Brain Injury Australia’s partner, Blue Badge Insurance Australia, is trying to raise awareness of “invisible” disabilities and invite you to complete an anonymous survey about your experiences.

“National survey data suggest that about 50 to 60 per cent of Australian women drink in pregnancy.” In the latest in series of articles co-commissioned by Brain Injury Australia for Australian Doctor – “Australia’s leading independent medical publication”, read weekly by 35,000 General Practitioners – authors Associate Professor Carmela Pestell from the University of Western Australia and Dr. James Fitzpatrick, Director of PATCHES Paediatrics write “alcohol is a teratogen [any agent that interferes with normal embryonic development] and causes damage to the fetal central nervous system and other organ systems.”

During 2017, there will be more than 55,000 new and recurrent strokes (where blood supply to the brain is stopped by a clot or bleeding) in Australia, according to the National Stroke Foundation. As many as 90 per cent of strokes are ischaemic – caused by a blood clot – and as many as 65 per cent of those classified as “minor”, sometimes termed a “mini stroke” or transient ischaemic attack. A recent “Perspective” article in the Medical Journal of Australia argues that, in contrast to patients who sustain a more severe stroke, “patients who have a minor stroke are likely to be discharged home early, often with limited referrals to services beyond their general practitioner.