18. Restorative Neurology, Rehabilitation and Brain Injury

There are many opportunities for the prevention or reversal of disease, but health care systems worldwide are dominated by people with chronic diseases and conditions that in general have not been prevented and cannot be reversed. In the United States, patients with chronic conditions account for nearly 80% of health care costs. In the United Kingdom, neurological damage accounts for 40% of people who are severely disabled and require daily help, and for most of those with complex disabilities resulting from a combination of physical, cognitive and behavioural problems. Any health care system is thus confronted on a daily basis with a demand to meet this need from finite resources. This chapter addresses the nature of disability, how it can best be ameliorated, which training techniques and medical treatments are most effective, particularly after single incident brain injury, and the organisational structures required for their optimal delivery.