Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. & DSSELDORF, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Edge Therapeutics announced today positive preliminary results from the first human use of EG-1962, the Companys novel bioabsorbable nimodipine microparticle formulation for the prevention of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), a life-threatening complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), typically resulting from a ruptured brain aneurysm or traumatic brain injury. There are approximately 90,000 patients in North America and Europe who are at risk for DCI, most of whom would be candidates for EG-1962. Researchers at Heinrich-Heine-University Hospital in Dsseldorf, Germany conducted an open-label study to assess the safety and tolerability of EG-1962, which delivers therapeutic and sustained concentrations of nimodipine directly to the site of brain injury. Eleven patients were treated and 10 met pre-defined enrollment criteria, which included a low level of consciousness on admission to the emergency room and high hemorrhage volumes. Investigators found that there were no adverse events or other safety concerns related to EG-1962. Additionally, good clinical outcome, as measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) 30 days after SAH, was observed in all 10 patients who met the enrollment criteria. Based on similar patients treated in past clinical studies, researchers would have expected approximately half of these patients to … Continue reading →

June 27, 2013 Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online People who suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) often have to learn to cope with physical or mental difficulties after the event. Now, a new study in the journal Neurology shows that they may also face double jeopardy from increased risk of stroke. Both stroke and traumatic brain injury are common, costly and leading causes of severe disability in adults, and approximately 20 percent of strokes occur in adults under age 65, said study author Dr. James F. Burke, a neurologist at the University of Michigan. A large proportion of stroke risk is unexplained, especially in the young, so if we can identify new risk factors, we have the potential to prevent more strokes and improve outcomes. In the study, researchers culled through five years of California hospital records for adults who either went to the emergency room or were admitted to a hospital for TBI or other trauma without brain injury. Almost 440,000 people with TBI were included in the study along with about 740,000 trauma victims who showed no signs of brain trauma. After an average of around 28 months, one percent of all those included in the … Continue reading →

By Barbara Bronson Gray HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- People who have a traumatic brain injury may be more likely to suffer a stroke, a large new study suggests. And while the chances of having a stroke are still small, incurring a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be as big a risk factor as is high blood pressure, said study author Dr. James Burke. While stroke risk is usually tied to older adults, about 20 percent occur in those under 65, said Burke, a research fellow in the neurology department at the University of Michigan Medical School. "Stroke is not typically associated with young people, and why younger people have strokes is not well understood." But when younger adults do suffer a stroke, the effects can be daunting. Dr. John Volpi, co-director of the Eddy Scurlock Stroke Center in Houston, recalled a patient who had a minor bike accident and seemed just fine. But after just a few days, the man -- who was only 45 -- had a stroke. "It was a slow recovery, getting back to walking and talking, and because he was an ophthalmologist, it took him a long time to be able to … Continue reading →

Sturgeon Bay, WI (PRWEB) June 25, 2013 The incidence of traumatic brain injury (cerebral concussion) has become a public health epidemic worldwide in recent years. In the United States, more than 3 million brain injuries yearly result in 220,000 hospitalizations, 52,000 deaths, and over 80,000 permanently disabled victims according to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Chiropractor and Naturopath Dr. J G Moellendorf, DC, ND, LCP. The research team led by Linda Hasadsri at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota recently published Omega-3 Fatty Acids as a Putative Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury. They note that concussions are the most common injury among American soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, affecting over 300 per month. It also has a devastating impact on athletes injured during contact sports. Most noted symptoms are impairments in sensory and muscle functions but this often progresses to impairments to learning and perception, emotions, and psychosocial functions. They found very promising laboratory evidence for restoring brain and nerve function among injured victims by using high doses of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) derived from cold water fish. The researchers concluded that while their results show promise in improving function in brain-injured animals … Continue reading →

First large-scale study to measure the number of students' self-reported concussions at school, rather than just hospital-reported cases High figure has shocked researchers because multiple brain injuries can lead to lasting cognitive impairment In Canada, where study was carried out, 50% of injuries that kill and disable young people are caused by brain trauma By Helen Collis PUBLISHED: 04:41 EST, 26 June 2013 | UPDATED: 08:19 EST, 26 June 2013 59 shares 16 View comments One in five adolescents has been knocked unconscious while playing sport at school - a figure that has shocked researchers. Brain injuries measured in the research included cases where children had been unconscious for at least five minutes and those who had needed to be hospitalised over night. Most previous studies have only recorded hospital cases of children's brain injuries; the addition of self-reported concussion which did not result in hospital treatment has now raised serious concerns in Canada, where the study was carried out. Risk?: Large-scale Canadian study find s that one in five teenagers has been knocked unconscious during sport at school See original here: Time to skip P.E.? A FIFTH of teenagers have suffered a brain injury while playing sport at school … Continue reading →

