Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Creative Computing Solutions, Inc. (CCSi), along with their client the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, has won a League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) Vision Award for the third year in a row. LACP supports, recognizes and advances excellence in the practice of professional communications. This year, LACP recognized CCSi and DCoE with the added distinction of receiving a Platinum Award from among a field of over 6,000 entrants from two dozen countries. Announced by LACP on July 15, 2013, CCSi and DCoE won a Platinum Award which is awarded to entrants with the highest total score within their competition class - in the City/State/National Class for the Annual Report competition. The DCoE 2012 Annual Report informs key stakeholders, policy makers, military leaders, researchers and the general public of the progress made over the past year to improve the treatment and prevention of psychological health and traumatic brain injury issues. In addition, it presents important advancements in clinical, educational and research activities, highlighting 2012 products, programs, initiatives and achievements. The report also showcases accomplishments from DCoE centers, including the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Deployment Health Clinical Center and … Continue reading →

DURHAM, N.C. - It can happen in an instant and change lives forever. Close to two million people are affected by traumatic brain injury every year. Worldwide, its a major cause of death and disability. Now, researchers are hoping something that our body produces naturally can help bring the first ever TBI treatment to those who need it. As I was driving, I blacked out behind the wheel and the car went into the back of a parked 18 wheeler, Lester Talley said. Health issues led to Talleys near fatal accident. The husband and father of two suffered a serious traumatic brain injury. My brain had started swelling, Talley said. There really is no definitive therapy for the treatment of acute brain injury, said Dr. Daniel Laskowitz, professor of medicine (neurology), neurobiology, and anesthesiology and director, neurovascular laboratories at Duke University Medical Center. Talleys wife Ashley feared the worst. "Seemed like my world was coming to an end," she said. While in a coma, Talley was enrolled in a phase three trial called SyNAPSe. The study is testing if progesterone could help treat TBI. It's a natural hormone, produced in men and women, thats most often associated with pregnancy. "There … Continue reading →

WACO - There's a new condition the Department of Veteran Affairs Office is keeping their eyes out for, and it's starting to raise some questions. Traumatic brain injury, or also known as TBI is what the VA is seeing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home with. VA hospitals, not only in Waco, but across the country are having a hard time properly rating it. TBI is trauma to the brain and it can cause a number of different symptoms. McLennan County Veteran Service Officer Steve Hernandez helps veterans with their TBI claims, and is seeing something new. "The problem with TBI, is that there's nothing that can be identified as traumatic brain injury," Hernandez said. "There's no rating there that just says TBI." Most of the disabilities are assigned a rating by the VA, up to 100 percent, to determine benefit payments and treatment. TBI is caused by an explosion and it isn't one of them. Also, in a recent audit released this week, errors were found in the processing of nine of 30 traumatic brain injury claims in the Waco VA Regional Office. "TBI's are causing a lot of symptoms and conditions that may not be able to be … Continue reading →

Effingham, NH (PRWEB) August 02, 2013 Highlighted in a recent issue of The Brain Injury Professional, Tina Trudel of Lakeview NeuroRehabilitation Effinghamn, NH speaks out on the advancement of neurorehabilitation through applied technology: According to Trudel, The World Congress is now the World Association of Neurotechnology and has evolved as an international on-line forum (http://www.waneurotech.org) covering the areas of neuroresearch, neuropsychiatry, neuroplasticity, neurooncology and neurosurgery. "Myself and others have sought a space for applied technology and neurorehabilitation within this realm of high-tech, heady science," stated Trudel. "In this arena, technology transfer, venture capital, clinical trials, government approvals and intellectual property rights are as passionately discussed as any scientific findings, and clinical rehabilitation applications share the screen with nanobots carrying designer molecules across the blood brain barrier." Technology is evolving far more rapidly than most of us realize. In 2010, Trudel presented clinical technology in applied neurorehabilitation pilot studies. These included projects with colleagues at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center-Charlottesville/University of Virginia on selection of GPS systems for community orientation; driving simulation and Lakeviews pilot study in use of computerized instruction technology. Other presenters at the 2010 World Congress of Neurotechnology were addressing early stages of device development, computerized … Continue reading →

SEATTLE In March 2007, Ronnie Grigsby was nearly killed while part of a convoy hit by enemy fire. The blast threw him more than 40 feet and he suffered multiple injuries, including a broken neck and a traumatic brain injury. They had to defibrillate me on the highway. When I woke up seven weeks later ,my brain was going 400 miles per hour and 45 years of my life were erased, said Grigsby. The brain injury left him unable to speak, write or walk skills he has had to learn all over again. He is an example of the 265,000 men and women like him who in the defense of their nation and in doing what they were told to do have come back to live a life with traumatic brain injury, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, former vice chief of staff of the Army, said. Chiarelli is now head of One Mind for Research, a Seattle-based lab focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of brain injured vets. Its absolutely essential not only because of suicide, its also important because researchers are showing a link between traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and things like Alzheimers, dementia, and Parkinsons, Chiarelli said. On … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Autism Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience Article Date: 01 Aug 2013 - 4:00 PDT Current ratings for: Autism: 'different developmental brain chemistry' Researchers have discovered that children with autism can be set apart from those with other developmental disorders through differences in chemical changes in the brain. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, reveals that gray matter chemical changes that occur between the ages of 3 and 10 years differentiate children with autism spectrum disorder from those with idiopathic (an unknown cause) developmental disorder. Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, analyzed three groups of children in different age groups: one group at age 3 to 4 years, one at 6 to 7 years and one at 9 to 10 years. All groups had a mix of children with autism spectrum disorder, developmental disorder and "typical development." The participants with autism spectrum disorder and idiopathic developmental disorder were analyzed using data from proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while those with typical development were assessed using cross-sectional data. Between 3 and 10 years of age there were specific differences in rates of change in the brain chemicals cerebral gray matter N-acetylaspartate, choline and creatine. … Continue reading →

