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Parents have been able to interact with their children in new ways through the introduction of music therapy into the home during lockdown, according to one business which has overseen remote sessions.

Prior to the pandemic, ELM Music Therapy worked widely in schools and with charities across the North East of Scotland, supporting children with neurological conditions and other disabilities with their development through harnessing the power of music. But as of March last year, ELM has taken all of its sessions online, also making use of YouTube to deliver content to the children it would ordinarily teach in person.Prior to the pandemic, ELM Music Therapy worked widely in schools and with charities across the North East of Scotland, supporting children with neurological conditions and other disabilities with their development through harnessing the power of music. But as of March last year, ELM has taken all of its sessions online, also making use of YouTube to deliver content to the children it would ordinarily teach in person.

A case management company has changed hands through a management buy-out (MBO). AKA Case Management has been sold by founder Angela Kerr to new directors Dawn Abernethy and Andrew Rose.

Dawn and Andrew have both been part of the senior leadership team at the Nottingham-based case management company for a number of years and will now oversee the continuing growth and development of the business.

Pioneering research is underway to develop a drug that could slow the development of Parkinson’s disease.

The project is a partnership between Parkinson’s UK and the University of Sheffield, and is backed by up to £1.2million in funding from the charity. The research aims to create a world-first drug that can protect the dopamine-producing brain cells that are lost in Parkinson’s by targeting mitochondria.

Men and women are impacted differently by the effects of neurological diseases, new research has found.

The study adds to a growing body of research suggesting sex differences play roles in how patients respond to brain diseases, as well as Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Motor Neurone Disease (MND), and other brain ailments. That is progress from just a few years ago, say the University of Maryland team behind the new research. "I have worked with vascular cells for 20 years and, up until maybe about five years ago, if you asked if the sex of my cells mattered at all, I would have said no,” says Alisa Morss Clyne, director of the university's Vascular Kinetics Laboratory.

Rehab professionals will next week have an opportunity to learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on public health and the importance of partnership working in the current climate.

Disability charity Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People (QEF) is hosting a virtual event featuring insights from Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director of NHS England, and Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director and director of health protection for Public Health England. They will be joined by QEF’s chief executive, Karen Deacon, and director of operations, Rita Asamoah.

Technology which uses artificial intelligence (AI) electromagnetic therapy to help neurorecovery can reduce disability in stroke patients, new trials have revealed.

BrainQ is developing a cloud-based platform to map brain network activity using explanatory machine learning algorithms, to extract biological insights that translate into precision therapies. In a recent pilot trial involving 25 stroke patients, patients recovered 77 per cent faster from the disabilities caused by their stroke through the use of the BrainQ technology.

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) was first documented as a treatment option for dorsiflexion weakness post CVA, in 1961 by Liberson et al. Since then there have been numerous studies into the use of FES in upper motor neuron conditions and the NHS integrated FES into its services in the late 1980s.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released the following guideline; Electrical stimulation for drop foot of central neurological origin, [IPG278] in January 2009. The guideline states that FES can be routinely offered as a treatment option for people with foot drop, caused by damage to the brain or spinal cord, if the health professional considers it is appropriate.

A specialist neurological centre is continuing to invest in its offering as it increases therapy and rehab provision for patients.

Chase Park Neuro Centre has developed its facilities over several years, with a hydropool and gym area being added in 2007 to increase therapy opportunities for residents, but efforts have redoubled since being acquired in 2016. Under the ownership of Dr Niraj Brahmabhatt, Chase Park has brought its external therapy and psychological support services in-house, with a neuropsychologist now based on site.

Organisations from across the UK’s health and social care sector have united to call for urgent action to improve the level of technology-enabled care for dementia patients.

Around 100 private sector businesses, not-for-profit organisations and individuals have joined with 18 representative groups - including the National Care Forum, Care England, National Care Association - to call on the Government to improve the financial and strategic support in dementia care. In an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the groups demand that the Government conduct an urgent review of the status and progress of the commitments set out in the Dementia 2020 Challenge.

Primary care has an important role to play in preserving patients’ brain health from the earliest age by using ‘Life’s Simple Seven’ as a basis, new research has concluded.

Preserving the brain health of an ageing population is a growing concern globally, with an estimated one in five people in the US aged 65 or over having a mild cognitive impairment. While one in seven over 65s currently has dementia, that is expected to triple in the US by 2050, the new study has found.