Unequal opportunities
People living with a brain injury or neurological condition should have more access to employment than ever before. But experts in the field paint a very different picture; in which individuals are struggling to find employment, withdrawing from work all together and experiencing discrimination. In July 2019, the Neurological Alliance published the most comprehensive survey undertaken of people living with neurological conditions. It found that one in three respondents have been discriminated against as a result of their condition, and almost a third (29 per cent) have had their contract of employment terminated.
Leading the fight against a formidable foe
On a Saturday night in February 2018, 31-year- old British boxer Scott Westgarth spoke of his love of the sport as he emerged triumphant from his match against Dec Spelman in Doncaster, England. Hours later he collapsed in his locker room and was rushed to hospital, where he tragically died of head injuries sustained during the fight. Then in July this year came two more boxing fatalities within a few days of each other. Both the Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev, 28, and 23-year-old Argentinian fighter Hugo Alfredo Santillan died from brain injuries, prompting fresh calls for drastic changes in the sport.
“Blows to the head, thrown from moving cars, strangled – it’s depressingly common”
It started, as with many modern love stories, with a swipe. In 2015, Paul van Donkelaar, a recently divorced neuroscience professor, met Karen Mason, a woman working with survivors of intimate partner violence. They started dating and fell in love. To begin with, they were just another couple who happened to have found their happily ever after through online dating. But it soon became clear that there were bigger forces at play. “We’re definitely unique,” says Karen, who is executive director of Kelowna Women’s Shelter in British Columbia, Canada.
“She’s just highly strung or emotional” – how female brain injuries are going undetected
Various studies suggest that women and girls sustain more concussions, at a higher rate than their male counterparts in the same sports. A recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance Program study, for example, shows the rate of concussion per 1000 athlete-exposures in football is 6.3 in females versus 3.4 in males. Similar differences were noted in basketball (6.0 in females versus 3.9 in males) and baseball/softball (3.3 versus 0.9). Women are also known to experience more severe symptoms, and take longer to recover.
Silent’ heart attacks could explain mysterious strokes
Heart attacks which aren’t noticeable enough to cause patients to seek medical treatment could be the cause of mysterious strokes that to date have baffled healthcare providers. That is according to a study by the US-based National Institute on Ageing (NIA), comparing heart and brain imaging data from older adults in Iceland. It shows that undetected heart attacks can scar and damage heart tissue in ways that may increase stroke risk. Researchers examined 930 participants, with an average age of 76 years, who had undergone both cardiac and brain MRI scans. The cardiac MRI imaging showed that 153 participants had experienced an undetected heart attack.
Childhood obesity ‘doubles risk’ of developing MS
Childhood obesity not only doubles the risk of developing the condition, but once diagnosed obese children are less likely to respond well to treatment than those of a healthy weight, researchers say. A study by the Centre for MS in Childhood and Adolescence in Germany examined 453 children with pediatric MS, aged an average of 14. A body mass index (BMI) measurement was taken from each participant within six months of diagnosis. The findings showed that at diagnosis, just under a third (27.9 per cent) of patients were overweight or obese.
‘EpiPen’ for spinal cord injuries could prevent paralysis
Giving patients an injection of nanoparticles could stop the body’s immune system from overreacting to trauma, and has the potential to prevent paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. This approach, billed as an EpiPen for trauma, could be used on injuries to the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, a study shows. Demonstrated in mice by researchers at the University of Michigan, the nanoparticles enhance healing by reprogramming aggressive immune cells, with just their physical characteristics. No drugs are involved in the treatment, which is thought will help to avoid any unwanted side effects.
45,000 MS patients being ‘forgotten’ by NHS
Thousands of people living with advanced MS are being ‘forgotten’ by the NHS, says charity chief.
MPs call for national review of neuro-rehab and more resources for young people living with a brain injury
At a Parliamentary debate held on Tuesday 2 July, MPs urged the government to issue a national review into neuro-rehab resources throughout the UK. The debate was led by Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Rhondda and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Acquired Brain Injury.
According to the National Clinical Audit carried out by the group, 94 per cent of people who received neuro-rehab were able to live independent lives, yet only 40 per cent of those assessed at a major trauma unit as needing neuro-rehab had access to it, with an estimated shortage of 330 beds across England and Wales.