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --J. Shaffer Smith & Associates is dedicated to assisting those who need help the most. That's why, for the ideal Los Angeles brain injury lawyer, J. Shaffer Smith is always the optimal choice. For years, Mr. Smith has garnered a reputation as the personal injury and construction accident attorney Los Angeles trusts to win ample settlements over $ billion to date! Not surprisingly, in the late summer, when many people find themselves enjoying the outdoors, an unusually high number of those in need of a first-class attorney are dog bite victims. Thus, it's always a great relief to learn that the team at J. Shaffer Smith & Associates includes the dog bite attorneys Los Angeles can rely on. Almost one half of all dog bites involve an animal owned by the victim's family or neighbors, and research shows that a large percentage of dog bite victims are young children. In fact, approximately 4 million Americans are bit by dogs every year, and around 800,000 of these victims seek medical treatment. Expert attorney, J. Shaffer Smith, points out that no matter how friendly and lovable a dog may be it might attack when threatened. Further … Continue reading →

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that a paper published in the journal "Cell Transplantation - The Regenerative Medicine Journal," reported that Neuralstem's spinal cord-derived human neural stem cells, NSI-566, improved cognitive function in rats who'd received radiation to the brain, as assessed by two separate cognitive tasks (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/ct1048acharya ). In the paper, "Transplantation of Human Fetal-Derived Neural Stem Cells Improves Cognitive Function Following Cranial Irradiation," researchers at the University of California Irvine showed that rats who received NSI-566 transplants after brain irradiation improved hippocampal spatial memory as well as contextual fear conditioning performance, a brain function that relies on intact amygdala function. Both the amygdala and the hippocampus are parts of the brain involved with memory formation. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO ) The transplanted cells developed into a significant number of new neurons in the hippocampus, as well as a smaller portion of glial subtypes. There was no evidence of teratoma, or tumor growth, in these cells. Radiation after tumor-removal surgery is a common therapy in the treatment of brain cancer in humans, but can result in significant cognitive defects. "We are broadening our neural stem cell therapy programs from treating motor deficits to treating … Continue reading →

El Paso, TX, August 1, 2013 Premier Biomedical, Inc. (BIEI) On July 10, 2013, Premier Biomedical, Inc. and the US Army hosted a joint press conference in El Paso, Texas to announce their new partnership and a potential breakthrough cure for traumatic brain injury and suicidal ideation. Army Lieutenant Colonel Shawna Scully, chief neurologist of the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and Premier Biomedical, Inc.s CEO William A. Hartman spoke at the announcement ceremony. Army Lt. Col. Dr. Shawna Scully, chief neurologist at WBAMC, commented on the history of traumatic brain injury and suicidal ideation and the alarming prevalence of these cases among active duty military and veterans. Scully noted that initial laboratory testing indicates that Premier Biomedicals technology may be effective in removing the molecules that cause such neurological problems for soldiers with brain injuries. Scully also commented on the separate but recent achievement by Premier Biomedical, Inc. and the University of Texas at El Paso in developing a drug therapy for mice with breast cancer that greatly outperformed chemotherapy in its early trials. Highlights of the Joint Conference can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvXUphEbEuM. Full length videos of the conference and of individual speakers can be found on the … Continue reading →

WHITE PLAINS, NY--(Marketwired - July 30, 2013) - For millions of children, buttoning their shirts or tying their shoes are simple tasks of everyday life. This was not the case however for Kathleen Friel and the approximately one million people in the U.S. who suffer from cerebral palsy, a disorder of movement and posture caused by injury to the developing brain. Around her first birthday, Kathleen was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and was given a poor prognosis for becoming an independently-functioning adult. But with unfettered determination, Kathleen began developing compensatory motor strategies to make up for her significant deficits with movement. Being unable to grasp Cheerios, her favorite cereal, she developed a strategy of licking her fingertip, inserting them into the center of the O and bringing the snack to her mouth. It is with this keen understanding of cerebral palsy and the ability to develop solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems that Kathleen Friel, Ph.D., joins Burke Medical Research Institute's Early Brain Injury Recovery Program that became fully functional at the end of July. Being part of this program lends itself to her mission of helping others who suffer from the same disease she has battled throughout her life. "In … Continue reading →