A new study shows 1 in 5 middle- and high-school students in Ontario report they have suffered at least one head injury that knocked them unconscious for more than five minutes or required overnight hospitalization. The studys authors say that suggests traumatic head injuries are far more common among young people than previous statistics indicated, likely because many incidents go unreported. The paper, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, looks at the prevalence of such injuries among the provinces public school students in grades 7 through 12, as well as the circumstances surrounding them. Researchers at Torontos St. Michaels Hospital analyzed data from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Healths 2011 survey on drug use and health, which was filled out by close to 9,000 Ontario students aged 11 to 20. They found that roughly 5 per cent of students reported having a traumatic brain injury in the past year and more than half those cases (56 per cent) were sports-related. There was also a link with alcohol and cannabis, with frequent users showing significantly higher odds of a head injury in the past year than their tee-totalling peers. Boys were more likely … Continue reading →

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 26, 2013 Researchers have discovered that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to demonstrate a moderate disability after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) than children without ADHD. As such, researchers suggest that perhaps children with ADHD should be steered away from engaging in sports or hobbies that carry increased risks of sustaining a TBI, and that children with ADHD receive special monitoring if a TBI occurs. Detailed findings of the study are phenomenon are reported and discussed in an article found in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. The researchers set out to find whether ADHD has an effect on outcome following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). To do this, they examined the charts of all patients with ADHD who received a diagnosis of mild closed-head injury (an injury in which no neurosurgical treatment is required) at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh between January 2003 and December 2010. A mild closed-head injury results in what is termed a mild TBI, which is categorized by an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15. From their review of patient charts, Dr. … Continue reading →

Victims of penetrating head injuries usually seek immediate attention, as the hole in their skull is difficult to miss. However, people with closed-head injuries may show few immediate signs of the trauma, and appropriate diagnostic equipment (primarily a CAT scanner) is often not immediately available. A Mexican-US team of researchers has now developed a simple, easy to operate, and inexpensive electromagnetic sensor for traumatic brain injuries, suited to on site use by field personnel and paramedics. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common feature of life around the world, causing some 60,000 deaths each year in the US alone. The primary causes of TBI include shootings, falls, and traffic accidents. Of additional concern has been the recent discovery of the long-term effects of mild but repeated TBI, usually in the form of concussions, in participants of sports such as football, hockey, and martial arts. Overall, about 20 percent of TBI lead to death within a month, with many others resulting in permanent brain dysfunction. Physicians believe many of these negative outcomes could be prevented by earlier diagnosis and treatment, ideally in the so-called "golden hour" immediately following the injury which offers the greatest chance of minimizing brain damage. Unfortunately, when … Continue reading →

By Traci Pedersen Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 22, 2013 For some patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), or concussion, the abnormal distribution of white brain matter closely resembles the early stages of Alzheimers, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology. Findings of MTBI bear a striking resemblance to those seen in early Alzheimers dementia, said the studys lead author, Saeed Fakhran, M.D., assistant professor of radiology in the Division of Neuroradiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Additional research may help further elucidate a link between these two disease processes. Despite the name, MTBI is by no means mild approximately 15 percent of these patients suffer with long term neurological symptoms. Sleep-wake disturbances are among the earliest findings of Alzheimers patients, and are also seen in a subset of MTBI patients, Fakhran said. Furthermore, after concussion, many patients have difficulty filtering out white noise and concentrating on the important sounds, making it hard for them to understand the world around them. Hearing problems are not only an independent risk factor for developing Alzheimers disease, but the same type of hearing problem seen in MTBI patients has been … Continue reading →

MORRISVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. (OBI) (OXBT), is a development stage biomedical company currently focused on developing its perfluorocarbon-based intravenous oxygen carrier, Oxycyte, as a treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke and other conditions where critical tissues are oxygen starved. Oxycyte is currently in Phase IIb clinical trials for TBI in Israel and Switzerland; however, the FDA has requested studies to explore the safety profile of Oxycyte with respect to immunocompetency as well as transient decreases in platelet numbers. The company announced today that with the successful completion of four important preclinical studies assessing Oxycytes potential effects on the immune system, OBI has moved several steps closer to addressing the questions posed by the FDA and demonstrating a favorable benefit to risk ratio for the product. These studies were funded as part of a $2.07 million cost reimbursement grant from the U.S. Army. The use of any drug that lowers the bodys resistance to infection must be considered carefully, especially in the long-term hospitalization setting. A recent study reported in the journal, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, found that in TBI patients, the most common infection encountered is ventilator-associated pneumonia, followed by surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, … Continue reading →