Clinicians & therapists

REM sleep disorder may mark early cognitive decline and raise risk of diseases such as Parkinson's, a long-term study suggests. Researchers studied people with long-term isolated REM sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD), a condition where sleepers act out dreams, often screaming, laughing or making violent movements. The term "isolated" means no other neurological disease. They found [...]

A new Irish study reports a sharp rise in nitrous oxide spinal cord damage among young people. The gas, commonly known as laughing gas, is legal for industrial and catering use. Youth workers and community groups say children and young people increasingly inhale it from balloons. Research led by Seamus Looby, consultant neuroradiologist at Dublin’s [...]

MS may damage the brain for years before symptoms appear, new research has found. Scientists have gained new insight by examining thousands of proteins circulating in the blood, providing the clearest picture so far of when the condition first attacks the myelin sheath, the protective layer that surrounds nerve fibres. The results show that the [...]

A team has developed a selective compound that inhibits an enzyme tied to inflammation in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. The compound preserves normal brain function while crossing the blood-brain barrier, the protective membrane that separates the brain from the bloodstream. The driver is an enzyme called calcium-dependent phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). [...]

Researchers have discovered a biochemical route that could lead to new Parkinson's treatments. The findings reveal how harmful protein build-up in brain cells causes the death of movement-controlling nerve cells, a hallmark of the condition. The research was led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University. Xin Qi, the study's senior author and [...]

Most people aged 65 and over with lower-risk head injuries do not have positive results on CT imaging, new research has found. CT, or computed tomography, is a detailed X-ray that creates cross-sectional images. The team, led by Yahy Al Fathil, a resident physician in the emergency department at Northern Hospital Epping in [...]

Israel has reported a sharp rise in PTSD and suicides among its troops after two years of conflict. The country's defence ministry says it has recorded a nearly 40 per cent increase in PTSD cases among its soldiers since September 2023, and predicts the figure will increase by 180 per cent by 2028. [...]

A new blood test tracks brain injury after stroke and predicts outcomes months to years later, researchers have said. The biomarker, brain-derived tau (BD-tau), could let clinicians monitor how damage evolves in the hours and days after stroke, which scans alone cannot show. In ischaemic stroke, part of the brain loses its blood supply. Decisions [...]

Higher vitamin D intake is linked to a 42 per cent lower risk of multiple sclerosis, independent of sun exposure, new research suggests. The findings support the hypothesis that vitamin D itself modifies MS risk, rather than simply acting as a marker of sun exposure. Greater intake of vitamin D and higher blood levels of [...]

Over a third of severe TBI patients could regain partial independence if life-sustaining care continues, new research suggests. The study challenges assumptions about early withdrawal of care, suggesting that meaningful recovery is possible at a higher rate than many clinicians and families might expect. The research, led by University of Pittsburgh School of [...]