News
The latest news from across neurorehabilitation.
Legal29 OctWhen a seriously injured person is injured, there is often a need for larger accommodation. This may be required to accommodate carers, to create a therapy room or to house aids and equipment. Larger houses cost more money, writes Irwin Mitchell's David Withers.
The issue that the Court has, when faced with a claim for damages, is ensuring that the severely injured person’s accommodation needs are met, but also ensuring that the injured person’s estate, when the injured person dies, does not receive a windfall. A property is a capital asset which, based on historical performance, generally appreciates in value over a period of time. If the injured person was awarded the total cost of the property that they now need because of their injury, they would receive damages to purchase the property and their estate would then be able to sell the higher value and larger property upon the injured person’s death, hence the windfall argument.
News29 OctA method for detecting traumatic brain injury at the point of care has been developed by scientists at the University of Birmingham.
Using chemical biomarkers released by the brain immediately after a head injury occurs, researchers are able to pinpoint when patients need urgent medical attention. This saves time in delivering vital treatment and avoids patients undergoing unnecessary tests where no injury has occurred. The technique was developed by multi-disciplinary team of researchers in the group of Advanced Nanomaterials, Structures and Applications (ANMSA) led by Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer at the University of Birmingham.
News28 OctStudy finds that neurodevelopmental scores and grey matter volumes at age two years did not differ between children who had MRI-confirmed asymptomatic subdural hemorrhages when they were neonates, compared to children with no history of hemorrhage.
In 2007, researchers published unexpected and surprising results from a study based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of newborn brains. Twenty-six percent of the newborns in the study were found to have asymptomatic subdural hemorrhages, or bleeding in and around the brain. It was an unexpected finding because subdural hemorrhage had been considered unusual in full-term newborns. But the 2007 findings suggested that small, asymptomatic brain bleeds might be a fairly common consequence of a normal vaginal delivery.
Brain injury28 OctDARPA - the research and development agency of the US Department of Defense - is putting its weight behind spinal cord injury (SCI) research.
The organisation has awarded a consortium of universities, biomedical startups, and nonprofit organizations an award that supports the development of interventions for SCI. Karen Moxon, from University of California, Davis (UC Davis), will lead the five-year project supported by the $36 million award, according to reports. The consortium will focus on three primary technologies, including a near-infrared spectroscopic sensor. Brian Kwon, co-principal investigator and spine surgeon from the University of British Columbia (UBC), will develop the sensor. Pathonix Innovations Inc., also in Vancouver, Canada, will then commercialize the device to assess blood oxygenation and blood flow at the site of spinal injury.
News28 OctAfter months of thorough review and discussion, the American Stroke Association will present the next International Stroke Conference as a 100 per cent virtual experience due to the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will now be held March 17-19, 2021, virtually, and registration will open in December. The American Heart Association's Board of Directors and the Committee on International Stroke Conference Programming are focused on providing a robust and meaningful scientific exchange in a virtual format to help ensure the health and safety of all.
News27 OctA gene whose disfunction is linked to autism and other brain-development disorders has a critical role in the growth of healthy neurons, directing the speed at which the neurons mature, according to a new study.
The study, published this month in the Journal of Neuroscience by Scripps Research neuroscientist Gavin Rumbaugh, PhD, investigates the role of the gene SYNGAP1 in the early development of human neurones. Changes to SYNGAP1 that inactivate the gene cause a rare autism disorder called MRD5, which also typically features intellectual disability and epilepsy. When these mutations occur spontaneously in the womb and alter one of the two copies of the gene, they cause neurodevelopmental problems.
Tech & industry27 OctHaving been an early adopter of telerehab, PhysioFunction was perhaps less daunted than most at the prospect of responding to the COVID-19 lockdown and ensuring their clients’ needs were met.
The specialist neuro physiotherapy practice has, for the past year, used video calls to enable its clients to receive one-to-one sessions in addition to those provided in person, with its staff supporting them to install and use the technology remotely.
It is also an early adopter of the MindMotion GO, a first-of-its-kind mobile neurorehabilitation therapy system which uses gaming to support the recovery of brain injury and neuro patients.
News27 OctPeople born without a corpus callosum do not have a bridge between the two cerebral hemispheres. Neuroscientists from UNIGE have shown how the brain manages to adapt.
One in 4,000 people is born without a corpus callosum, a brain structure consisting of neural fibres that are used to transfer information from one hemisphere to the other. A quarter of these individuals do not have any symptoms, while the remainder either have low intelligence quotients or suffer from severe cognitive disorders. In a study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, neuroscientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) discovered that when the neuronal fibres that act as a bridge between the hemispheres are missing, the brain reorganises itself and creates an impressive number of connections inside each hemisphere.
Tech & industry27 OctTech firm Neuro Rehab VR has releases its new XR Therapy System, a clinically validated and FDA registered VR therapy system for neuro-rehab and physical therapy treatment and assessment in clinical environments. The company states that its new VR system helps to increase provider efficiencies and enhance patient experiences while expediting recovery through engaging virtual reality exercises. Neuro Rehab VR’s solution has been developed to allow outpatient physical therapy centers and hospitals to work on patient physical therapy for upper and lower extremity, cognitive therapy, pain and anxiety alleviation, behavioral and social skills training, and more, through a library of VR applications.
Care & services26 OctWhile trying to adapt to the many challenges of lockdown and ensure its support for people continued, Neuro Drop In was dealt the blow of having to move out of its premises. Founder Sharon Jackson explains how, despite the ongoing social restrictions, the Lancaster-based group have pulled even more tightly together to get through its unprecedented situation.
“Next year will mark the 21st anniversary of me being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It was a massive shock as I had a career and a family, I wasn’t ready to be disabled. I’m 62 now and have learnt to deal with it while still being able to live my life, but I know what a devastating thing it is to be given this diagnosis and the impact it can have on you and your loved ones.
