Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Home News Sleep News Light Therapy May Improve Sleep, Cognition After Brain Injury By Janice Wood Associate News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 1, 2013 Best known as a treatment for seasonal affective disorder, bright light therapy may improve sleep, cognition, emotion and brain function following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to a new study. The study found that six weeks of morning bright light therapy resulted in a marked decrease in daytime sleepiness. This improvement was associated with improvements in the propensity to fall asleep and night-time sleep quality, according to the study. The bright light therapy also affected depressive symptoms, researchers said. Our preliminary data suggests that morning bright light therapy might be helpful to reduce subjective daytime sleepiness and to improve night-time sleep, said Mareen Weber, Ph.D., an instructor in psychiatry at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Importantly, the research also shows changes in brain activation during a demanding cognitive task, suggesting that bright light treatment might yield changes in brain functioning. For the study, researchers recruited 18 people with a documented history of at least one mild TBI and sleep problems that either emerged or were aggravated by the most recent injury. … Continue reading →

Public release date: 30-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Lynn Celmer lcelmer@aasmnet.org American Academy of Sleep Medicine DARIEN, IL A new study suggests that bright light therapy may improve sleep, cognition, emotion and brain function following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results show that six weeks of morning bright light therapy resulted in a marked decrease in subjective daytime sleepiness. This improvement was further associated with improvements in the propensity to fall asleep and nighttime sleep quality. Bright light therapy also affected depressive symptoms. "Our preliminary data suggests that morning bright light therapy might be helpful to reduce subjective daytime sleepiness and to improve nighttime sleep," said investigator Mareen Weber, PhD, instructor in psychiatry at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Belmont, Mass. "Importantly, the research also shows changes in brain activation during a demanding cognitive task, suggesting that bright light treatment might yield changes in brain functioning." The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal SLEEP, and Weber will present the findings Monday, June 3, in Baltimore, Md., at SLEEP 2013, the 27th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC. The study group comprised 18 individuals with a documented history of … Continue reading →

Washington, May 31 : Tel Aviv University researchers have found that extremely low doses of THC - the psychoactive component of marijuana - protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs. Brain damage can have consequences ranging from mild cognitive deficits to severe neurological damage. Previous studies focused on injecting high doses of THC within a very short time frame - approximately 30 minutes - before or after injury. The current research by Prof. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine demonstrates that even extremely low doses of THC - around 1,000 to 10,000 times less than that in a conventional marijuana cigarette - administered over a wide window of 1 to 7 days before or 1 to 3 days after injury can jumpstart biochemical processes which protect brain cells and preserve cognitive function over time. This treatment, especially in light of the long time frame for administration and the low dosage, could be applicable to many cases of brain injury and be safer over time, Prof. Sarne said. While performing experiments on the … Continue reading →

Newswise Measuring blood flow in the brain may be an easy, noninvasive way to predict stroke or hemorrhage in children receiving cardiac or respiratory support through a machine called ECMO, according to a new study by researchers at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. Early detection would allow physicians to alter treatment and take steps to prevent these complicationsthe leading cause of death for patients on ECMO. Short for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO is used when a patient is unable to sustain enough oxygen in the blood supply due to heart failure, septic shock, or other life-threatening condition, said Nicole OBrien, MD, a physician and scientist in critical care medicine at Nationwide Childrens and lead author of the study, which appears in a recent issue of the journal Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. The patient is connected to ECMO with tubes that carry the patients blood from a vein through the machine, where it is oxygenated and funneled back to the patient via an artery or vein that then distributes the oxygen-rich blood to vital organs and tissues. The disease processes that lead someone to need ECMO are different, OBrien noted, but it is used only after traditional therapies, such as a ventilator, fail. … Continue reading →

May 29, 2013 University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have uncovered what may be a key molecular mechanism behind the lasting damage done by traumatic brain injury. The discovery centers on a particular form of a protein that neuroscientists call tau, which has also been associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Under ordinary conditions, tau is essential to neuron health, but in Alzheimer's the protein aggregates into two abnormal forms: so-called "neurofibrillary tangles," and collections of two, three, or four or more tau units known as "oligomers." Neurofibrillary tangles are not believed to be harmful, but tau oligomers are toxic to nerve cells. They also are thought to have an additional damaging property -- when they come into contact with healthy tau proteins, they cause them to also clump together into oligomers, and so spread toxic tau oligomers to other parts of the brain. Now, in experiments with laboratory rats, using novel antibodies developed at UTMB, scientists have found that traumatic brain injuries also generate tau oligomers. The destructive protein assemblages formed within four hours after injury and persisted for at least two weeks -- long enough to suggest that they might contribute to lasting brain … Continue reading →

