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The right to choose: stories from the rare dementias

People with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) experience an insidious onset and gradual decline in language on a background of lesser or no cognitive impairment, hence a language-led dementia. There are three different PPA variants that correspond with three different clinical...

Speedy speedy: people with MND chew faster but speak slower

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive neurological condition that affects motor neurons in the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, affecting the control of skeletal muscles for speech, chewing and swallowing. There are two variants of MND, with symptoms typically...

Everyone has the right to say no

Despite the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act in 2005, healthcare professionals remain uncomfortable with individuals who choose not to follow medical advice - who make informed decisions to decline a treatment or management plans. This paper highlights that speech...

Cognition outcomes after cochlear implantation – is there an improvement?

Older adults with a severe to profound hearing loss are more at risk of cognitive decline than adults of a similar age with milder losses or normal hearing. This poses challenges, not only in the assessment process, but also for...

AM and the neck

Infections with atypical mycobacteria (AM) are increasing, especially with the decline in BCG immunisation. The most frequent presentation is a lymphadenopathy in an immunocompetent child. This poses a difficult diagnostic challenge if the clinician is not aware of this entity....

The hidden dementia in motor neurone disease

It is now well recognised that people with motor neurone disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) are at risk of developing frontotemporal dementia. It can be difficult to recognise the symptoms of cognitive decline in this group due to...

Impact of Covid-19 on secretory otitis media (SOM) in terms of rate of intervention, effusion detected intraoperatively and seasonal variation

It is widely known that secretory otitis media (SOM) has seasonal variations. In well-judged cases, there is middle ear effusion found at the time of surgery. In this retrospective study, the authors have tried to assess if Covid-19 changed these...

Clival chordoma recurrence

Chordomas are generally slow growing and are histologically considered low grade tumours. Their high recurrence rate even after postoperative radiation renders them difficult to treat. This is particularly true for clival chordomas whose deep anatomic location and proximity to vital...

Talk your brain well: discourse training to fortify your cognitive functioning and protect against dementia

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be described as a transitional stage prior to a diagnosis of dementia. Approximately 15% of people with amnestic MCI (where memory is the leading symptom) develop dementia. Nonpharmacological interventions, specifically cognitive training, has shown some...