Disability News

November 22, 2024

Top Headlines

Listening for Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease

Nov. 20, 2024 — People with Alzheimer's exhibit a loss of motor control along with cognitive decline, and one of the earliest signs of this decay can be spotted in involuntary eye movements known as saccades. These quick twitches of the eyes in Alzheimer's patients ...

Research Team Develops Novel Biomimetic Speaking Valve Technology

Nov. 20, 2024 — A research team has developed a novel biomimetic speaking valve technology that could significantly increase the safety of tracheostomized ...

Researchers Uncover Potential Treatment for Rare Genetic Disorders

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers have identified a potential treatment for Sandhoff and Tay-Sachs diseases -- two rare, often fatal lysosomal storage disorders that cause progressive damage to nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. After years of investigating the ...

New Study Sheds Light on Language Development in Children With Hearing Loss

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers find a link between early vocabulary composition and later language development in children with cochlear ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:55pm EST

Scientists Discover 'Entirely Unanticipated' Role of Protein Netrin1 in Spinal Cord Development

Nov. 14, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered a surprising new role for netrin1, a crucial protein in neural development, as a regulator that limits bone morphogenetic ...

Researchers Develop Minimally Invasive Neural Interface in Revolutionary Study

Nov. 13, 2024 — A team of researchers has developed a technique for diagnosing, managing and treating neurological disorders with minimal surgical ...

Early Treatment for Nerve Tumors Prevents Serious Problems, Study Finds

Nov. 12, 2024 — Small cranial nerve tumors that can cause hearing loss, vertigo and ringing in the ears are often watched rather than treated, but a new study is set to change how the tumors, called vestibular ...

Wearable Ultrasound Tech for Muscle Monitoring Opens New Possibilities in Healthcare and Human-Machine Interfaces

Oct. 31, 2024 — Researchers have developed a compact, wearable ultrasound device that monitors muscle activity. Attachable to the skin with an adhesive and powered ...

Enhanced Cardiovascular Function With Spinal Cord Transcutaneous Stimulation in High-Level Spinal Cord Injury

Oct. 28, 2024 — New research shows that stimulation of the lumbosacral vertebrae region significantly elevated low blood pressure, unlike cervical or upper thoracic ...

Clinical Trial for Treating Spinal Cord Injury Using Olfactory Cell Nerve Bridges

Oct. 22, 2024 — Realizing a Phase I human clinical trial commencing to test the efficacy and safety of the transplantation of olfactory cell nerve bridges to treat ...

Controlling Prosthetic Hands More Precisely by the Power of Thought

Oct. 17, 2024 — Researchers have developed a novel training protocol for brain-computer interfaces in a study with rhesus monkeys. The method enables precise control of prosthetic hands using signals from the brain ...

Evidence Builds for Near Infrared Light Treatment in Traumatic Brain Injury

Oct. 11, 2024 — New research indicates that a novel method could result in a new treatment option in an area of medicine that currently has few, if any, treatment ...

Adding Vagus Nerve Stimulation to Training Sessions May Boost How Well Sounds Are Perceived

Oct. 9, 2024 — Just as a musician can train to more sharply distinguish subtle differences in pitch, mammals can improve their ability to interpret hearing, vision, ...

Deep Brain Stimulation Instantly Improves Arm and Hand Function Post-Brain Injury

Oct. 1, 2024 — Deep brain stimulation may provide immediate improvement in arm and hand strength and function weakened by traumatic brain injury or ...

Lab-Grown Spines Unlock Safer Treatment for Women With Epilepsy, Study Suggests

Oct. 1, 2024 — Researchers have made a significant step towards enabling women with epilepsy safer access to a common and highly effective anti-seizure medication. Sodium Valproate or valproic acid is widely ...

How Are Stretch Reflexes Modulated During Voluntary Movement?

Sep. 26, 2024 — How did the bodies of animals, including ours, become such fine-tuned movement machines? This paper cuts directly into critical debates about how the ancient spinal cord and the relatively new human ...

Scientists Uncover a Critical Component That Helps Killifish Regenerate Their Fins

Sep. 26, 2024 — Spontaneous injuries like the loss of a limb or damage to the spinal cord are impossible for humans to repair. Yet, some animals have an extraordinary capacity to regenerate after injury, a response ...

