Tuesday, May 20, 2025

 

New film highlights the hidden impact of climate change on brain health



RCSI





A powerful new short film, from the FutureNeuro Research Ireland Centre and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences sheds light on the urgent need to address the impact of climate change on brain health.

Produced in collaboration with the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) Climate Change Commission, the film calls for urgent action to address the risks posed by rising global temperatures to people living with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and dementia.

The film features leading experts including Professor David Henshall, Director of FutureNeuro and Professor of Molecular Physiology and Neuroscience at RCSI. It also amplifies the voices of individuals living with neurological conditions who share their firsthand experiences of navigating a changing climate.

Climate change and brain health

Climate change is driving long-term shifts in global temperatures, with widespread implications for human health. More than three billion people worldwide are affected by neurological conditions. Emerging research indicates that rising temperatures can increase seizure frequency, exacerbate symptoms, and impair brain function, especially for those with temperature sensitive conditions like Dravet syndrome.

Professor Sanjay Sisodiya, Professor of Neurology at UCL and Chair of the ILAE Climate Change Commission, said: “The brain is key to our response to challenges from our surroundings and many parts of the brain are sensitive to the temperature at which they have to work. As a result, if the brain is already affected by disease, it may be more vulnerable to the challenges posed by the effects of climate change. As climate change continues to worsen, it is essential that we pay attention to its effects on people with neurological conditions all around the world.” 

A call for research and action

Ongoing research is deepening our understanding of the brain-climate connection, but critical gaps remain. Scientists are using advanced imaging tools to track brain temperature fluctuations and examine how heat stress impacts neural activity. AI-driven predictive models are identifying at-risk populations and shaping targeted interventions.

Professor David Henshall said: “New imaging and genetic technologies allow us to learn more about the brain’s temperature control systems and how this is altered in conditions such as epilepsy. Understanding these mechanisms could open the door to new treatments or preventative strategies, helping to reduce the impact of heat on seizure risk.”

The ILAE Climate Change Commission is leading initiatives to promote sustainability in neurological research, advocate for policy reforms, and collaborate with global health organisations. Meanwhile, Green Labs initiatives across Ireland, including those at RCSI are working to reduce the environmental footprint of neuroscience research by minimising plastic waste and energy consumption.

Addressing the intersection of climate change and brain health requires a coordinated, multi-sector response.

ILAE President J. Helen Cross said: “Climate change is one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time, and its impact on people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions is becoming increasingly clear. Through the work of the ILAE Climate Change Commission, we are committed to understanding these emerging risks and supporting research, awareness, and action. This film is a powerful step toward placing neurological health firmly within the climate conversation.”

Living with neurological conditions in a changing climate

The film also brings attention to the daily struggles of individuals coping with climate-related neurological challenges. Extreme temperatures can mean self-imposed isolation. Emma Campbell, a parent of a teenager with epilepsy, explains, “As soon as temperatures rise, we start living like hermits, we shut the windows, close the blinds, and even sleep downstairs where it’s cooler. For my daughter’s mental health, it’s incredibly tough. She’s missed school trips, and we worry about how hot classrooms get. We just want her to live as normal a life as possible. More awareness is needed about how heat affects people with different medical conditions.”

For those in vulnerable locations, climate change compounds existing challenges. Extreme weather events can disrupt medical supply chains, damage cold-storage medications, and hinder access to healthcare. Mosquito-borne diseases, which can trigger neurological conditions, are appearing in regions previously unaffected.

Dr Stephen Blenkinsop, Senior Lecturer in Climate and Climate Change, School of Engineering, Newcastle University, said: “The evidence for human influence on our climate is unequivocal. Warmer temperatures are having a wide range of effects on human health, from direct heat-related illnesses to indirect effects through access to food and water. The greatest impacts will fall on vulnerable people who already live with health conditions.”

The message of the film is clear: everything is connected, and everyone has a role to play. By raising awareness, driving policy change, and advancing research, we can ensure that those living with neurological conditions are not left behind in the fight against climate change.

For more information and to watch the film, visit: https://youtu.be/lmbRcsFNlEw 

ENDS 


About RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences is ranked fifth in the world for its contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Well-being, in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2024.

Founded in 1784 as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland with responsibility for training surgeons in Ireland, today RCSI is an innovative, not-for-profit, international university exclusively focused on driving improvements in human health worldwide through education, research and engagement.

RCSI is among the top 300 universities worldwide in the World University Rankings (2025) and has been awarded Athena Swan Bronze accreditation for positive gender practice in higher education.

