Around one in four patients with severe brain injury who cannot move or speak – because they are in a prolonged coma, vegetative or minimally conscious state – is still able to perform complex mental tasks, a major international study has concluded in confirmation of much smaller previous studies.
Cambridge is to lead a £9.5m research platform that aims to transform the way survivors of traumatic brain injury are diagnosed and treated in the UK, the Medical Research Council (MRC) announced today.
Even mild concussion can cause long-lasting effects to the brain, according to researchers at the University of Cambridge. Using data from a Europe-wide study, the team has shown that for almost a half of all people who receive a knock to the head, there are changes in how regions of the brain communicate with each other, potentially causing long term symptoms such as fatigue and cognitive impairment.
A new report highlights the advances and challenges in prevention, clinical care, and research in traumatic brain injury, a leading cause of injury-related death and disability worldwide.
Cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained between 50 and 70 years of age and is the equivalent to losing 10 IQ points, say a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London.
Researchers have developed an AI algorithm that can detect and identify different types of brain injuries.
Intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy is likely to increase dramatically over the next few weeks, suggests research published by a team at the University of Cambridge. Their work suggests that if the current exponential growth of COVID-19 infections continues, then within two weeks, five out of seven commissioning regions in England will have more critically ill COVID-19 patients than can be accommodated with ICU beds normally available.
Substantial reductions in the global burden of traumatic brain injury (TBI) could be achieved with improved policies for prevention, new directions for clinical care, and novel approaches to research, according to The Lancet Neurology Commission on TBI.
A brain network previously associated with daydreaming has been found to play an important role in allowing us to perform tasks on autopilot. Scientists at the University of Cambridge showed that far from being just ‘background activity’, the so-called ‘default mode network’ may be essential to helping us perform routine tasks.
Traumatic brain injury affects 10 million people a year worldwide and is the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults. A new study will identify how to match treatments to patients, to achieve the best possible outcome for recovery.
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