Walking in Lockstep

Sep. 20, 2024 — Researchers studied the neurological control applied to human walking that maintains the correct relationship between the leg positions. They found that the rhythm of each leg continues independently ...

Versatile Knee Exo for Safer Lifting

Sep. 18, 2024 — A set of knee exoskeletons, built with commercially available knee braces and drone motors, has been shown to help counteract fatigue in lifting and carrying tasks. They helped users maintain better ...

Cow Slime Can Help Disc Herniation Patients After Surgery, Research Shows

Sep. 17, 2024 — Researchers have developed a gel inspired by cow slime for patients suffering from disc herniation. By adding the mucin gel immediately after surgery, it is possible to create a protective barrier ...

New AI Can ID Brain Patterns Related to Specific Behavior

Sep. 9, 2024 — Scientists have developed a new AI algorithm that can separate brain patterns related to a particular behavior. This work promises to improve brain-computer interfaces and aid with the discovery of ...

Novel Immunotherapy Improves Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury

Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers have designed, in mice, an approach to minimizing the damage from a spinal cord injury through the use of engineered immune cells. Mice given the treatment had improved recovery from ...

Mechanisms of How Morphine Relieves Pain Mapped out

Aug. 29, 2024 — Researchers describe the neural processes behind how morphine relieves pain. This is valuable knowledge because the drug has such serious side ...

Seeing the Future: Zebrafish Regenerates Fully Functional Photoreceptor Cells and Restores Its Vision

Aug. 29, 2024 — Blinding diseases lead to permanent vision loss by damaging photoreceptor cells, which humans cannot naturally regenerate. While researchers are working on new methods to replace or regenerate these ...

Defining Chronic Pain for High-Performance Athletes With Disabilities

Aug. 27, 2024 — The extensive training and the sacrifices athletes make to compete at the Olympic games take center stage. For Paralympians and high-performance athletes with spinal cord injuries (SCI), assessing ...

Declining Senses Can Impact Mental Health and Loneliness in Aging Adults

Aug. 22, 2024 — Researchers found that people who develop sensory disabilities with age tend to have worse mental health, and that different types of sensory disability are associated with different aspects of ...

Separating the Physical and Psychosocial Causes of Pain

Aug. 21, 2024 — Not all pain is the same. Depending on the cause, it requires different therapies. A team has now developed a method that enables physicians to better distinguish between physical and psychosocial ...

Blood Pressure Levels Impacted by Chronic Occupational Noise Exposure

Aug. 15, 2024 — A new study found in adult power loom weavers, chronic noise exposure not only increased their blood pressure overall, but also each year of exposure increased their odds of having high blood ...

Zebrafish Use Surprising Strategy to Regrow Spinal Cord

Aug. 15, 2024 — A new study maps out a detailed atlas of all the cells involved in regenerating the zebrafish spinal cord. In an unexpected finding, the researchers showed that survival and adaptability of the ...

New Biomaterial Regrows Damaged Cartilage in Joints

Aug. 5, 2024 — Scientists have developed a new bioactive material that successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the knee joints of a large-animal model. New material comprises peptides, proteins and ...

White Matter May Aid Recovery from Spinal Cord Injuries

Aug. 2, 2024 — Scientists are focusing on a previously understudied part of the brain and spinal cord -- white matter. Their discoveries could lead to treatments that restore nerve activity through the targeted ...

'Dancing Molecules' Heal Cartilage Damage

July 26, 2024 — New therapy uses synthetic nanofibers to mimic the natural signaling of a protein that is crucial for cartilage formation and maintenance. Researchers found that intensifying the motion of molecules ...

With Gene Editing, Mice With a Form of Inherited Deafness Can Hear Again

July 12, 2024 — Researchers have used gene editing to restore hearing in adult mice with a type of inherited hearing loss. They showed that shutting down a damaged copy of a gene called a microRNA (miRNA) enabled ...

New Ways to Study Spinal Cord Malformations in Embryos

July 12, 2024 — Scientists have successfully created mechanical force sensors directly in the developing brains and spinal cords of chicken embryos, which they hope will improve understanding and prevention of birth ...