In 2026, RCSI will open a new public engagement space, dedicated to health and well-being, at 118 St Stephen’s Green in Dublin city centre. The space is designed to engage the public in dialogue about living longer, healthier and happier lives through dynamic events and exhibitions. Our aim is to bridge the gap between health sciences research, professional expertise, and public understanding, empowering people to make informed decisions about their health.

Visit the RCSI MyHealth Expert Directory to find the details of our experts across a range of healthcare issues and concerns. Recognising their responsibility to share their knowledge and discoveries to empower people with information that leads them to better health, these clinicians and researchers are willing to engage with the media in their area of expertise.

About FutureNeuro

The FutureNeuro Research Ireland Centre for Translational Brain Science is Ireland's leading interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to transforming the diagnosis, treatment, and care of people living with neurological, psychiatric, and neurodevelopmental conditions. Supported by an initial core exchequer funding of €8M in 2017, FutureNeuro has grown into a €44M research powerhouse, attracting substantial industry partnerships and competitive international funding. In 2023, the Centre entered Phase 2 with a renewed exchequer investment of €18M and a robust, internationally peer-reviewed scientific and business plan aimed at further increasing this investment to over €50M. With brain diseases impacting one in three people over their lifetime and placing a staggering €30 billion annual burden on healthcare and welfare systems, FutureNeuro is at the forefront of developing real-world solutions to these pressing challenges.

More than 800,000 people in Ireland are living with conditions that affect the brain and central nervous system, such as chronic and rare epilepsies, Motor Neuron Disease (MND), Parkinson's disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Adding to the complexity, over 30% of these individuals will also contend with psychiatric disorders. FutureNeuro’s mission is to change the journey for those affected by these conditions through a unique, patient-centred, and multidisciplinary research programme that brings together patients, clinicians, industry partners, and world-leading scientific advisors.

The Centre's research focuses on advancing the diagnosis of brain diseases, implementing genomics for personalised therapies, developing next-generation therapies, and leveraging data science and digital health to enhance healthcare systems and empower clinical decision-making. Building on a strong foundation in diagnostics, therapeutics, and eHealth with an initial focus on epilepsy and MND, FutureNeuro has extended its impact to include a broader range of conditions, including neurodevelopmental disorders, MS, PD, TBI, and the serious co-morbid aspects of these conditions, including mental health. The Centre is exploring new regions of the human genome and integrating emerging areas such as interceptive medicine, digital biomarkers, and biomolecular feedback-controlled gene therapy.

FutureNeuro’s work is supported by a robust national clinical network and key industry partners, leveraging state-of-the-art research infrastructure and expertise across its eight partner universities—RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (host institution), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin City University, University College Dublin, University of Galway, University College Cork, Maynooth University, and South East Technological University. This collaborative approach ensures that their research spans the entire spectrum, from early discovery to translational studies and clinical trials, offering a comprehensive approach to tackling brain-related issues.

About ILAE Climate Change Commission

The ILAE Climate Change Commission was formed to investigate how the ILAE can change to help deliver on climate change and sustainability imperatives. The Commission works to spread information on sustainable activities and initiatives to ILAE members and other organizations, and to develop strategies for increasing awareness on the effects of climate change and measures to mitigate these in our practice.

The Commission’s initiatives include quantifying and promoting reduced carbon emissions associated with epilepsy-related research activities, using the breadth and reach of the ILAE. It also promotes research activities helping to understand the impact of climate change for people with epilepsy and epilepsy professionals. 

 

Surprise baby whale sightings reveal there’s still much to learn about humpbacks




University of New South Wales

A humpback mother and baby pair swimming off the coast of NSW, Australia 

image: 

A humpback mother and baby pair swimming off the coast of NSW, Australia

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Credit: © Vanessa Risku (Instagram: @droning_my_sorrows)





A UNSW-led study published today shows humpback whales are being born much further south than previously thought, with sightings extending as far as Tasmania – more than 1500 kilometres ahead of the assumed calving zone.

“Historically, we believed that humpback whales migrating north from the nutrient-rich Southern Ocean were travelling to warmer, tropical waters such as the Great Barrier Reef to calve,” says lead author Jane McPhee-Frew, a UNSW Sydney PhD candidate and whale watching skipper.

The study includes more than 200 sightings of humpback calves from whale watching operators, citizen scientists and government wildlife agencies – across an area extending from Queensland down to Tasmania and across to New Zealand’s South Island. The findings challenge current beliefs of where humpback whales give birth.

“I was working part-time as a skipper on a whale-watching boat in Newcastle when I first spotted a calf in the area,” McPhee-Frew says.