May 30, 2013 Michael Harper for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online A new study from Tel Aviv University has found that THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, can protect the brain from cognitive damage, especially following injury. Medical marijuana has been found to be beneficial in treating pain, insomnia and lack of appetite, but this study has found that THC also helps the brain protect itself before and after an injury. Professor Yosef Sarne at Tel Aviv Universitys Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine discovered this as he was performing experiments to discover the biological makeup of marijuana and tested his hypothesis on lab mice. His results are published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research. According to Professor Sarne, only a very small dose of THC is needed to protect the brain from long term cognitive damage brought on by injury, seizures, or even damage from toxic drugs. Without this barrier of protection, brains are susceptible to cognitive defects and neurological damage. This isnt the first time THC has been found to protect brain cells. Previous research observed that, when administered 30 minutes before or after a brain injury, … Continue reading →

May 30, 2013 hough marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. Now Prof. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that the drug has neuroprotective qualities as well. He has found that extremely low doses of THC -- the psychoactive component of marijuana -- protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs. Brain damage can have consequences ranging from mild cognitive deficits to severe neurological damage. Previous studies focused on injecting high doses of THC within a very short time frame -- approximately 30 minutes -- before or after injury. Prof. Sarne's current research, published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research, demonstrates that even extremely low doses of THC -- around 1,000 to 10,000 times less than that in a conventional marijuana cigarette -- administered over a wide … Continue reading →

Public release date: 30-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: George Hunka ghunka@aftau.org 212-742-9070 American Friends of Tel Aviv University Though marijuana is a well-known recreational drug, extensive scientific research has been conducted on the therapeutic properties of marijuana in the last decade. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. Now Prof. Yosef Sarne of Tel Aviv University's Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine says that the drug has neuroprotective qualities as well. He has found that extremely low doses of THC the psychoactive component of marijuana protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs. Brain damage can have consequences ranging from mild cognitive deficits to severe neurological damage. Previous studies focused on injecting high doses of THC within a very short time frame approximately 30 minutes before or after injury. Prof. Sarne's current research, published in the journals Behavioural Brain Research and Experimental Brain Research, demonstrates that even extremely low doses of THC around 1,000 to 10,000 times … Continue reading →

POCATELLO, Idaho - Traumatic brain injury experts from around the state met with Sen. Mike Crapo at ISUs Traumatic Brain Injury Summit on Tuesday to discuss the rising number of TBIs and the even more hard-hitting issue of finding funding to treat it. Crapo, R-Idaho, is calling on the Obama administration to step up the attention given to people across the nation who are suffering from TBI. We are here for a special and important issue and that is the issue of traumatic brain injuries, Crapo said. According to the Institute of Rural Health spokesman Russ Spearman, federal funding only measures up to $8 million in grants for TBI programs spread across 21 states. Even though we have been through some very difficult economic times, the fact that there is no state money for TBIs is problematic, Spearman said. Idaho State University Associate Vice President and Executive Dean for the Division of Health Sciences Linda Hatzenbuehler said her school is the top institute in the nation for TBI research and development. Even so, the university is still seeing an empty wallet when it comes to receiving any sort of funding from the state for furthering TBI studies. Also in attendance … Continue reading →

(PRWEB) May 29, 2013 Neurological Recovery Guide and Neurological Wellness Center have been facilitating recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) since 2010. U.S. service persons, their spouses or caregivers will be greeted at the airport, chauffeured in our limousine to our Neurological Wellness Center for evaluation, treatment and caregiver training. Service persons who are unable to travel to our Neurological Wellness Center can email their United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card and receive our Perispinal Enbrel Step by Step Instructional Guide and 24 minute video at no charge. This presently retails for $100. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious problem in the United States according to this article in the Huffington Post. 1.7 million Americans will experience a TBI in 2013. 3.1 million Americans live with life long disability as a result of TBI. According to the Brain Injury Association 30.5% of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. have TBI as a contributing factor. This novel treatment involves a simple subcutaneous injection of the common anti-inflammatory drug Enbrel into the back of the neck between the cervical vertebrae C-5 and C-6. An observational study published in the October 2012 issue of CNS Drugs* followed five persons with … Continue reading →