Research
Telerehab may have a greater effect on stroke patients than those who attend sessions in person, a new study has suggested.
Research has found that stroke patients who engage in rehabilitation via video at home may recover their motor skills better than those who have to attend outpatient facilities. The Chinese study, published in Neurology, also finds that the convenience of telerehab being done at home could be a significant factor in helping patients stick to their programmes through a greater ability to increase patient participation and compliance, alongside increased opportunities for patients to benefit from completing their rehab in a family and social environment.
Pioneering treatments could be developed for people with motor neurone disease (MND) after a new study shed light on how the damage to nerve cells can be repaired by improving the energy levels in mitochondria.
Researchers have discovered that, in human stem cell models of MND, the axon - the long part of the motor neuron cell that connects to the muscle - is shorter than in healthy cells.
One in three stroke survivors experiences depression within five years of it happening, but a new device could help reduce this by utilising brain stimulation.
A study from the University of South Australia found that using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improved depression among its patients. The researchers delivered around 30,000 electromagnetic pulses to each stroke survivor’s brain over the course of two weeks, which showed positive changes in brain function.
COVID-19 regulations have led to reduced social interaction and periods of isolation, but new research has unveiled the effect this can have on the brain.
Scientists from the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital found that the brains of those who reported feelings of loneliness had distinct differences compared to those who did not. This included different volumes in certain regions, as well as a contrast in how these regions interact with each other. The 40,000 middle-aged or older patients involved in this study completed a psychological self-assessment to decide whether they were classed as lonely or not.
Pasta sauce, ketchup and soup are all tasty uses for tomatoes - but according to new research the fruit has the potential to help Parkinson’s patients through its unique ability to carry a critical chemical.
Scientists from the John Innes Centre in Norwich have developed a genetically modified tomato which is rich in the drug L-DOPA - one of the most common treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Researchers have potentially made major progress in improving Parkinson's diagnosis - all through a basic eye test.
Around 145,000 people in the UK live with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson's UK says. This affects over 1 million people, however, when taking into account repercussions for families, friends and colleagues. Currently there is no test which enables clinicians to conclusively diagnose the condition; with the patient’s medical history and symptoms typically being assessed.
Researchers have made advances in studying how the brain re-wires itself in neurological disease, which could yield breakthroughs in rehabilitation and therapy as a result.
Previously, scientific knowledge has revealed that the polio virus affects the spinal cord, but not the brain. However, a team from Trinity College Dublin has now discovered previously unknown changes also occurring in the brain networks. The findings suggest, say the team, that brain networks engage in an abnormal but active communication with muscles in patient groups studied.
Female footballers heading the ball could be putting themselves at even greater risk of dementia than male players according to experts at the University of East Anglia.
Dr Michael Grey is running a project to monitor ex-footballers for early signs of dementia. More than 35 former professional players have now signed up including former Norwich City stars Iwan Roberts and Jeremy Goss, and Crystal Palace hero Mark Bright. But the research team are urgently looking for amateur and professional female players to take part too.
Most neurological diseases have one thing in common: an accumulation of abnormal proteins around neurons. Researchers agree that these improperly fabricated proteins become progressively more toxic by interacting with healthy proteins, disrupting their functions. This picture, however, may be incomplete, according to a study.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Cell Biology, scientists from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have discovered the mechanism of action by which abnormal proteins actually unleash the inherent, but normally latent, toxicity of a natural protein in neurons, causing defects in dendrites (branched parts of a neuron that connect to the next neuron). Therefore, their results provide some clarity as to what actually goes on in diseased neurons. Though the researchers focused on Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), the implications of their results are relevant to other diseases as well.
Researchers from the University of Seville and the University of Oxford have described how the presence of brain metastases causes acute cerebrovascular dysfunction from the early stages of the disease.
The study, whose main author was Manuel Sarmiento Soto, Marie Curie researcher and member of the Group on Mechanisms of Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Seville, shows that this alteration is chiefly caused by the activation of cells called astrocytes.