“It seemed out of place,” she says. “The calf was tiny, obviously brand new. What were they doing here? But none of my tourism colleagues seemed surprised.

“This sparked a conversation with my research colleagues, and we realised there was a gap between the scientific literature and the sightings.”

McPhee-Frew says once they started investigating, reported sightings came in from further and further south.

“Eventually, we just ran out of land to see them from,” she says. “So we don't actually know where the limit is. But we had reports right to the bottom of Tassie, the southernmost points of Western Australia and to the South Island of New Zealand.”

This emerging pattern suggests humpbacks may have more complex migration and breeding behaviours than previously thought – which comes with a new set of issues.

Navigating risky waters

McPhee-Frew’s first calf sighting in Newcastle in 2023 was from within a busy shipping lane – the city is home to the largest coal export port in the world.

Most observations of live calves in the study were from 2016 onwards, with two-thirds of observations made in 2023 or 2024.

“It’s not just the sightings themselves that are important,” McPhee-Frew says.

“The pattern we’re seeing is mother whales with calves travelling through some of the busiest shipping lanes and urbanised regions.

“This means these vulnerable animals are exposed to risks like boat strikes, entanglements, pollution – and just general public unawareness.”

The study is an example of how industry, research institutions, government agencies and the wider public work together to improve the understanding and protection of marine life.

Back from the brink

Humpback whales were once close to extinction, with populations in the 1960s plummeting into the low hundreds. On the back of increased protection and conservation efforts, their numbers have risen to around 50,000 today.

McPhee-Frew says while the discovery of baby humpbacks being born so far south of the tropics might seem new, the behaviour itself might not be. It’s probably just newly visible.

She scoured historical records, including 19th-century whaling logbooks and accounts from expeditions like Captain Scott’s Terra Nova. Within these texts were sightings of mothers with calves at similar latitudes to those now being reported.

She says this information on breeding patterns was likely not seen for decades as humpback populations were so low following industrial whaling. The behaviours may also only just be coming into view “with more eyes than ever before looking at the water with technology like drones and with activities like whale watching.”

McPhee-Frew says what this study highlights is the critical need for increased awareness to protect the newborn whales throughout their winter journey north – which, in some cases, could span more than 2300kms.

“Regardless of the health of population now, we can't be in a situation where we're putting any age of whales – especially baby whales – in a situation where they're getting caught in nets, being exposed to chemicals, being hit by boats and being harassed.”

Co-author Professor Tracey Rogers, also from UNSW, says newborn humpbacks are not as strong as adult whales.

“Mums with newborns swim much more slowly,” Prof. Rogers says.

“Newborns are like Great Dane puppies. They have those long, enormous fins that they need to grow into, and they’re not very strong swimmers. So they rest a lot of the time on their mum’s back,” she says.

“Imagine giving birth off Hobart and then swimming up the coast.

“It’s heartbreaking to think of these young whales travelling through busy ports and dangerous shipping lanes with those long, clumsy fins.

“And it's not just happening here in NSW – this is off WA, Victoria, Tasmania, New Zealand – it's something we just didn't know before.”

Keeping a safe distance

“The legislation to protect humpback whales, including mothers and calves, is already in place across all states,” says Dr Adelaide Dedden from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service – which collaborated with the UNSW scientists for this study.

“But we do have a gap in public awareness, particularly among recreational water users,” Dr Dedden says.

“People need to be aware that calves are being seen not just on the southern migration but also on the northern one.”

While close-up images of baby humpbacks may give the impression that encounters are guaranteed, these moments are rare and rely on the whales approaching out of curiosity – not pursuit by vessels.

“Humpbacks are charismatic and curious,” Dr Dedden says. “They're going to want to come and check out the boat."

She says NSW waters have numerous whale watch operators. The guidelines are to maintain a 100m distance from adult whales and 300m from mother-calf pairs.

“We’ve been working hard to get this message out to the public and encourage boaters, surfers, kayakers and jet-ski operators to be aware of these guidelines,” Dr Dedden says.

A collaborative effort

McPhee-Frew says partnering with government agencies and sharing information ultimately supports better policies to protect the whales.

She also says whale watching operators, who are regularly out on the water, are critical for providing sightings data as well as educating the public about safe approaches.

In addition, social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook are invaluable tools for citizen science, for sharing images and information about whale sightings.

“The excitement and curiosity around whales are contagious,” McPhee-Frew says.

“We’ve built a huge repository of data just by encouraging the public to share observations.”

An unanswered question

McPhee-Frew says the question remains of why humpback mothers continue to use the ‘humpback highway’ to travel north after giving birth because, “in the tropics, there's really no food for them.”

