS), a potentially disabling disease that is most likely a consequence of complex autoimmune dysfunctions in the periphery ultimately leading to demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS).

Since 1993, a series of insights has led to greater understanding of the biological mechanisms and triggers driving the inflammatory attacks on the CNS.

These translational insights have also driven the development of newer and more effective treatments in MS.

By |2024-07-04T17:54:53+01:0016 October 2023|Opinion, Insight, News, Multiple sclerosis|

Arteriovenous malformations, and a patient who survived one

By Thomas Kosztowski, MD of Texas Back Institute.

Although they are rare, each year in the US about 200,000 arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are diagnosed. These AVMs can be found anywhere in the body, but they are most common in the brain or spinal cord. Approximately 10 per cent of AVMs are fatal.
By |2024-07-04T17:29:05+01:0010 October 2023|Uncategorised|

Why pursuit of meaningful Alzheimer’s therapies is gathering pace

In World Alzheimer’s Month, expert Peter Schüler reflects on the potential implications of new Alzheimer’s therapies on the research landscape.

World Alzheimer’s Month offers an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in the search of effective treatments for this enormously burdensome disease and align our visions for the future. This year, there is much progress to consider as we expect two further medicines, donanemab and lecanemab, to come to market. These drugs offer more treatment alternatives to aducanumab as disease-modifying (DM) treatments in addition to the long-existing symptomatic therapies. In addition to slowing the progression of the disease by 25-35% per year, the successful developments of these drugs provided some additionally encouraging results – namely that the countless disappointments in the past 20 years have led to valuable lessons learned which, in turn, helped to refine the methodologies for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) drug development.
By |2024-07-04T17:29:07+01:006 September 2023|News, Dementia|

NR entrepreneur: “We never set out to ‘crack the NHS’, we set out to help people. Start with that”

Entrepreneur Ian Pearce shares the lessons he learned on the journey to establishing his innovation, Neuro ProActive, within the NHS. 

My journey for the last six years has been interesting. After my father had a stroke, I experienced a lot of the frustrations that hundreds of thousands of people do each year. It seemed to me that while many of these challenges needed basic solutions, those challenges were numerous and long standing. In late 2017, while having a shower, I started to think about a single digital platform which would be all encompassing for NHS and private practice clinicians, as well as patients and family members. Most of my best ideas happen in the bathroom. It’s the only place where men can multi-task and escape young children. For any potential supplier to want to “crack” the NHS, I’d make two points. Firstly, this is the wrong mindset. The NHS doesn’t want to be “cracked”. Secondly, it’s a huge mistake to see the NHS as one organisation. It’s also important to appreciate that the views in this article are my own, based on my experiences over a five-year period.
By |2026-02-11T11:47:51+00:0015 August 2023|Commissioning, Opinion, Insight, News, Brain injury, Leadership|

Recognising the role of the support worker

While support workers play a key role in care and rehab provision, do they really have the profile and recognition they deserve? Lucy Fallon, co-founder of Ariya Neuro Care, discusses how to build a culture that properly appreciates these professionals and enables them to thrive In a multi-disciplinary team, we all have our role to play. To ensure we deliver the person-centred care we aspire to, a quality partnership must be built so everyone can work together for the good of the client. Within this team is the valuable and actually quite vital role of the support workers. The ones who tie together the rehabilitation, who are the ‘ever presents’ on the ground delivering the round-the-clock care, and really being at the forefront of the whole team effort. But often, the role of the support worker is not valued as it should be. While they are playing a key role in the MDT, their contribution can be seen as ‘less important’ than others. This is not new, and is something that persists - but is something that can be damaging to the support worker, their ability to do their job, to the work of the whole team, and to the rehab a client receives.

By |2024-07-04T17:29:08+01:0020 July 2023|News|

NR Notes: Physical therapy in hemiplegia

Physiotherapist Harpreet Kaur provides a useful summary of physical therapy interventions for hemiplegia.

Hemiplegia is a condition that involves paralysis or weakness of one side of the body due to damage to the brain or spinal cord. Rehabilitation is an integral part of treatment for hemiplegia. The focus is to help the affected individual regain as much movement and independence as possible through various therapeutic interventions. Rehabilitation for hemiplegia is typically tailored to the individual's specific needs and goals. It may involve a combination of different therapies to achieve the best possible outcome. The following are the common approaches used in hemiplegia rehabilitation:
By |2024-07-04T17:54:55+01:0027 April 2023|Therapy, Opinion, Insight, News|

Behavioural changes after brain injury or stroke – expert guide

Clinical neuropsychologist Dr Lynn A Schaefer provides NR Times readers with an in-depth summary of post-brain injury and stroke behavioural changes.

When I speak to groups about the neuropsychiatric sequelae of brain injury, I always start with the story of Phineas Gage. In the field of neurorehabilitation, the tale of Phineas Gage is both compelling and memorable.  Phineas Gage was a railroad foreman, blasting rock to lay track in the 19th century in Vermont, US. As the story goes, the tamping rod he was using to pack dynamite into the rock was blown through his left cheek when the dynamite exploded prematurely. The rod took out his left eye and exited through the top of his skull. Gage miraculously survived but thereafter was reportedly “no longer Gage.” His behaviour and personality were profoundly changed, although he was able to walk and his memory was unaffected. Read this article in full for an in-depth summary of the wide range of post-brain injury and stroke behavioural changes.
By |2025-07-18T13:35:32+01:0017 April 2023|News, Stroke, Brain injury|
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