A new USC-led study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals the neural mechanisms that contribute to urinary incontinence, a common condition affecting stroke survivors that has a significant impact on their quality of life. The research, just published in Stroke, was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of urologists, neurosurgeons, and imaging experts from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, Keck Medicine of USC, the Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, and the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. The study utilized an innovative method of repeated bladder filling and voiding while participants were inside the MRI, during which their brain function was measured. The team discovered significant differences in brain activity during voluntary versus involuntary bladder contractions, presenting potential pathways for targeted therapies. In both healthy individuals and stroke survivors, bladder filling before voluntary urination triggered activity in a collection of brain regions known as the salience network. These brain regions work together to evaluate the importance of internal or external stimuli and coordinate the brain's response to those stimuli. However, during bladder filling that preceded involuntary urination, this network remained inactive for stroke survivors with incontinence. These findings suggest the inability to engage the salience network may be a core mechanism underlying post-stroke urinary incontinence.

Laser plasma acceleration is a potentially disruptive technology: It could be used to build far more compact accelerators and open up new use cases in fundamental research, industry and health. However, on the path to real-world applications, some properties of the plasma-driven electron beam as delivered by current prototype accelerators still need to be refined. DESY’s LUX experiment has now made significant progress in this direction: Using a clever correction system, a research team was able to significantly improve the quality of electron bunches accelerated by a laser plasma accelerator. This brings the technology a step closer to concrete applications, such as a plasma-based injector for a synchrotron storage ring. The research group presents their results in the journal Nature.

Shandong University’s Cheeloo College of Medicine has launched Healthcare and Rehabilitation (H&R), a peer-reviewed open-access journal. The journal aims to tackle global healthcare challenges through interdisciplinary research, offering free publication and fostering collaboration across fields like artificial intelligence, medical-engineering, and rehabilitation.

Various types of intergenerational support was differentially associated with older adults’ satisfaction, with significant disparities between living in a rural or urban area.

According to a study published by Nature Metabolism, marathon runners experience reversible changes in their brain myelin. These findings indicate that myelin (a substance that surrounds the neurons) exhibits behaviour that was previously unknown, and that it contributes towards the brain's energy metabolism when other sources of energy are running low. Understanding how myelin in the runners recovers quickly may provide clues for developing treatments for demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis.