Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

The National Institutes of Health is awarding $18.8 million over five years to support worldwide research on concussion and traumatic brain injury. The NIH award, part of one of the largest international research collaborations ever coordinated by funding agencies, will be administered through UC San Francisco. The award supports a team of U.S. researchers at more than 20 institutions throughout the country who are participating in the International Traumatic Brain Injury (InTBIR) Initiative, a collaborative effort of the European Commission, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Although the potential long-term harms due to concussions and blows to the head have gained more attention recently due in part to media coverage of the experiences of athletes and of soldiers returning from the Middle East traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, that results from automobile crashes or other common accidents impacts many more people. Many of those who are affected by TBI are never diagnosed, according to UCSF neurosurgeon Geoffrey Manley, MD, PhD, a principal investigator for the grant who will serve as the U.S. research teams primary liaison to the NIH,and thechief of neurosurgery at the UCSF-affiliated San … Continue reading →

October 22, 2013 12:08 PM Share with others: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette University of Pittsburgh researchers are among those from 20 institutions in the U.S. who will participate in a $18.8 million NIH study on traumatic brain injury. It will be part of one of the largest international research collaborations ever coordinated by funding agencies. David Okonkwo, associate professor of neurological surgery and clinical director of the Brain Trauma Research Center at Pitt, will lead the local part of the study. The five-year study will be administered through University of California San Francisco. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2 percent of the U.S. population lives with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injuries or TBI, with an annual cost of care at $77 billion. Roughly 1.7 million people seek medical attention for TBI each year. In the new study, scientists aim to refine and improve diagnosis and treatment of TBI whether from car accidents, football injuries, battle wounds or other causes. Such brain injuries often go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed and can be under treated because symptoms can be misunderstood and insidious. Geoffrey Manley, a UCSF neurosurgeon who will serve as the U.S. research teams primary liaison to the … Continue reading →

A man who lay on his front lawn for a day and a night after sustaining fatal head injuries did not receive medical care earlier because his friends thought he was drunk, a coroner has found. Michael Sonny Wilson, 45, died from brain injuries in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on March 17 after he fell from a veranda and hit his head on concrete while drinking three days earlier. Mr Wilson was never fully conscious after his fall, but his friends put his incoherent behaviour down to his excessive drinking. After the fall at a property in the city, Mr Wilson's friends drove him back to his home and placed him on the ground out the front of his home to sleep. He was known to drink heavily and to sleep on his front lawn for short periods. While lying on his lawn, Mr Wilson was breathing but didn't respond when his friends shook him to try to wake him up. At some point during the day, they moved him into the shade before leaving him again to sleep. It wasn't until the following morning when Mr Wilson was still lying outside that his friends thought something may be wrong and, … Continue reading →

news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5 Researchers from UNM and a nonprofit organization are striving to better understand and prevent concussions in student athletes. The University and Mind Research Network (MRN) are collaborating on Brain Safe, a project that seeks to discover and prevent the effects of concussions in athletes. According to a press release, Brain Safe aims to study and minimize the impact of brain injury on (National Collegiate Athletic Association) athletes in contact sports. More than 200 athletes from UNM will receive MRI scans to study brain structure, chemistry, connectivity and function at the beginning of every season, according to the release. UNM President Robert Frank, who ran a brain injury treatment program when he was a faculty member at the University of Missouri, said he supported the project because it would help protect athletes from the less noticeable effects of concussions. Im really pleased theyre looking at this area because concussion is such a subtle thing, he said. Concussion has an additive effect, so each one of these concussions has additional effects, and by screening these athletes from a baseline and looking at them, we can ensure that none of our athletes have sustaining effects of doing something they love. According … Continue reading →

Dr. Joseph Fins, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, argued that brain injured individuals are not beyond recovery in his speech about brain injuries and stigmas yesterday at The Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research in New Brunswick. Carol Boyer, associate director of the sociology department at IHHCPAR, organized the event. According to Boyer, Francis Barchi, wife of Rutgers President Robert L. Barchi, is leading a group developing a bioethics program at the institute, which is in its early stages. There is a large number of faculty here interested in the application of research in clinical care and health research, Boyer said. Dr. Eric Singer, assistant professor of urologic oncology at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, said he was excited to hear Fins speak. I have an interest in bioethics, Singer said. Its a great honor to have Fins visit Rutgers and hear what great minds in the field have to say. Fins, a professor of medical ethics, said he interviewed about 40 families that have dealt with brain-injured family members. He has about 80 hours of audio recordings from the interviews. He said he … Continue reading →

VA North Texas Health Care System serves more than 113,000 Veterans. (credit: CBS 11 News) DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center opened a new suite Monday for veterans with polytrauma and traumatic brain injury. The new suite features: physical and occupational therapy for amputees, vision and balance assessment, support groups and clinical video Telehealth services for Veterans in rural areas. A new approach was applied to the suites design aesthetic as well. A fresh coat of paint, upscale furnishings and custom contemporary artwork were selected for the suite, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. Local companies and artists contributed oversized photographic murals and sculptures to add to the suites modern appeal. Artwork displayed throughout the suite reflects historical and iconic Dallas landmarks. Theres a coffee bar with WiFi access and play area for children. Its a patient and family friendly suite meant to ease the whole treatment process for Vets. All of which are vital to the treatment and recovery process, according to a release from the hospital. Its always exciting when we are able to increase access and enhance services for our Veterans, said Jeffery Milligan, Director, VANTHCS. Our patient population continues to grow and … Continue reading →

Oct. 21, 2013, 8 a.m. A BRITISH backpacker who suffered a catastrophic brain injury while working on King Island has been awarded $289,000 in compensation. Holly Raper, 21, was left in a near-vegetative state when a quad bike rolled on top of her in December 2011. She was working on a dairy farm owned by David and Jocelyn Bowden. Ms Raper, who cannot communicate or breathe on her own, was not wearing a helmet, and the quad bike was found to be mechanically defective. After a period of intensive hospital treatment, she was able to be transferred to the UK, where her family now cares for her. "She does not have the ability to communicate," said her UK doctor, David Shakespeare, a consultant in neurological rehabilitation medicine. "It is assumed that she has some degree of hearing and vision, but this cannot be formally assessed because of severe cognitive impairment. She requires full nursing care and hoisting for transfers. She has a spastic quadriplegia." Last month Mr Bowden was fined $3000 while his farm manager, Jason Andrew Haines, was penalised $1200 by Devonport magistrate Michael Brett. Both men pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that Ms Raper was wearing a … Continue reading →

Jim Day Published on October 18, 2013 Raffle tickets for the Efforts for Emma campaign can be purchased at all Scotiabank locations in Prince Edward Island or at the Brain Injury Association of P.E.I. The cost is $20 for one ticket, $50 for 3 and $100 for eight. Donations can also be made online at http://www.effortsforemma.com. Guardian photo by Jim Day Joe Driscoll holds his three-year-old granddaughter Emma Driscoll-Roche who at eight months suffered cardiac arrest due to respiratory failure resulting in severe brain damage. A fundraising campaign is underway to help offset the costs to family for the young girl's health care. Joe Driscolls only grandchild to date has been both a source of great joy and a cause for considerable concern. Emma Driscoll-Roche, now 3, entered the world in apparent tip-top shape. Driscoll was able to watch his granddaughter grow day by day as she reached early development milestones. At seven months, she was crawling. She was also saying Momma and Dadda. Driscoll and his wife Kathy, he notes, were pretty well over the moon each day their granddaughter graced their Charlottetown home. I think thats a bond that only grandparents can understand, he says. Its just such … Continue reading →

October 18, 2013 49ers doctor, Stanford professor Garza dies THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press Fri Oct 18, 2013, 11:03 AM EDT STANFORD, Calif. Daniel Garza, a leading researcher in concussion and brain-related injuries at Stanford University and the medical director and team physician of the San Francisco 49ers, has died. The university said in a news release Wednesday night that Garza died at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday night. The cause of death and his age were not immediately available. The 49ers organization has been informed of a tragedy, the team said in a statement. We were saddened to learn Dr. Dan Garza died unexpectedly Tuesday. Our sincerest thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this trying time. Garza was an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and emergency medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine. His primary research focused on the prevention of traumatic brain injury in athletes. Garza conducted extensive studies on the risk of concussions by fitting athletes, including Stanford football players, with mouthpieces that measure the impact and frequency of collisions. Dan Garza was very dedicated to sports medicine, to teaching human physiology and to his research to improve … Continue reading →

New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) October 18, 2013 The Department of Defense (DoD) and DoD-associated researchers announced the results of the second and third of their four studies on hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) post-concussion syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite flawed designs and erroneous conclusions, the data from the first study by Wolf, et al (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/neu.2012.2549), and now the second by Cifu, et al (http://www.researchgate.net/publication/256837672_The_Effect_of_Hyperbaric_Oxygen_on_Persistent_Postconcussion_Symptoms), have re-affirmed the effectiveness of HBOT in TBI and PTSD by showing the benefits of new doses of HBOT in TBI. Simultaneously, the data demonstrated doses of HBOT that are ineffective and even harmful. The conclusions of these articles claiming no benefit from the HBOT treatment contradict their data. The data from the first DoD study by Wolf, et al in 2012 reaffirmed the positive results previously obtained by Harch and colleagues in 2011 which resulted from the traditional neurological dose of HBOT (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/neu.2011.1895). Using two different doses of HBOT, Wolf and colleagues demonstrated significant improvement in symptoms of TBI and PTSD in U.S. military Veterans who had suffered traumatic brain injuries months to years before. Using three additional doses of HBOT the Cifu study data reaffirmed the effectiveness … Continue reading →