A man with an inherited form of blindness has been able to identify letters and a clock face using a pioneering implant, researchers say. Miikka Terho, 46, from Finland, was fitted with an experimental chip behind his retina in Germany. Success was also reported in other patients. The chip allows a patient to detect objects with their eyes, unlike a rival approach that uses an external camera.
Blocking a molecule which stops brain cells working properly after a stroke could help people recover better. Californian scientists, writing in the journal Nature, said doing this in mice helped reverse the effects of a stroke. A treatment based on this approach could be given days later, while conventional treatments need far quicker action. The Stroke Association said far more testing would be needed on any new drug.
Differences in the brain structure of people carrying an "autism gene" may offer clues to how the condition develops, say US scientists. Scans revealed children carrying the gene variant appeared to have more nerve cell "connections" within the frontal lobe.
People who take regular exercise during their free time are less likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety, a study of 40,000 Norwegians has found. But physical activity which is part and parcel of the working day does not have the same effect, it suggests. Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers said it was probably because there was not the same level of social interaction.
An enclosed play area for a teenage pupil with learning difficulties and autism, which was described as a "cage" by his MSP, has been removed. The 18-year-old's parents raised funds for a safe play area at the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, on Lewis.
The use of anti-psychotic drugs for dementia patients must be cut by two-thirds by November 2011, the minister responsible has warned doctors. Care Services Minister Paul Burstow told Panorama (shown on BBC1 at 8.30 pm on Monday 1st November 2010) that GPs must "take responsibility" and drastically reduce the amount of drugs being prescribed.