Welcome to your daily round-up of everything happening in the world of neurorehab.
Research
Organ transplant drug may slow Alzheimer’s disease progression
Protein imbalances that increase brain cell excitability may explain why individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who also experience seizures demonstrate more rapid cognitive decline than those who do not experience seizures. These imbalances may be present in the brains of individuals before the onset of AD symptoms.The new findings, from a research team at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, are published this week in Brain.
$1.2 million to advance traumatic brain injury research
Kessler Foundation scientists received three significant grants from the New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research to further investigate traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation. The grants, totaling more than $1.2 million, will fund new research initiatives focused on improving sleep disorders for adolescents after TBI, behavioural and brain changes in individuals with spatial neglect, and a training program for TBI caregivers.
Study reveals differences between females and males in major causes of disease burden
Globally, there are substantial differences between females and males (aged 10 and older) when it comes to health, with limited progress in bridging these health gaps over the past 30 years, according to a new study examining the disparities in the 20 leading causes of disease burden between females and males, across ages and regions, published in The Lancet Public Health journal.
Small molecule shows early-stage promise in MS
When treated with a novel protein function inhibitor called ESI1, mice that mimic the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and lab-prepared human brain cells both demonstrated the ability to regenerate vital myelin coatings that protect healthy axon function. This breakthrough, published in Cell, appears to overcome difficulties that have long frustrated previous attempts to reverse a form of nerve damage that robs people with MS of motor control and gradually blunts cognitive functions for many people as they age.
Company updates
MCRA supports Darmiyan with FDA approval for BrainSee device
MCRA, an independent medical device, diagnostics, and biologics Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) and advisory firm, has announced its role in the successful granting of Darmiyan’s De Novo request for BrainSee by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
BrainSee’s AI algorithm combines analysis of an indicated patient’s brain MRI with their results on cognitive tests to provide a BrainSee score. The score helps doctors determine the patient’s likelihood of progression from amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer’s dementia in the next 5 years.
