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An Iranian study has examined links between nut consumption and the risk of death by cardiovascular disease - including stroke and heart attack. A total of 5,432 adults aged 35 and older with no history of cardiovascular disease were randomly selected from urban and rural areas of the Isfahan, Arak and Najafabad counties. Intake of nuts including walnuts, almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and seeds was assessed in 2001 with a validated food frequency questionnaire. Participants or family members were interviewed every two years until 2013 for the occurrence of cardiovascular events and death.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has issued new guidance to councils in England on Blue Badge parking permit eligibility, along with a new online eligibility checker to make the scheme clearer for people before they apply. In the biggest change to Blue Badges since the 1970s, the DfT has been working with specialists to expand the eligibility criteria for the badges, which now includes people who cannot walk as part of a journey without considerable psychological distress or the risk of serious harm. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We know that for some people, the possibility of not being able to find a parking space can make even leaving the house a challenge, which is why the Blue Badge is so important.

Researchers have found a correlation between deficits in facial emotion recognition and poor community integration in individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Their findings have implications for the development of rehabilitative interventions to reduce social isolation in this population, improve outcomes, and increase quality of life Among people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, social isolation is prevalent, and contributes to poor rehabilitation outcomes.

Every year in the US, there are an estimated 1.7 to three million sports and recreation-related concussions, 300,000 of which are American football-related, according the UPMC sports medicine concussion programme. More startling is that according to this data, five out of 10 concussions go unreported or undetected. Many college and professional teams have standardised tests in place, performing baseline tests at the start of the season and implementing others during practice and game situations.

The UK MS Register, based at Swansea University, was established in 2011 as the first nationwide register of its kind. It seeks to gather information from people with MS about what it’s like to live day-to-day with the condition. This information provides rich, anonymised data for the purposes of medical research, which could unlock some of the mysteries behind the disease.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina analysed studies tracking 500 stroke survivors (aged 54 to 71) as they completed aerobic exercise programmes. Participants, aged 54 to 71, attended two to three sessions per week for about three months. Of nearly two dozen different exercise groups, walking was the most common type of activity, followed by stationary cycling and then mixed mode aerobic exercise. Physical abilities were tested before and after the intervention.

As bodies age, muscles and joints can become stiff, making everyday movements more difficult. This study shows the same is true in our brains, and that age-related brain stiffening has a significant impact on the function of brain stem cells. Researchers at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, studied young and old rat brains to understand the impact of age-related brain stiffening on the function of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs).

Almost half (43 per cent) of all stroke survivors in the UK aged under 65 face financial hardship as a result of their stroke, according to the study. The latest instalment of the Stroke Association’s Lived Experience report estimates that some 12,000 stroke survivors under 65 have had to sell their home amid rising costs and lower income after a stroke. The findings show that 51 per cent of stroke survivors aged under 65 have to give up work or reduce their working hours following their stroke. One in six say they have experienced discrimination, missed out on a promotion or faced an unsupportive employer.

The annual suicide rate for US veterans with a TBI was measured as 86 out of 100,000 ‘person years’, versus 37 out of 100,000 for those with no previous TBI diagnosis. Person years factor in both the number of people in a study and the amount of time each person spends in it. In this case sample data was taken from the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) and the National Death Index between 2005 and 2015, alongside more than 1.4 million US military veterans’ electronic medical records, were used throughout this study. Firearms were the leading means of suicide for both TBI and non-TBI veterans with 68 per cent of the case studies indicating the use of the gun.

The document, delivered to 10 Downing Street, urges the government to give people with a terminal illness easier and quicker access to the benefits they are entitled to. Currently, unless a medical professional signs a form saying the person has six months or less to live they are forced through a laborious process of form-filling, interviews and assessments. David Setters, who is living with MND and consultant neurologist Dr Nik Sharma were among those who delivered the petition; as was Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter.