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Hot brain: practical climate change advice for neurologists
  1. Sanjay M Sisodiya
  1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Professor Sanjay M Sisodiya, Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCLQueen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK; s.sisodiya{at}ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

‘We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims’—Buckminster Fuller

People with chronic neurological conditions may be vulnerable to change and less able to manage its demands: neurological diseases are among the most burdensome. Whether climate change has particular effects on specific neurological diseases or not, the known impaired resilience to change affecting people with neurological diseases requires neurologists to have awareness of potential climate impacts and their management. Preparedness should include understanding of general national and local alerts and action systems, and the ability to advise patients about managing extreme weather events, particularly heatwaves, but also floods and cold snaps. At the same time, we need more research into the particular consequences of climate change on specific neurological diseases. Climate change is a serious healthcare issue, requiring the neurological community to respond as it would, or did, to other serious challenges, such as COVID-19. As disease experts, we all have a role to play.

  • CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
  • HEALTH POLICY & PRACTICE

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Data availability statement

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Footnotes

  • Collaborators Not applicable.

  • Contributors SMS wrote the article.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed by David Nicholl, Birmingham, UK.