Traumatic Brain Injury News and Information

The Football Concussion Crisis, Part 1

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson joins former NBC anchor Stone Phillips and pathologist Bennet Omalu for a discussion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among football players. Recorded May 12th at the Ensemblestudiotheatre.org, site of the new play Headstrong about the brain injury issue.

New Content:The Many Layers of Post-Traumatic Growth

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

With a significant life crisis like a brain injury, paralysis, or being a POW, comes great challenge and change. But with it can also come the opportunity for significant growth.

Study Links Explosions to Brain Disease in Military Vets

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

For the first 24 hours after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated nearby, the young soldier felt dizzy. He was unusually tired and his head throbbed with pain. Over the next two years, the headache became a daily curse, and the soldier became depressed, forgetful, inattentive, violent, and verbally abusive. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he died three months later from a brain hemorrhage. He was 22. When a BU-led research team probed the soldier’s brain, and the brains of three other blast-exposed vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who had suffered similar disabilities, they found them to be riddled with a protein associated with a degenerative brain disease in concussed professional athletes, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine May 16 connects blast exposure with CTE and with devastating neural and cognitive impairments. The researchers hope the study will help advance preventive and treatment measures for the military.

Songs May Hold Key for Injured Brains

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Music can help patients with severe traumatic brain injury unlock memories from their past, a new study has shown. In a case presented at the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation in Melbourne this week, clinical neuropsychologist Aimee Baird played 50 songs to a patient who suffered a brain injury in a motorbike accident in 2010. "I played him the No.1 song-of-the-year from when he was 10 to 60, to see if the songs could help bring to mind personal memories associated with the music," Dr Baird said.

Pentagon Tests Combat Blast Gauge

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Traumatic brain injury is the signature wound of conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan - with conservative estimates placing the number of US troops suffering from TBI at more than 200,000. Currently, battlefield medical personnel rely on visual signs, along with the personal accounts of patients to alert them to the possibility of TBI. However, DARPA's $45 blast gauge collects critical quantitative data for measuring blast related exposure, thus offering a mechanism for field medics to better identify those at risk for TBI.

Michigan Senate May Act Soon on Concussion Bill

Tue, 22 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Legislation to increase awareness of concussions in youth sports and make sure that players with such injuries don't come back too soon will likely clear the Michigan Senate this week or next, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said Monday during a visit to the Detroit Lions' workout in Allen Park.

Troop Mental Ills: Psychiatric or Organic?

Tue, 22 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

There’s a continuing tension over whether mental disorders are “organic” or “psychological”. The first is easier to define — a brain injury caused by an insult, such as a bullet wound, blow to the head or bomb blast. “Psychological” is usually chalked up to bad parenting. Two new debates raise this issue again. One is whether “post-traumatic stress disorder” should be called “post-traumatic brain injury”. The other is the emerging findings on “CTE” — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — which shows long-acting brain changes after concussions.

Cleveland VA Helping Veterans Dealing with Mental Stress of War

Tue, 22 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Army Reservist Latisha Bowen served from 2001 to 2009 including a tour in Iraq. She came home with a violent temper she had trouble controlling. Without psychological guidance from the Cleveland VA, she believed she was on a very dark road. Dr. Ronald Riechers is Medical Director of the VA's Polytrauma team. They help returning veterans like Latisha get back into civilian life, even if they're suffering from traumatic brain injuries or post traumatic stress disorder.

Do Combat Vets Suffer the Same Devastating Brain Disease Afflicting Football Players?

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The brain damage to soldiers who have experienced a blast injury during combat may be similar to damage sustained by some athletes, according to new research by scientists at Boston University’s School of Medicine. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a neurodegenerative disease that’s been found primarily in boxers and football players who have experienced repetitive mild head trauma. In general, its symptoms appear gradually over a number of years. According to Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE can cause memory loss, depression and dementia, among other neurological problems. There is no cure. The new study, published this week in Science Translational Medicine and in part financed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, found that when mice were exposed to explosions, “the animals developed evidence of the disease just two weeks after exposure to a single blast.”

New Content:No Stone Unturned

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

From the moment the Goldsteins adopted Bart from Korea, they pulled out all the stops to give him a good life. Especially after he sustained a severe TBI.

Should Teen Football Players Be Tested for Alzheimer's Gene?

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Should high school kids get a genetic test for the risk for Alzheimer’s disease before they’re allowed to play football? Two prominent scientists who study both Alzheimer’s and the traumatic brain injury suffered by some football players raise that ethically charged question in an editorial out Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. We all carry a gene called APOE which comes in three forms. If we carry one copy of the form called E4, it triples our lifetime risk for Alzheimer’s. About 10 percent of the U.S. population falls in that category. If we have two copies of E4, the lifetime Alzheimer’s risk is 15 times greater. About 2 percent of us have that genetic makeup.

Phineas Gage Brain Map Study Spotlights Neuroscience's Most Celebrated Case

Fri, 18 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

It's easy enough to understand the ghastly accident that befell poor Phineas Gage in Cavendish, Vermont on Sept. 13, 1848: the 25-year-old railroad worker was using an iron rod to tamp down blasting powder when the stuff exploded, sending the 43-inch-long, 13-pound rod through his left cheek and out the top of his head. What's not so easy to understand is why Gage survived the accident--or the precise reason for the dramatic change in his personality afterward. John Harlow, the doctor who treated the once-affable Gage, wrote that he "could not stick to plans, uttered 'the grossest profanity' and showed 'little deference for his fellows,'" Smithsonian magazine reported in 2010.

