Neurological disorder

• Currently, about 95 per cent of small molecule and nearly all large molecule drug therapies approved by the FDA cannot cross the blood brain barrier.
• A breakthrough in delivery of drugs to the brain would be significant for the treatment of many central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
• Rocket Science Health also announced the appointments of two seasoned experts to support the growing company: Sohier Hall, as President; and Dr. Jacob Hooker, as Chief Science Advisor.
• Rocket Science Health, founded by business leader Kenneth Irving, is a private, B.C.-based healthcare technology company that is revolutionising direct to brain drug delivery.

• Summary: Blink Communicate, a well-established platform in the realm of assistive technology, has introduced its revolutionary desktop application aimed to transform the lives of Locked-In Syndrome patients.
• Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - November 9, 2023) - To address the latest innovation, Blink Communicate unleashes a desktop app that empowers locked-in syndrome patients to communicate through blinks.
• The application leverages the power of AI and Computer Vision technologies to enable communication through eye blinks.
• This innovation ensures that Locked-In Syndrome patients can convey their thoughts, emotions, and needs with ease and precision.

• "With support from a previous Patients at the Heart award, we achieved the 'Strategic Communications for Awareness' project, which fortified and expanded our patient registry and outreach endeavors.
• Progress at the Heart provides funding support for novel initiatives addressing disparities, injustices, and inequities in rare neurological disease and sleep disorder communities.
• The next call for Patients at the Heart and Progress at the Heart award nominations will be announced next year.
• To learn more about Patients at the Heart, please visit: https://www.harmonybiosciences.com/funding-programs/patients-at-the-heart/ .

• Why does this universal problem among speakers happen?
• Everyone will experience an occasional word-finding difficulty, but if they happen very often with a broad range of words, names and numbers, this could be a sign of a neurological disorder.

The steps involved in speaking

Producing spoken words involves several stages of processing. These include:
• When a healthy speaker can’t retrieve a word from their lexicon despite the feeling of knowing it, this is called a “tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon by language scientists.
• Tip-of-the-tongue states are relatively common and are a type of speech error that occurs primarily during retrieval of the sound pattern of a word (step three above).

What can affect word finding?

• In older adults, they can cause frustration and anxiety about the possibility of developing dementia.
• One way researchers investigate word-finding difficulties is to ask people to keep a diary to record how often and in what context they occur.
• It’s thought this is because they have weaker connections between their meanings and their sound patterns than more frequently used words.

When could it spell more serious issues?

• More frequent failures with a broader range of words, names and numbers are likely to indicate more serious issues.
• Primary progressive aphasia is typically associated with frontotemporal or Alzheimer’s dementias, although it can be associated with other pathologies.
• An assessment by a clinical neuropsychologist or speech pathologist can help clarify which processing stage is affected and how serious the problem might be.
• They might also be provided with a cue or prompt, such as the first letter (h) or syllable (ham).
• This is typically a sign of a more serious issue such as primary progressive aphasia.