She says rather than holding a strict view of migratory patterns with fixed endpoints, the focus is shifting to how humpbacks use different marine environments on their journey.

“We still have a lot to learn,” says McPhee-Frew.

“But, you know what? It's such a privilege to see whales. It is such a fantastic aspect of living in Australia.

“We just need to follow the rules so everyone can enjoy.”


The study includes co-authors Holly Raudion and Kelly Waples from the Western Australia Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, and Dr Vanessa Pirotta from Macquarie University.

 

Majority of youth overdose deaths from 2018 to 2022 were driven by fentanyl alone



Study reveals changing nature of U.S. drug supply




NYU Langone Health / NYU Grossman School of Medicine





(New York, NY) Fatal drug overdoses among youth aged 15 to 24 in the United States involving synthetic opioids alone—not mixed with other substances—soared by 168 percent over the five-year time period of 2018 to 2022, a new study shows. Published online May 20 in the journal Pediatrics, the work also found that youth overdose rates and drug combinations varied significantly across age, sex and race/ethnicity.

Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new study is the first, say investigators, to identify which specific combinations of drugs drove synthetic opioid-involved fatal overdoses among young people across sociodemographic groups over time.

Overdoses that involved synthetic opioids alone—predominantly fentanyl—had the highest rates of fatalities when compared to overdoses involving other drug combinations examined by the researchers. This was regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity.

“Before we looked at the data, we thought we would find that the majority of fatal youth overdoses involved fentanyl combined with other substances, such as prescription opioids or cocaine,” said Noa Krawczyk, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health, and senior author of the study. “Instead, we found the opposite—that most deaths were caused by fentanyl alone. Our analysis sheds light on the changing nature and risks of the drug supply and how they impact key demographic groups. Some may think they are taking one substance but are actually exposed to another.”

According to Krawczyk, who is also associate director of the Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy at NYU Langone, their findings underscore the need to tailor overdose prevention strategies that include harm reduction services specifically to youth to prevent death and suffering among this under-studied population. 

How the Study was Conducted
Analyzing data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the researchers characterized trends in overdose death involving synthetic opioids (predominantly fentanyl) alone, as well as in combination with five common other drugs (benzodiazepines, heroin, prescription opioids, cocaine, and other stimulants) among youth aged 15-24 across age, sex and race/ethnicity over five years (from 2018 to 2022).

The investigators found that during the five-year study period, overdoses involving synthetic opioids alone increased by 168 percent—the highest rates of fatalities compared to those that included a combination of the examined drugs, regardless of age, sex and race/ethnicity.

After deaths due to synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone, the next highest rates of fatal overdoses involved fentanyl combined with cocaine or another stimulant; however, rates differed by age, sex, race/ethnicity and over time. In 2018, White non-Hispanic youth had the highest rates of overdoses involving synthetic opioids/fentanyl alone. By 2022, rates of overdose deaths involving only fentanyl among Black American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic youth exceeded White non-Hispanic youth. When it came to the impact of sex and age, fatal overdoses across all groups were highest among males, as well as all youth aged 20 to 24.

According to the research team, understanding the landscape of overdose patterns provides needed context in terms of how to best inform specific public health interventions that can prevent more deaths.

Megan Miller, a research coordinator at the NYU Center for Opioid Epidemiology and Policy and lead author of the study, emphasized that “there are a variety of ways to engage youth and reduce their risk of overdose. Schools, places of employment, homeless shelters, child welfare services, and juvenile justice settings are all possible touchpoints to offer education and harm reduction tools such as naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Our findings highlight the need to tailor these strategies to different youth groups based on the types of drugs they are using to help prevent further overdose deaths.”

Limitations to the study findings, according to the investigators, include possible misclassification in mortality coding practices, as well as limited sociodemographic information. For example, youth who identify as LGBTQ+ tend to have a higher risk of overdose, yet that information was not available. Due to small sample sizes, the data did not examine youth who may identify as more than one race or ethnicity.

In addition to Krawczyk and Miller, study co-authors from NYU Grossman School of Medicine include Katherine Wheeler-Martin, MPH, Amanda M. Bunting, PhD, and Magdalena Cerdá, DrPH.

