Compression Stockings and Belly Binder May Keep Blood Pressure Steady When Standing After Neck Spinal Cord Injury

Compression Stockings and Belly Binder May Keep Blood Pressure Steady When Standing After Neck Spinal Cord Injury

TL;DR: In 10 young adults with a neck-level spinal cord injury, standing upright in a frame made blood pressure drop. Wearing compression stockings and a belly binder kept blood pressure from falling, and the five people who felt faint said they felt better. Key Findings Standing lowered blood pressure: Pressure and pulse pressure fell significantly …

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A Therapy App for Depression After Concussion Didn’t Beat an Education App

A Therapy App for Depression After Concussion Didn't Beat an Education App

TL;DR: A therapy app did not reduce depression scores more than a look-alike education app in a trial of adults with past concussions. Insomnia scores improved more with the therapy app, but only 42 of 113 participants completed the main 12-week check-in. Key Findings No edge on depression: Over 12 weeks, depression scores fell 2.0 …

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Repeated Brain Injuries From a Partner Linked to About a Decade of Extra ‘Cognitive Age’

Repeated Brain Injuries From a Partner Linked to About a Decade of Extra 'Cognitive Age'

TL;DR: Women who reported 10+ brain injuries from a partner performed on a speed test like someone about 21 years older than their actual age. They scored about 11 years “older” than survivors with no brain injury; the study of 207 women found a link, not proof that the injuries caused the difference. Key Findings …

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TBI Apathy Linked to Blunted Reward Prediction Error During Exploration

TBI Apathy Linked to Blunted Reward Prediction Error During Exploration

TL;DR: A 2025 medRxiv fMRI preprint linked higher apathy in both traumatic brain injury (TBI) and control groups to greater effort discounting, while TBI-related apathy was also associated with less exploratory decision-making and weaker neural encoding of differences between expected and received rewards. Key Findings 53-person fMRI sample: Researchers analyzed 34 people with chronic TBI …

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Brain CT Was Normal in 72% of Acute Dizziness Emergency Cases

Brain CT Was Normal in 72% of Acute Dizziness Emergency Cases

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint in medRxiv found that routine non-contrast brain computed tomography (CT) had a low acute-pathology yield in 291 emergency patients with new dizziness, while diabetes, ataxic gait, and headache marked higher odds of abnormal CT findings. Key Findings 291-patient cohort: The retrospective analysis included consecutive adults with new-onset dizziness who underwent non-contrast …

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Stroke Thrombectomy Technique Preference Did Not Predict First-Pass Reperfusion

Stroke Thrombectomy Technique Preference Did Not Predict First-Pass Reperfusion

TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that stroke thrombectomy operators often had a preferred device technique, but that preference did not reliably match the technique with the highest first-pass reperfusion rate. Key Findings Stroke thrombectomy cohort: The single-center analysis included 1,405 acute ischemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy from 2019 through 2024. 75% had …

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DLPFC Pain Maps Converged in Brodmann Areas 8, 9, and 46

DLPFC Pain Maps Converged in Brodmann Areas 8, 9, and 46

TL;DR: A 2026 review and activation-likelihood estimation study in European Journal of Pain found that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), a frontal control region, was repeatedly engaged in acute pain, chronic pain, and placebo analgesia, mainly across Brodmann areas 8, 9, and 46. Key Findings 138 studies included: The review screened 4810 deduplicated records and …

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GRANPA Let Diphenhydramine Inhibit Brain Circuits in Mouse Models

GRANPA Let Diphenhydramine Inhibit Brain Circuits in Mouse Models

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy engineered a modified inhibitory DREADD receptor called GRANPA so the over-the-counter antihistamine diphenhydramine could switch off targeted brain circuits and reduce seizure activity in mouse models. Key Findings Two added receptor mutations: The lead GRANPA receptor combined hM4Di with S85V and Y416F mutations to improve …

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EEG Motor Imagery in Stroke Recovery Increased Brain-Heart Coupling

EEG Motor Imagery in Stroke Recovery Increased Brain-Heart Coupling

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint in medRxiv found that stroke survivors doing motor imagery showed changing brain-heart coupling across rehabilitation sessions, especially between cardiac sympathetic activity and electroencephalography (EEG) beta-band network clustering. Key Findings 15 stroke survivors: Researchers analyzed two cohorts with upper- or lower-limb motor impairment after stroke. 2 motor-imagery protocols: Dataset 1 used gait …

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Stroke Neural Slowing on EEG Linked to Thalamic Degeneration

Stroke Neural Slowing on EEG Linked to Thalamic Degeneration

TL;DR: A 2026 preprint posted on medRxiv reported that resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) neural slowing after stroke tracked secondary thalamic degeneration measured on structural MRI, even though the sampled patients did not have direct thalamic lesions. Key Findings 25 stroke patients: Researchers studied adults at least 3 months after unilateral supratentorial stroke and compared their resting-state …

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