Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. A center in Johnstown that helped rehabilitate veterans suffering from brain injuries has closed. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center located at the Hiram G. Andrews Centerwas apparently shut down last month. And while the Department of Defense says patient care was not affected, it appears dozens of employees may have lost their jobs. 6 News got an exclusive look inside the center in 2011. It housed enough spacious rooms for 20 patients and offered all levels of rehabilitative programs, comprehensive technology and counseling to help veterans suffering from the injuries of war. Now, new of itsclosure comes as a huge disappointment to former patients. "I couldn't have gotten better care," said Kyle Steffen. Steffen said he was treated at the center for about sixmonths after being hit with an I.E.D while on a tour in Afghanistan. "I felt that it really helped me get back on the track," said Steffen. "There were just some different therapies and thingsthat I didn't know about and they really worked with me and they customized it to me." The facility in Johnstown operated with around-the-clock care, helping to re-integratepatients back into the community and back to a normal, civilian life. … Continue reading →

PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Huntington Memorial Hospital has become the first hospital in California to acquire wrap-around cooling blankets for use with babies at risk of brain damage. The blankets are used to induce hypothermia, a treatment that may prevent or minimize the long-term consequences of brain injury in newborns. Traditional flat cooling blankets lay under the patient. Conversely, Huntington Hospitals new CureWrap blankets wrap around the babys body and can be positioned as needed. Most importantly the blankets allow parents to hold their babies in their arms during the treatment, which typically lasts four days. With flat blankets parents are not allowed to hold their babies because their body warmth would transfer and interfere with the treatment. When a baby suffers a traumatic brain injury, the body responds in certain ways that can often make the injury more severe, said Jamie W. Powers, M.D., the medical director at Huntington Hospital NICU. Hypothermia may limit some of these harmful responses and improve the outcomes for these tiny patients. Now with our CureWrap blankets, babies and parents are more comfortable; and the cooling process is more precise. Another advantage of CureWrap is that babies are covered up. With a traditional cooling blanket, … Continue reading →

(PRWEB) July 10, 2013 Anecdotal evidence obtained by Neurological Wellness Center physicians appears to confirm this drug combination facilitates improvements in motor impairment, spasticity, sensory impairment and psychological/behavioral function. These drugs are well tolerated, with many patients requesting a continuation of oral minocycline and NAC after completion of their active treatment, according to Rolando Hernandez M.D., neurosurgeon for Neurological Wellness Center "TBI and stroke result in a self-perpetuating cycle of inflammation in the brain. This excess inflammation persists for years or even decades after the injury. This inflammation contributes to a portion of the many impairments our patients experience. Minocycline and NAC reduce inflammation in the brain. Dr. Hernandez believes this drug combination works synergistically with perispinally administered Enbrel. Perispinally administered Enbrel also reduces this inflammation in the brain, facilitating a recovery of function," stated Rolando Hernandez M.D. "Perispinal Enbrel as a TBI and stroke treatment has many attributes. (1) The therapeutic window is wide. A person who's injury occurred a decade ago or even longer may still benefit. (2) The treatment is short term, involving just two to eight injections over a period of eight to forty days, yet the benefits are long lasting. (3) The dosage of Enbrel … Continue reading →

Starting as soon as next month, patients who arrive with a traumatic brain injury to emergency departments at Massachusetts General Hospital or Boston Medical Center could be enrolled in a medical study, possibly without their consent. The trial, which has been approved by institutional review boards at both hospitals, will test whether administering progesterone in the hours immediately after an injury could limit brain damage. Doctors lack proven treatment options for the secondary cascade of injury that follows the initial trauma as cells continue to die, but early studies have shown that the hormone may slow that process. Federal law requires researchers to get approval from the patient or a surrogate before administering an experimental drug. This is the first study approved at Boston hospitals using an exemption created in 1996 to study emergency treatments. The Boston sites will join a national network of 40 hospitals studying the hormone in brain injury. The researchers will obtain consent if the patient can communicate or if family can be located within the hour following the injury. If thats not possible, the medical staff will administer the drug and give the option of pulling out of the trial later. Dr. Elizabeth Hohmann, physician … Continue reading →

If your brain is swelling, either due to infection or physical injury, you're going to need these Headsense cranial monitors more than you need another hole in your head. The fluids in your cranial cavity exerts a specific force on the brain and skull, known as your intracranial pressure (ICP), and help keep your brain from sloshing around in there. Sometimes, however, your ICP can rise due to a knock on the head or a disease like meningoencephalitis, causing the brain to squish against the skull and cut off blood flow to the afflicted regions (effectively causing you to stroke out). Even worse, the best treatment we have is to cut a hole in your skull and insert a catheter to monitor the problem. That sort of invasive intervention leads to all sorts of secondary infections, what with the big hunk of bone missing from the top of your head and all, and as such is only used as a last resort. Right now the main challenge with ICP is that the only good way to monitor it accurately and continuously is the invasive way, says Guy Weinberg, chief executive officer of HeadSense. Headsense is an Israeli startup that has … Continue reading →

