Research

A simple walking test that times how quickly people turn could flag Parkinson's nearly nine years before diagnosis. The finding could help spot patients in the prodromal phase – the earliest stage when brain damage starts but symptoms are subtle. This window can last years before tremor and movement problems prompt diagnosis. The [...]

A new $1.75 million joint venture will fund and scale breakthrough technologies designed to transform the lives of people living with neurological conditions. The programme, a collaboration between Australian disability services provider MSWA and Founders Factory, will back and fast-track global startups developing cutting-edge solutions, including the use of AI, robotics and wearables that address [...]

People who drink heavily are more likely to suffer severe brain bleeds at a younger age, with larger haemorrhages occurring about a decade earlier than in non-drinkers, new research has revealed. Patients who consumed three or more alcoholic drinks a day experienced brain bleeds at an average age of 64, compared with 75 for non-drinkers, [...]

The country’s first NHS National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) is set to open its doors for patients. The NRC is a 70-bed, state-of-the-art specialist rehab centre for NHS patients who have experienced a life-changing illness or injury. The centre, at Stanford Hall in Nottinghamshire, is run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). [...]

People with traumatic spinal cord injuries face a higher risk of developing long-term health conditions, regardless of their age, injury location or previous health status, new research has found. Researchers found that patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI) were more likely to develop cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological and psychiatric disorders than people without such injuries. [...]

A study has identified a shared brain-signalling mechanism in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, revealing a possible common cause behind their neurodegenerative symptoms. Researchers discovered a molecular pathway that disrupts communication between brain cells in both conditions, improving understanding of how their symptoms are produced. The disruption occurs at synapses — junctions between nerve cells where [...]

New research has provided new insight into how the habenula, a pea-sized brain region that helps regulate motivation and mood, may contribute to schizophrenia risk. Many schizophrenia-related molecular changes appear to be specific to this region, suggesting the habenula could be a potential target for future treatments. Researchers from the Lieber Institute for Brain Development [...]

A study using wearable brain-scanning technology has revealed how brain function differs in people with multiple sclerosis. This research marks the first use of a newly developed technique called OPM-MEG in MS, demonstrating its potential to study neurological disease. OPM-MEG (magnetoencephalography with optically pumped magnetometers) measures electrical brain activity in real time by detecting magnetic [...]

Researchers have received US$4.4m to conduct a world-first study of prefrontal cortical stimulation in severe bipolar disorder. The funding, from Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²), will support research into how large-scale brain networks regulate mood and how manipulating these networks may contribute to shifts between depression and mania – the extreme mood [...]

DMT may protect the brain from stroke damage by stabilising the blood–brain barrier and reducing inflammation, new research suggests. The naturally occurring psychoactive compound dimethyltryptamine (DMT) significantly reduced brain damage in animal models of stroke by protecting the blood–brain barrier – the membrane that controls what passes from the bloodstream into brain tissue – and [...]