Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

A new eye-tracking technology using musicvideos points to a fast new way to assess brain injuries, according to a new study in the Journal of Neurosurgerypublished online Tuesday. The results could be especially useful in screening combat veterans, the study's authors said, because the technology is particularly well-suited for identifying concussions and blast injuries. Using a tool designed at NYU Langone Medical Center, researchers there enlisted 169 veterans, 157 of whom were healthy. The remaining 12 had known weaknesses in the nerves that move the eyes up and down and side to side, or brain swelling adjacent to those nerves. All the participants were asked to watch either a music video or TV for 3 and 1/2 minutes. In the healthy subjects the ratio of horizontal to vertical eye movements was close to one-to-one. In the dozen with known weakness or swelling in the nerves that control eye movement, the ratio was significantly skewed depending on the affected nerve. In each case, scientists were able to use the quantitative measurement to pinpoint the location of the injury or weakness. "One of the reasons that clinical trials for treatment of brain injury have failed in the past is that brain injury … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise NEW YORK, NY -- Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have developed new technology that can assess the location and impact of a brain injury merely by tracking the eye movements of patients as they watch music videos for less than four minutes, according to a study published Friday on-line in the Journal of Neurosurgery. The study suggests that the use of eye tracking technology may be a potential biological marker for assessing brain function and monitoring recovery for patients with brain injuries. Led by Uzma Samadani, MD, PhD, chief of neurosurgery at New York Harbor Health Care System and co-director of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury at NYU Langone, the study looked at 169 veterans; 157 of whom were neurologically healthy and 12 who either had known weaknesses in the nerves that move the eyes, or brain swelling adjacent to those nerves. These nerves affect how the eye moves up and down and side to side. Using a technology developed at NYU Langone, the investigators had the participants watch a music video or television content for 220 seconds while … Continue reading →

Ireland is on target to have its worst year since 2008 for cyclist deaths and there is no legal requirement for cyclists to wear a helmet and no Government appetite to change the law, writes Brian McDonald. RYAN SMITH was and still is mad about his hair. At 16, image is all important and Ryan never went anywhere socially without his blond hair groomed to perfection. Even when cycling, keen sportsman Ryan didnt want anything to interfere with his tresses and wouldnt be caught dead wearing a cycling helmet. Tragically, he nearly was and probably because he didnt have a helmet. In August last year his bike collided with a van and Ryan suffered a brain injury. He was in a coma when rushed to hospital and received emergency treatment in a respiratory ward before being moved to a specialist neurology centre. Following extensive treatment, Ryan finally made it home on September 1 this year, 13 months after his accident. He is still brain injured, but his family in Lincolnshire are just thrilled to have him back once again. His Dad, Mark, a paramedic, is now campaigning for a law to force cyclists to wear helmets. Mark Smith is calling … Continue reading →

COEUR d'ALENE - Police are seeking a suspect in a recent battery incident which caused a traumatic brain injury outside a downtown Coeur d'Alene bar. Coeur d'Alene Police report a 43-year-old man suffered a head injury in a fight at 2:10 a.m., Dec. 6, outside the Rocker Room, 216 E. Coeur d'Alene Ave. He told police he was punched by another man, but refused medical treatment at the time. On Friday, officers were contacted by the victim's wife, who decided to file a police report. She told officers her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury in the fight, was admitted to the hospital on Dec. 8, and is in serious condition. She told police her husband and three other men got into an altercation outside the bar. One of the men punched her husband and he fell backward, hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk. Police said the man who hit the victim is between 5-foot-10 and 6 feet tall, in his 20s with his hair shaved on the sides and long on top. He has tattoos on his arms and neck, and a tattoo across his neckline which reads "God Hates Cowards." He was last seen wearing jeans, a … Continue reading →

A patient who had suffered a traumatic brain injury unexpectedly recovered full consciousness after the administration of midazolam, a mild depressant drug of the GABA A agonists family. This resulted in the first recorded case of an "awakening" from a minimally-conscious state (MCS) using this therapy. Although similar awakenings have been reported using other drugs, this dramatic result was unanticipated. It is reported in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. Traumatic brain injuries occur at high rates all over the world, estimated at 150-250 cases per 100,000 population per year. These injuries can result in several outcomes, ranging from vegetative state, minimally conscious state, severe disability to full recovery. In most cases, the outcome will cause catastrophic changes for his/her family and a signicant drain on both human and nancial resources. Two years after the injury caused by a motor vehicle accident, the patient was mildly sedated, in order to undergo a CT scan, using midazolam instead of the more commonly used propofol. As the authors described in the article, the patient began to interact with the anesthetist and soon after with his parents. He talked by cellphone with his aunt and congratulated his brother when he was informed of his graduation; … Continue reading →

