173 research outputs found
Injections of hope: supporting participants in clinical trials
No full textUnderstanding hope and better appreciating the personal investments of trial participants could improve patient experience and trial design, argue Emma Harding, Catherine Mummery, and colleague
UK neurology response to the COVID-19 crisis
No full textCOVID-19 has led to seismic changes in neurological practice in a matter of weeks. The Association of British Neurologists has supported neurology specialists and patients during this rapid reorganisation and its attendant challenges. We have written guidance on structured service transformation, considering the need to sustain long term care while responding to acute developments; we have recognised that staff experience differs and that this, as well as individual risk factors should be considered when redeployment occurs. Appreciating that there may be understandable anxiety when facing a working routine outside normal practice, we have signposted ethical and psychological support for individuals. We have also focused on our patients: we have facilitated a national alert system to register all neurological COVID cases, coordinating research efforts on this new disease; finally we have defined how to identify the most vulnerable patients under our care. When this initial wave of the pandemic subsides, we will have planned for return to the new 'norm', ready to embrace innovation where appropriate, aiming to minimise fall-out in our chronic disease population, and potentially having enhanced and modernised our services.</p
Outpatient neurology diagnostic coding: a proposed scheme for standardised implementation
No full textClinical coding uses a classification system to assign standard codes to clinical terms and so facilitates good clinical practice through audit, service design and research. However, despite clinical coding being mandatory for inpatient activity, this is often not so for outpatient services, where most neurological care is delivered. Recent reports by the UK National Neurosciences Advisory Group and NHS England's 'Getting It Right First Time' initiative recommend implementing outpatient coding. The UK currently has no standardised system for outpatient neurology diagnostic coding. However, most new attendances at general neurology clinics appear to be classifiable with a limited number of diagnostic terms. We present the rationale for diagnostic coding and its benefits, and the need for clinical engagement to develop a system that is pragmatic, quick and easy to use. We outline a scheme developed in the UK that could be used elsewhere.</p
Neuroimaging studies of the distributed semantic system and its disruption in disease
No full textSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN043841 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
An anti-amyloid therapy works for Alzheimer's disease: why has it taken so long and what is next?
No full textFabrication and Characterization of an Upside-Down Carbon Nanotube Microelectrode Array
No full textMicroelectrode arrays (MEAs) are widely used in biological application to locally stimulate and record the electrical activity of living cells. Here, a novel fabrication process for a carbon nanotube (CNT)-based MEA integrated on the backside of a free standing stretchable membrane is reported. The newprocess flow overcomes the manually intensive procedures used in the previous works. The microfabricated upside-down CNT MEA consists of microelectrodes with an area of 110 μm2 covered with cobalt-grown CNTs. The surface area enhancement and the foamlike morphology of the CNTs allow an increase of the charge injection per unit area at the electrode–electrolyte interface, resulting in a significantly lower electrochemical impedance of the electrodes. In particular, at 1 kHz, the fabricated CNT-MEA electrodes show a reduction of the overall impedance up to 96% in comparison with benchmark TiN electrodes. Theobtained results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed surface texturing through CNT integration. Moreover, the quality and the morphology as well as the biocompatibility of the fabricated CNT-based electrodes were assessed. The obtained results demonstrate that significant improvement can be achieved by integrating structured nanoporous material on MEAs.Accepted author manuscriptElectronic Components, Technology and MaterialsTera-Hertz Sensin
Hippocampal activation for autobiographical memories over the entire lifetime in healthy aged subjects: An fMRI study
No full textInternational audienceWe used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine the cerebral structures required during the recollection of episodic autobiographical memories according to 5 time periods covering the whole lifespan to test the 2 concurring models of memory consolidation, which propose either a temporary (standard model) or a permanent (multiple-trace model) role of the hippocampus in episodic memory retrieval. The experimental paradigm was specially designed to engage subjects (67.17 +/- 5.22 years old) in the retrieval of episodic autobiographical memories, whatever the time period, from personally relevant cues selected by questioning a family member. Moreover, the nature of the memories was checked at debriefing by means of behavioral measures to control the degree of episodicity. Behavioral data showed that recollected memories were characterized by specificity and details whatever their remoteness. Main neuroimaging data (Statistical Parametric Mapping 99) revealed the activation of a network including the left superior frontal gyri, bilateral precuneus/posterior cingulate and lingual gyri, left angular gyrus, and left hippocampus, although the subtraction analyses detected subtle differences between certain time periods. Small volume correction centered on the hippocampus detected left hippocampal activation for all time periods and additional right hippocampal activation for the intermediate periods. Further confirmation was provided by using a 3-way analysis of variance on blood oxygen level-dependent values, which revealed hippocampal activation whatever the time interval. The present data challenge the standard model of memory consolidation and support the multiple-trace model, instead. The comparison with previous literature stresses the idea that a bilateral involvement of the hippocampus characterizes rich episodic autobiographical memory recollection
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