JOHNSTOWN, CAMBRIA COUNTY--- The Department of Defense made the decision to close two of the network sites of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, one of which is in Johnstown. The decision was made in June 2013. On the center's website it was stated that it was not currently treating patients, no service members care was impacted. The center was started through earmarks from Congressman John Murtha. The neurorehabilitation site treated service members experiencing ongoing symptoms from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and, simultaneously, another condition that might include behavioral health issues. In a statement online: "Because the facilities were unique and intensive, they handled a small number of patients and incurred high costs compared to other facilities. As the contract for the two sites expired and costs were measured, including those for a necessary information technology upgrade at each site, the DOD decided that other existing facilities could provide this care for service members." 30 people were laid off as a result of the center closing. Senator Bob Casey released a statement about the closing to WTAJ News. "The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center provided award-winning treatment for our military and veterans with brain injuries with professionalism … Continue reading →

Experts used to think that when a region of the brain is damaged, its function is lost forever. However, new studies revealed that the brain can reorganize itself after injury so that when nerve cells die, their functions are taken over by other cells. Neuroplasticity is the principle behind CSMCs revolutionary robotic technology This is the principle behind neuro-plasticity which is also the science behind the ground-breaking In-Motion Robotic Therapy a revolutionary technology that helps patients relearn arm movements that were affected by stroke. Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC), located in Greenhills, San Juan, recently introduced the first In-Motion Robotic Therapy in the country. This breakthrough medical technology provides rehabilitation treatment for stroke survivors and patients with spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and other neurological conditions. CSMC Department of Rehabilitation Medicine chair Dr. Ofelia Reyes said the In-Motion Robotics is a cost-effective therapy because of its intensive nature such that results can be seen in a shorter period of time compared to standard stroke rehabilitation treatments. And as proven by actual cases of our patients, the effects are long-term and longer lasting. The treatment gives stroke and other neurological patients new hope for a better quality of life, … Continue reading →

KUSA - It's a risk snowboarder Kevin Pearce experienced firsthand. On New Year's Eve in 2009, Pearce's life and career in snowboarding changed forever after a crash during practice. Pearce was known as the one snowboarder who could challenge Shaun White at the Vancouver Olympics. But on that practice run, he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him in a coma, followed by a long road of adjusting to what would be a lifelong disability away from the sport. Pearce's story has now been captured in a new HBO documentary called "The Crash Reel. " Directed by two-time Oscar nominee Lucy Walker, the film follows Pearce and his family and friends, using footage that captures the soul of the sport at a time when the stakes - and danger - have never been higher. The Crash Reel was an official selection at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award at South By Southwest Film Festival. Pearce's horrific crash was initially captured on film by his buddies who rushed to the scene. After being airlifted to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, Pearce was transferred to Craig Hospital, where he received treatment in the hospital's Brain Injury … Continue reading →

Anne Jones, 62, and Robin Jones, 73, at their home in Menlo Park, Calif. He took a test that revealed proteins typical of Alzheimer's disease. Anne Jones, 62, and Robin Jones, 73, at their home in Menlo Park, Calif. He took a test that revealed proteins typical of Alzheimer's disease. If you're having chest pain, your doctor can test you for a heart attack. If you're having hip pain, your doctor could test for osteoarthritis. But what if you're depressed? Or anxious? Currently there are no physical tests for most disorders that affect the mind. Lab tests like these could transform the field of mental illness. So far efforts to come up with biomarkers for common mental health disorders have proven largely fruitless. That doesn't stop people from trying. Doctors are trying to create them, and patients are taking them, too, even though they know that existing biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, for instance have serious limitations. Six years ago, Robin Jones of Menlo Park, Calif., found himself in a parking lot. He had no idea where his car was. That was unlike him. He was a 67-year-old scientist who worked on nuclear energy plants, one who was good with details. … Continue reading →

To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page. Tom Barber had a brain injury when he slipped and fell on ice and landed on the side of his head. "He started with the excruciating headaches and the nausea and the vomiting," Chick Barber, Tom's wife, said. When Barber fell, it caused his brain to bleed. Doctors decided to wait and see, hoping that the blood would dissipate. But a few weeks later at a check up, it was obvious he was in trouble. "The nurse said, 'Your birthday, Mr. Barber,' and he had slurred speech," Chick Barber said. The blood began to spread, placing more pressure on his brain. He needed surgery, but because he had a heart condition and was on blood thinners, he was not a candidate for the traditional, risky, open cranial brain surgery. But thankfully there was another option. "It's something new," said Dr. Julie Pilitsis. "We can take out this blood at the bedside rather than going to the operating room." It's called a bedside burr-hole subdural drainage, or in less technical terms, bedside brain surgery. … Continue reading →