Clinicians & therapists

Prompt treatment after a head injury, even if symptoms seem minor, could halve the risk of Alzheimer's, new research suggests. Beginning physical and cognitive therapy within a week cut later Alzheimer's risk by more than 40 per cent, the study found. Co-author Austin Kennemer said the finding could change how patients and hospitals respond. [...]

Specific DNA sequences control how cells in the nervous system respond to spinal cord injury, a study has found, potentially enabling more targeted treatments. When the central nervous system is damaged, many cells become reactive, changing their function and activating genes that protect and repair tissue. How this process is regulated has been unclear. Researchers [...]

NR Times explores the latest research developments in the world of neurorehabilitation. Shingles vaccine could slow dementia An unusual public health policy in Wales may have produced the strongest evidence yet that a vaccine can reduce the risk of dementia. In a new study led by Stanford Medicine, researchers analysing the health records of Welsh [...]

Fragmented sleep worsens recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI), causing loss of REM sleep and greater fatigue in injured mice, a study has found. REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep helps the brain consolidate new information and supports concentration and mood. Losing REM can impair brain and cellular function. The researchers found that mice without a head injury [...]

Untreated restless legs syndrome may raise the risk of Parkinson's disease, while dopamine-agonist therapy could lower it, a study has found. Restless legs syndrome is a common neurological sleep disorder characterised by an uncontrollable urge to move the legs, often worsening at night. Parkinson's disease is a progressive condition that causes tremor, rigidity and slowed [...]

Nitrous oxide, or ‘laughing gas’, could quickly ease depression symptoms, a new study suggests. The colourless gas, inhaled and widely used as a painkiller, has shown fast-acting benefits in adults with major depressive disorder (long-lasting, severe depression) and treatment-resistant depression, where patients have not responded to standard treatments. Researchers say it could be especially helpful [...]

Scientists identify how protein droplets trigger the harmful clumping that drives Parkinson's disease, potentially opening new treatment paths. The discovery reveals how ubiquilin-2 protein catalyses the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, the misfolded protein that forms toxic deposits in the brains of people with Parkinson's. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, accumulate in neurons in the substantia nigra [...]

People with untreated sleep apnoea face nearly double the risk of Parkinson's; using CPAP therapy appears to cut that risk, the study of 11m veterans suggests. The study of more than 11 million US military veterans found that using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy significantly reduced this heightened risk. Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is [...]

A brain-computer interface device has received FDA approval to begin human trials for speech restoration in paralysed patients. The Connexus BCI system will be tested in participants with severe motor impairment who have lost the ability to speak and move their limbs. The device is designed to record and decode brain signals, allowing users to [...]

AI tools that help detect strokes or seizures could worsen health disparities without safeguards, a new study warns. A report examining the technology’s growing role in brain disease diagnosis calls for safeguards to prevent vulnerable populations being left behind. While the technology has shown promise in helping doctors classify brain tumours faster and analyse stroke [...]