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Headlines 3 Our upcoming events We would love to see you at one of our upcoming events! Further details can be found on the next pages (4-5). Otherwise, visit our website neurological.org.nz or phone us on 0508 BRAINS (272 467). Register for any of these events at: neurological.org.nz/digitalevents Monday 7th March 10am – Dr Karl Iremonger Building blocks of the brain: Insights into how the brain functions Thursday 17th March 6:30pm – Elizabeth Cooper Developing new treatments for glioblastoma Tuesday 22nd March 1pm – Professor Lynette Sadleir Epilepsy and the brain Thursday 24th March 6:30pm – Associate Professor Max Berry Protecting babies' brains for the future Monday 28th March 6:30pm – Dr Rebekah Blakemore Controlling our movements with an emotional brain Ask a neurologist A supporter asks – Is there a link between COVID-19 and Parkinson's disease? "Anosmia (loss of smell) and hyposmia (reduced sense of smell) occur in two of themost common neurodegenerative disorders, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Anosmia and ageusia (loss of taste) are symptoms of COVID-19 infection, along with other neurological symptoms such as headaches. It is possible that the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to a higher incidence of neurodegenerative diseases in the future, however, the evidence so far is not sufficient to confirm that COVID-19 can trigger or accelerate neurodegenerative diseases. Anosmia and ageusia are actually very common disorders. Any sort of viral upper respiratory tract infection can cause anosmia, presumably due to inflammatory damage of the olfactory nerve fibres. So, anosmia is not specific to COVID-19." Dr Neil Anderson Neurological Foundation Medical Advisor