Funding for the study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01DA055758. Dr. Bunting was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse under Award Number K01DA053435. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About NYU Langone Health
NYU Langone Health is a fully integrated health system that consistently achieves the best patient outcomes through a rigorous focus on quality that has resulted in some of the lowest mortality rates in the nation. Vizient Inc. has ranked NYU Langone No. 1 out of 115 comprehensive academic medical centers across the nation for three years in a row, and U.S. News & World Report recently placed nine of its clinical specialties among the top five in the nation. NYU Langone offers a comprehensive range of medical services with one high standard of care across seven inpatient locations, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and more than 320 outpatient locations in the New York area and Florida. With $14.2 billion in revenue this year, the system also includes two tuition-free medical schools, in Manhattan and on Long Island, and a vast research enterprise.


Reducing wait times for hip and knee replacement surgeries



Canadian Medical Association Journal




How can we reduce wait times for much needed hip and knee replacement surgery in Canada? Coordinated referral and team-based care models show promise, according to research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journalhttps://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.241755.

In Canada, there are long wait times for scheduled surgeries, such as hip and knee joint replacements, which can lead to worsening pain and mobility problems and affect overall health. Canada falls well behind in international comparisons of health systems based on wait times. To address this issue, some Canadian provinces have been experimenting with private for-profit delivery of some surgeries, but there are other potential solutions.

“…Other policy approaches, such as single-entry referral models and team-based care, could reduce surgical wait times substantially and improve geographic and socioeconomic inequities in wait times, which might worsen with other types of interventions,” writes Dr. David Urbach, head of the Department of Surgery and director of Perioperative Services at Women’s College Hospital and professor at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors. “If the potential benefit of these models of care were better quantified, policy-makers and health authorities could more persuasively champion their implementation, which faces stiff resistance from some participants in the health system.”

Researchers compared 3 models of care in the study to determine if there is a better option to deliver surgery more quickly. The research included all patients referred to an orthopedic surgeon by a general practitioner or family physician in 2017 who underwent non-urgent hip or knee joint replacements and for whom there were complete wait time data. The model simulations were based on data from 17 465 surgeries on 17 132 patients, 7783 referring physicians, 274 surgeons, and 71 hospitals from 5 regions in Ontario.

The 3 models of care included single-entry referral or “central intake,” where all patients in each of 5 regions are pooled and queue for the next specialist for consultation; team-based care, where patients enter a regional pool after consultation and queue for surgery in their region; and a fully integrated model, where patients are pooled in a queue to be seen by the next available surgeon in their region then enter another queue for surgery from the next available surgeon in their region.

Both team-based and fully integrated models had much larger effects on reducing wait times than the single-entry referral model.

“Our results provide strong support for the implementation of both single-entry referral models and team-based care as a regional solution to the problem of long wait times for scheduled surgery in Canadian health systems, as well as an effective strategy to improve equity in access to health services. Adoption of these models will require strong leadership among health system leaders and the active participation of surgeons. It will also require some investment in system infrastructure, instead of one-time investments to increase surgical volumes during times of crisis,” write the authors.

 

Clinician entrepreneurs can benefit Canada’s health and economy





Canadian Medical Association Journal





Clinical entrepreneurs — physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals — who understand Canada’s health care challenges first-hand could help improve the health system and grow the economy, argue 2 physicians in a commentary published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journalhttps://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.250235.

“Successful Canadian-controlled private corporations developed by these entrepreneurs could fuel economic growth and help protect the sovereignty of our health care system,” according to Drs. Kumanan Wilson of Bruyère Health Research Institute and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, and Dante Morra, founder of the CAN Health Network and a physician with THP Solutions and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.

However, health entrepreneurs in Canada face many barriers that will need to be addressed. These include lack of product fit for the market; risk aversion and fear of failure; financing challenges, such as access to capital for start-ups; complex intellectual property protection; and conflict of interest concerns.

“Even if a clinician entrepreneur is successful in creating a business, Canada does not have a successful record of supporting Canadian-controlled companies, and competition from international companies can be difficult to overcome,” the authors write. “Finally, there is the concern of clinicians leaving practice while Canada faces a crisis in health human resources.”

The authors recommend creating clinician entrepreneurship programs in academic centres, analogous to clinical scholar programs for scientists. These programs would provide business expertise to clinicians interested in entrepreneurship and create academic recognition and incentives for entrepreneurship. The programs could work with local business accelerators to create health-care-specific partnered entrepreneurship programs, pairing people with business expertise and clinicians to co-found companies. Changes in public health system procurement policies are key to ensure adoption of solutions created by Canadian entrepreneurs.

“Leveraging and training talented, motivated clinicians to work with partners to build successful companies can produce useful solutions to important health care problems and generate revenue to sustain our health care system. This requires a fundamental cultural change to how Canada’s health care and academic enterprise views the role of clinicians as entrepreneurs, who can drive much-needed change in Canada’s health care systems.”