Published December 12, 2014 Two large studies of patients with serious brain injuries found that giving people the hormone progesterone soon after injury didnt minimize the effects of brain trauma. The results were from a study of 882 patients, called Protect III, headed by doctors at Emory University in Atlanta, and from another study of 1,195 patients, called Synapse, headed by doctors at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. Both reports were published in Wednesdays issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings were a disappointment, especially since a range of studies in animals had seemed to show that progesterone had a neuroprotective effect, preserving brain function despite injury. Researchers concluded that six months after injury, patients given progesterone didnt show advantages over patients given a placebo when measuring functional outcomes, such as disability and recovery. These outcomes were measured by means of an assessment known as the Glasgow Coma Scale. The progesterone was administered within four hours of injury from car and motorcycle accidents, falls and other types of accidents. This clinical trial did not show a benefit of progesterone over placebo in the improvement of outcomes in patients with acute traumatic brain injury, wrote researchers … Continue reading →

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with the hormone progesterone doesn't benefit patients with traumatic brain injury, a new study finds. "These results are plainly disappointing," lead investigator Dr. David Wright, an associate professor and vice chair for research in emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, said in a university news release. "The preclinical data on progesterone's neuroprotective effects are compelling, but we were not able to translate them to a multi-center clinical trial with human traumatic brain injury," he added. The study was conducted at 49 trauma centers across the United States and was originally meant to include 1,140 patients who would receive either progesterone or an inactive placebo. However, enrollment was halted after 882 patients because of the disappointing results. Before it was stopped, the study showed that favorable outcomes occurred in 51 percent of patients who were given progesterone and in 56 percent of those given the placebo. The average age of the study patients was 35, and most of the injuries were due to motor vehicle accidents. Death rates after six months were close to 19 percent in the progesterone group and nearly 16 percent in the placebo group, according to the … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 10-Dec-2014 Contact: Holly Korschun hkorsch@emory.edu 404-727-3990 Emory Health Sciences @emoryhealthsci Treatment of acute traumatic brain injury with the hormone progesterone provides no significant benefit to patients when compared with placebo, a NIH-funded phase III clinical trial has concluded. The results are scheduled for publication Dec. 10 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study, named ProTECT III, involved 49 trauma centers across the United States between July 2009 and November 2013. The study was originally planned to include 1,140 patients, but was stopped after 882 patients because safety monitors determined that additional enrollment would be futile. Survival and favorable outcomes, measured by improvements in patients' Glasgow Coma Scores, were not significantly different in the progesterone-treated group than in the placebo-treated group. Favorable outcomes occurred in 51 percent of those who received progesterone and 56 percent of those who received placebo. Mortality after six months was 18.8 percent for progesterone and 15.7 percent for placebo. "These results are plainly disappointing," says David Wright, MD, associate professor and vice chair for research in emergency medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, who served as lead investigator for the national study. "The preclinical data on progesterone's neuroprotective effects are … Continue reading →

Giving people with fresh traumatic brain injuries the hormone progesterone does no good, two major studies have found. The results dash some high hopes for treating a problem that hits millions each year, from combat troops to car crash victims. Brain injuries account for more than 2 million hospitalizations or emergency room visits each year in the United States and often cause major disabilities. Roadside bombs have increased the number of troops suffering closed-head injuries, too. Some drugs can reduce symptoms, such as swelling, but none are known to improve long-term recovery and prevent disability. Work in animals and two very encouraging small trials in people suggested progesterone might. It is a female sex hormone that is thought to protect nerves and brain cells in a variety of ways, including curbing inflammation that causes swelling after an injury. The two new studies were meant to be definitive tests. In one, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by doctors at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, dozens of trauma centres around the U.S. aimed to enrol 1,140 patients with moderate to severe brain injuries mostly car crash victims. They were given infusions of progesterone or a … Continue reading →

Giving people with fresh traumatic brain injuries the hormone progesterone does no good, two major studies have found. The results dash some high hopes for treating a problem that hits millions each year, from combat troops to car crash victims. Brain injuries account for more than 2 million hospitalizations or emergency room visits each year in the United States and often cause major disabilities. Roadside bombs have increased the number of troops suffering closed-head injuries, too. Some drugs can reduce symptoms, such as swelling, but none are known to improve long-term recovery and prevent disability. Work in animals and two very encouraging small trials in people suggested progesterone might. It is a female sex hormone that is thought to protect nerves and brain cells in a variety of ways, including curbing inflammation that causes swelling after an injury. The two new studies were meant to be definitive tests. In one, funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by doctors at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, dozens of trauma centers around the U.S. aimed to enroll 1,140 patients with moderate to severe brain injuries ? mostly car crash victims. They were given infusions of progesterone or … Continue reading →