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The current pandemic has generated varying levels of anxiety in people around becoming infected or infecting others. In extreme cases, this anxiety can be debilitating. Overwhelming anxiety can lead to withdrawal from others, and in brain injury work settings, can cause staff members to refuse certain duties that make them feel unsafe, which can cause conflict with managers. Feeling a loss of control can be difficult for some, whether that’s at work or at home, and this can be exacerbated by restrictions designed to minimise infection risk. Changes in the workplace include virtual meetings, wearing PPE for client or patient encounters and working remotely.

In the latest instalment of our new video series, Vicki Gilman speaks to Sarah Clayton, chief executive of Simple Stuff Works, an organisation focused on postural management for adults and children.

Senior clinician Benedict Michael hasn’t slept more than four hours a night since February. While many in the field would say science is a slow process, the opposite is true for Michael since he started leading groundbreaking research into the neurological complications caused by Covid-19. “When it became apparent the virus had taken hold in Italy, I said to the guys, ‘We’ve got to get something up and running’,” Michael, from the University of Liverpool, tells NR Times. Michael led a similar programme during the H1N1 epidemic over a decade ago, when he noticed that, while the number of people who developed neurological complications was low, they were often the most severe cases.

“This is really good news because it’s only if we tackle all the various issues that we can deal with this hidden epidemic,” says Chris Bryant, “Which has been made considerably worse with coronavirus.” Bryant says the issues surrounding acquired brain injury effect every government department, including the Ministry of Defence, Department for Education, Ministry of Justice, as well as the criminal justice system, the welfare system and local government and housing. In a meeting yesterday with Bryant and the UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF), Cabinet Minister Gove committed to bringing together a task force to discuss issues relating to acquired brain injury, which include ensuring adequate support and rehab.

The unusual case of a man who can’t see numbers has led researchers to argue that the brain can process things without a person being aware of what they’re looking at.

Domestic violence survivors in hospital should automatically be tested for traumatic brain injury (TBI) because they, and doctors, may not be aware of the symptoms.

Repeated head impacts may be associated with depression symptoms and worse cognitive function later in life, new research suggests.

Compared to those living in urban areas, stroke patients treated at rural hospitals were one third less likely to undergo a procedure to remove a blood clot that caused the stroke and were more likely to die of stroke before leaving the hospital. Researchers examined national data on almost 800,000 adults hospitalised after a stroke [...]

Since lockdown began in March, many people recovering from brain injuries have had to adapt to remote sessions with health workers.

Consultant clinical neuropsychologist Dr Keith G Jenkins and Dr Jenny Brooks, consultant clinical psychologist on how to sleep well during the pandemic.