Brain Ailments in Veterans Likened to Those in Athletes

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Scientists who have studied a degenerative brain disease in athletes have found the same condition in combat veterans exposed to roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, concluding that such explosions injure the brain in ways strikingly similar to tackles and punches. The researchers also discovered what they believe is the mechanism by which explosions damage brain tissue and trigger the wasting disease, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., by studying simulated explosions on mice. The animals developed evidence of the disease just two weeks after exposure to a single simulated blast, researchers found.

Army Launches Review of PTSD Diagnoses After Complaints Some Were Overturned

Thu, 17 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Army leaders are launching a sweeping, independent review of how the service evaluates soldiers with possible post-traumatic stress disorder following recent complaints that some PTSD diagnoses were improperly overturned. The Army said Wednesday it will review the diagnoses at all of its medical facilities going back to October 2001. And top Army leaders said they will develop a plan to correct any decisions or policies necessary to make sure that soldiers are receiving the care and treatment they deserve.

New Content:Acupuncture Helps Brain Injury-Related Sleep Issues

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Medication and acupuncture both help with sleep issues after brain injury but acupuncture has fewer side effects.

Acupuncture Helps Brain Injury-Related Sleep Issues

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Medication and acupuncture both help with sleep issues after brain injury but acupuncture has fewer side effects.

Researchers Compete for Athletes' Brains

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Let’s start with what we don’t know. We don’t know if Junior Seau suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disease that causes depression, mood swings, and erratic behavior in those who have suffered multiple concussions. We don’t even know for sure if Seau suffered from multiple concussions. His ex-wife thinks there might have been many. A former teammate guesses as many as 1,500. If Seau’s family allows his brain to be studied, as some organizations are reporting they have, we don’t know what the results will be… or if the family will even choose to share the results with the public.

New Study Examines Head Injuries in Girls' Lacrosse Using Video Analysis

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

This spring, girls’ lacrosse players across the country will take to the field in what some have called “the fastest sport on two feet.” To help keep these players safe from injury, Mason researcher Shane Caswell embarked on a new study that used video analysis to take a closer look at the common interactions of the game that lead to head injuries, such as concussions or contusions, in high school girls’ lacrosse players. Published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the study finds that most head injuries result from stick-to-head contact during aggressive play near the goal at the varsity level. In addition, the researchers determined that most of these head injuries resulted from unintentional stick contact, which suggests that head injury in girls’ lacrosse may be an indirect consequence of play, in which players position themselves in hazardous situations either purposefully or inadvertently.

Age and Sex Factors in Effects of Brain Injury, Concussion, Study Says

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Female and younger athletes show more symptoms of a concussion, and take longer to recover from its effects, a U.S. study has found. The research, out of Michigan State University, suggests that physicians and athletic trainers should now take both age and sex into account when dealing with an athlete who has suffered a brain injury. Ian Dawe, physician-in-chief at Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, in Whitby, Ont., said the study findings concur with what he and other Canadian experts in concussion and traumatic brain injury are seeing. “Women tend to have a higher mortality rate following a severe traumatic brain injury than men,” Dawe said Friday. “Outcomes do seem worse and recovery seems to be longer from those severe injuries. It wouldn’t be a stretch to look at concussions and see a similar pattern.”

New Content:Recovery from Concussion in Students

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Here are some ways you can make sure your brain makes a full recovery after you have had a concussion.

New Content:School-Based Plan for Student Support

Tue, 08 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Proper rest and any needed accommodations at school are necessary for recovery during the first 6-8 weeks after a concussion.

New Content:Physiologic Post Concussion Disorder

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

"Only you can decide how important football is in your life," the doctor told the young player after he sustained a concussion with lingering symptoms.

New Content:TBI's Miracle Drug

Tue, 01 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

An accidental discovery about 20 years ago has led to a cyclosporine pharmaceutical on the threshold of approval for brain injury.

New Content:How to Deal with a New, Angrier Version of a Beloved Husband and Father?

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Family counseling is crucial to help everyone deal with the emotional effects of a brain injury.

How to Deal with a New, Angrier Version of a Beloved Husband and Father?

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Family counseling is crucial to help everyone deal with the emotional effects of a brain injury.

New Content:The Importance of a Family-Focused Approach to Treating Brain Injury

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Supporting the physical and emotional well-being of the person with TBI and the caregiver will ultimately help the whole family.

The Importance of a Family-Focused Approach to Treating Brain Injury

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Supporting the physical and emotional well-being of the person with TBI and the caregiver will ultimately help the whole family.

New Content:Does Having a Brain Injury Mean I'll Get Dementia When I'm Older?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

An association between TBI and dementia exists, but the definitive research is still out.

More Injury Prevention Efforts Needed for Veterans with TBI

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Veterans with traumatic brain injury are sustaining new, nonfatal injuries after being discharged from inpatient care.

Does Having a Brain Injury Mean I'll Get Dementia When I'm Older?

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

An association between TBI and dementia exists, but the definitive research is still out.

New Content:Dr. Julian Bailes: Being Strict with Return-to-Play Guidelines

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

An athlete should never be returned to play after a concussion until all symptoms have been resolved and he or she has been cleared by a licensed provider.

New Content:Dr. Julian Bailes: High Index of Concussion Suspicion Needed on the Sidelines

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Concussions can be subtle and often invisible. That's why coaches, parents, and teammates need to have a high index of suspicion.

New Content:Dr. Julian Bailes: Should We Be Worried About Subconcussive Blows in Sports?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

More research is needed to determine if subconcussive blows — repetitive hits to the head not diagnosed or suspected as concussions — are deleterious.

New Content:Is It Safe to Fly After a Brain Injury?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Pressurization in the airplane and the risk of seizures should be considered before flying after a TBI.

Is It Safe to Fly After a Brain Injury?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Pressurization in the airplane and the risk of seizures should be considered before flying after a TBI.

New Content:Dr. Julian Bailes: "Greatest" American Game Needs to Evolve