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2 Headlines Headlines is a Neurological Foundation publication. Editor Danelle Clayton Design The Design Cellar Ltd ISSN 0114-9768 Your Supporter Care Team Connecting you with the right person to help. If you have any questions, contact or communication preference updates, our friendly team would love to hear from you. Phone: 0508 272 467 Email: info@neurological.org.nz Website: www.neurological.org.nz If you are not a current subscriber to Headlines and would like to receive this free publication four times a year, please contact us and we’ll add to you to our mailing list. Scan the QR code to read previous Headlines issues on our website. Headlines is printed on paper from responsible resources Dear valued supporters, Across the world money is tight, and budgets are stretched – whether it’s households, businesses or entire governments. Spending on research is being disrupted, and some scientists are sounding the alarm. In New Zealand, sadly, this is not new. The most recent figures we have show less than 1% of healthcare costs are allocated to research, and it’s simply too little. The need for innovation in healthcare and disease prevention is increasing at exactly the same time that investment is shrinking. Scientific research is under threat through lack of funding. Many experienced researchers are disillusioned, and some are even leaving the field. As someone who has worked in dementia research myself, I find this worryingly shortsighted. With one in three Kiwis affected by neurological diseases and disorders, the work of these researchers is crucial to advancing healthcare and improving people’s quality of life. Research in New Zealand is on a knife-edge. If we’re not supporting brilliant scientists with the right amount of funding, we simply won’t have new discoveries in treatment, prevention and cure that are so desperately needed, but take so long to reach. For example, the recent breakthrough in chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, featured on page 10, has the potential to change lives. But it didn’t happen overnight, it’s the result of investment that began many years ago – investment made possible by visionary people like you. Did you know that the Neurological Foundation funded more neurological research than the Health Research Council last year? And that since 1972, the Neurological Foundation has invested $78 million in brain research, making it New Zealand’s leading nonprofit funder in this field? It's a lot – but we'd love to be able to do so much more. With your ongoing support, we can. With appreciation, Dr Sarah Schonberger Head of Research Message from our Head of Research The brain vs the game – how research is tackling concussion in the lab and on the field ‘Give concussion the respect it deserves’: ex-All Black Steve Devine Reinventing headgear NZ leads major CTE breakthrough Domestic violence and brain injury Brain scans reveal change in plasticity NZ Rugby adopts better guidelines to manage concussion Bone marrow’s role in concussion Pregnancy and anti-seizure medications: weighing the risks Two Fellows hope to unlock the mysteries of motor neuron disease Contents 4 6 8 10 11 12 13 14 16 18