Neuropsychology

  • Growth hormone deficiency after TBI: What we’re missing

    Warren Collins, a catastrophic injury lawyer, takes a closer look at GHD. As personal injury solicitors, case managers, and medical experts, we pride ourselves on thoroughness. Yet one important endocrine complication of traumatic brain injury too often slips through the net: post-traumatic hypopituitarism, particularly growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The scale of the problem The incidence [...]

  • Remembering to remember: The neuroscience of memory interventions

    By Alice Jack, Assistant Psychologist at Brainkind Kerwin Court Memory rehabilitation after acquired brain injury Memory is a cognitive process that allows us to encode, store, and retrieve information. It underpins many everyday activities, from remembering routine tasks to recognising familiar people. The neural networks supporting memory include the hippocampus, medial temporal lobes, and frontal [...]

  • Ex-army chief urges ministers to back MDMA therapy for veterans

    A former head of the British military has urged ministers to ease rules so MDMA therapy can be tested for veterans with PTSD. Sir Nick Carter, chief of the defence staff until 2021, said existing regulations mean a single gram of medical-grade MDMA costs about £10,000 compared with a street price of about £40, inflating [...]

  • Study reveals missing link between Parkinson’s protein and brain cell damage

    A new study shows how the Parkinson's protein alpha-synuclein harms brain cells by disrupting mitochondria. Abnormal clumps of alpha-synuclein can injure neurons. Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers, and their failure starves cells of power. The work clarifies how these problems connect, pointing to a direct interaction that undermines mitochondrial function. Researchers from [...]

  • TBI more common among domestic violence survivors than American football players

    Traumatic brain injury is more common among domestic violence survivors than American football players, new research has found. Survivors of abuse can sustain head trauma more often than those playing the sport, with many experiencing injury from strangulation or blunt force trauma. Desiree Gorbea-Finalet of Disability Rights North Carolina said: "Brain injuries are much more [...]

  • Facial fracture may hint at brain injury

    Facial fractures affect up to 15 per cent of trauma patients and can flag life-threatening brain injuries that might otherwise be missed, new research has revealed. Facial injuries range from soft tissue damage and burns to dental trauma and fractures of the facial skeleton. Such fractures are a known marker for other serious harm, with [...]

  • Parkinson’s blood test could lead to earlier diagnosis

    Newly discovered blood markers could underpin a Parkinson's blood test that flags the disease years before symptoms appear, researchers said. While there is currently no cure for the degenerative brain condition and no test to diagnose it, early detection is crucial to start treatments that may slow progression. A blood test for these markers could [...]

  • Cognitive problems in older MS patients liked to disability, not ageing

    MS cognitive problems are more common in older adults, but a new study suggests disability, not age, is the main driver. The research found that while older people with MS had more prevalent and severe cognitive problems, particularly in information-processing speed and memory, age was not directly associated with impairment after adjustments. Instead, greater disability [...]

  • Study finds link between hearing loss and Parkinson’s

    Hearing loss is linked to a higher risk of Parkinson's disease (PD), a new study of US veterans suggests. The research examined 7,296,051 US veterans who had an audiogram, a hearing test that measures hearing thresholds, between 1 January 1999 and 30 December 2022. People with hearing loss had a higher risk of later developing [...]

  • TMS is a cost-effective treatment for depression, study finds

    A major new study has found that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which applies magnetic energy to the brain, can be a cost-effective treatment option for the NHS in treating moderate and severe forms of depression that have not responded to other treatments. The economic analysis, which is published in BMJ Mental Health, compared TMS to [...]