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Preventing brain injury

Stopping injury before it happens, from concussion in sport to falls, road safety and stroke risk.

  • Step towards prevention of post-TBI disabilities
    Brain injury10 Sep

    Scientists have found an antibody treatment approach that could prevent the secondary effects of TBI, such as sleep disruption, epilepsy and inflammation.  

  • Stroke risk factors in minority groups – study
    Preventing brain injury6 Sep

    A new study has shed light on risk factors for certain kinds of strokes among different racial and ethnic groups. The study focused on intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients. ICH strokes, caused by a blood vessel within the brain rupturing, are less common than ischemic strokes, but they are often deadly and cause high disability, he said. [...]

  • Salt substitute ‘could prevent thousands of strokes’
    Stroke31 Aug

    Swapping salt for a substitute could help prevent thousands of strokes, and potentially millions of deaths, each year, new breakthrough research has revealed. 

  • Drugs to ‘re-programme’ white blood cells could prevent strokes
    Preventing brain injury11 Aug

    Medication which targets white blood cells and stabilises atherosclerotic plaques could be used to help prevent strokes, new research has revealed.  By ‘re-programming’ white blood cells, the ability to switch them from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory state has been discovered. Pro-inflammatory white blood cells are known to make atherosclerotic plaques unstable, making them more [...]

  • New study aims to help stroke survivors prevent a second by controlling blood pressure
    Preventing brain injury11 Aug

    The UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and Wake Forest School of Medicine will lead a US$29.9 million studyto help stroke survivors prevent experiencing another by controlling their blood pressure. Blood pressure control is key when it comes to avoiding another stroke. The researchers estimate that 70 to 80 per cent of stroke survivors have high blood [...]

  • Drugs to ‘re-programme’ white blood cells could prevent strokes
    Stroke10 Jun

    Medication which targets white blood cells and stabilises atherosclerotic plaques could be used to help prevent strokes, new research has revealed. 

    By ‘re-programming’ white blood cells, the ability to switch them from a pro-inflammatory to an anti-inflammatory state has been discovered. Pro-inflammatory white blood cells are known to make atherosclerotic plaques unstable, making them more likely to rupture and block blood flow to the brain. When the University of Sheffield research team took a type of white blood cell known as macrophages from human blood samples and treated them with a common anti-inflammatory drug for 24 hours, they found that the macrophages themselves became anti-inflammatory. Unveiling their findings yesterday at the British Cardiovascular Society conference, the anti-inflammatory macrophages were also less able to bind to and ingest harmful oxidised LDL (OxLDL), known to play a major role in atherosclerosis and present in high quantities in plaques most likely to lead to a stroke.
  • New cycle helmet test discovers true level of protection for cyclists
    Brain injury12 May

    The effectiveness of bike helmets in protecting against brain injuries caused by collisions at speed has been tested for the first time. 

    New helmet technologies have emerged in recent years to mitigate the instances and severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in collisions from cycling, but the way this is traditionally tested leaves room for doubt in their findings.  The majority of real-world cycling-based TBIs are caused by rotational forces on the brain, which are generated by the head hitting the ground at an oblique angle, mostly seen when cyclists fall or collide while moving. 
  • UFC adopts concussion protocols for MMA fighters
    Brain injury6 May

    An official concussion protocol has been created for mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters competing in the UFC, in a first for the sport which builds further on global efforts to safeguard sportspeople from the effects of head injury. 

    The UFC Performance Institute has published its protocol, aimed at both fighters and coaches, as part of a 484-page study based on data collected between 2017 and 2019.   Hailed as the most comprehensive MMA study ever undertaken, it details the UFC’s five-step rules around returning to the sport following concussion or TBI. 
  • Temporary concussion substitutes ‘must be introduced by June 1’
    Preventing brain injury15 Apr

    Temporary concussion substitutes must be included in the current trials underway in the Premier League to safeguard the safety of players, players’ unions said today.  FIFPRO and the PFA have called for the introduction of temporary substitutes no later than June 1, and for the scope of the 18-month trial - which enables a team [...]

  • COVID-19 ‘increases risk of dementia and stroke’
    Brain injury7 Apr

    Contracting COVID-19 increases the risk of developing neurological conditions including depression, dementia and stroke, new research has revealed. 

    One in three survivors of the deadly virus - 34 per cent - were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months of being infected. And for those who were admitted to hospital or intensive care, the risk became even higher, University of Oxford researchers found, at 39 per cent.   This rose to 46 per cent in those who needed intensive care, and 62 per cent among people who had encephalopathy while battling COVID-19.