Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

She was just a 12-year-old athlete when it happened: A blow to the head from a lacrosse ball left Marianna Consiglio with a severe concussion. Recovering from the brain injury took more than a year and a half, but it turned out that was the easier part. Marianna and her family hadn't figured on debilitating headaches that often left her unable to function. The headaches lasted four years through every imaginable medical treatment. Nothing worked. Then Marianna's mother, desperate for an answer, ended up on the Internet and came across a doctor she hoped could help. Last December, the Connecticut family traveled to Washington, D.C., to Georgetown University Hospital, where Marianna underwent outpatient surgery. Marianna, now 16, was understandably skittish. "I was almost at the point where I wanted to give up," she said. "I was really nervous about having surgery, but there was no way I couldn't try it." On Dec. 15, Georgetown plastic and peripheral nerve surgeon Dr. Ivica Ducic operated on Marianna's occipital nerves, which he found were inflamed. The occipital nerves begin in the spine in the upper neck and run through muscles in the back of the head and into the scalp. Ducic performed decompression … Continue reading →

Whether it be from the battlefield or the playing field, traumatic brain injury is something that has received a good deal of discussion in recent years, and along with that comes some significant breakthroughs in how is it treated, especially in a pre-hospital setting. When it comes to emergency medical services, Arizona is becoming recognized as leading the way with innovation when it comes to pre-hospital care in the field. The University of Arizona has established the Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC) project with a new emphasis on traumatic brain injury. According to the UofA, an estimated 1,000 people die each week from traumatic brain injury in the United States. It is becoming clear that the care received before arriving at the hospital can make a significant difference in life or death and even the level of recovery for survivors. There is growing evidence that treatment in the early minutes following an injury significantly impacts the outcome of recovery. EMTs and paramedics around the state are receiving training for a new protocol for treating TBI patients for moderate to severe injury in the field. Fountain Hills Fire Department Paramedic Capt. Todd Brunin is certified as a master trainer with … Continue reading →

Newswise NEW ORLEANS (April 30, 2013) Today during the 81st American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting, researchers presented results showing the positive impact that bone marrow stromal cell (MSC) therapy can have for those suffering from certain types of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The study investigated the effects of treatment with bone MSC on axonal sprouting in the spinal cord after TBI. The axonal regeneration that occurred was correlated with functional recovery. Researchers used adult male Wistar rats (n=8), which were injured with controlled cortical impact and treated with MSCs (3x10 6) impregnated into collagen scaffolds and transplanted into the lesion cavity one week after TBI. Control animals (n=8) were injected intracerebrally with saline. On day 21 after TBI, biotinylated dextran amine (BDA, 10,000 MW) was injected into the collateral motor cortex stereotactically to label the corticospinal tract (CST). Sensorimotor function was tested with neurological severity scores (NSS) and foot fault tests. All rats were sacrificed 35 days after TBI, with the brain and spinal cord sections stained for immuhohistological analysis. The results of this study, Treatment of traumatic brain injury with marrow stromal cells induces axonal sprouting in denervated spinal cord, will be presented by Asim … Continue reading →

Almost two years ago, Garrison Leif Sandberg, a junior at Napa High, was near death from injuries he sustained as a passenger in a DUI-related crash near Napa. Today, at 19, Sandberg walks without a cane. His shaking has subsided and he can speak. Key to his ongoing recovery, his parents, Eric and Suzanne Sandberg said, was the medical and rehabilitation therapy Leif Sandberg received for nine months at Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield. However, that long-term inpatient therapy, which ended in April 2012 and cost about $300,000, was not covered under the familys Blue Shield health policy plan, the Sandbergs said. The Sandbergs will travel to Sacramento Wednesday to show support for Senate Bill 320 that would prohibit insurance companies from denying long-term therapy for brain injury patients. The Sandbergs will take a stack of signatures in support of the bill, which the California Senate Health Committee is scheduled to discuss. State Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, introduced the bill in February with the backing of the Brain Injury Association of California, which estimates about 350,000 Californians live with a traumatic brain injury. If approved, S.B. 320 would take effect Jan. 1, 2014. The goal is to come … Continue reading →

MORRISVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. (OBI) (OXBT), today announced the initiation of the second cohort of its Phase IIb clinical trial to investigate the safety and tolerability of Oxycyte in patients with severe, non-penetrating traumatic brain injury (STOP-TBI). The second cohort begins officially with the activation of the first of five planned sites in Israel. This trial site will receive its first shipment of Oxycyte this week and can immediately begin enrollment. Resuming enrollment in the second cohort of our TBI trial is a critical milestone in the development of Oxycyte, said Michael Jebsen, President and Chief Financial Officer of OBI. We have spent the last year focused on securing long-term supply of clinical trial material and retaining a contract research organization with the ability to effectively manage an international clinical trial. Bringing Oxycyte to market as a treatment for acute ischemic conditions, such as TBI, remains the top priority of OBI. The STOP-TBI trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-escalation study in which a single intravenous administration of Oxycyte is given to patients in conjunction with supplemental oxygen. The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Oxycyte in patients with severe non-penetrating … Continue reading →

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Protecting the brain health of premature and dangerously ill newborns is the focus of an ambitious new effort at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital. On April 23, the hospital launched a new Neuro NICU that will provide specialized neurology care for babies at risk for brain injury. The Neuro NICU at Packard Childrens, consisting of six beds inside the Packard Childrens neonatal intensive care unit, will be one of just a small handful of such units around the country. These units represent advances in treatments and technologies that allow physicians not only to keep fragile babies alive, but reduce their risk of suffering neurological problems. Survival rates of critically ill premature and term babies are now quite robust, but we are realizing that some of these surviving babies have developmental problems, said Packard Childrens neonatologist Krisa Van Meurs, MD, medical director of the Neuro NICU. Fortunately, Van Meurs added, new neurologic research has provided a diverse set of tools for improving vulnerable infants developmental outcomes and giving them the best chance at starting strong in life. Several conditions can leave infants susceptible to brain injury or developmental deficits, including premature birth, early-life infections, birth defects such as … Continue reading →

Martin Kemp opens new brain injury treatment unit in Northampton Popstar and former Eastender Martin Kemp has opened a new brain injury service in Northampton. The Spandau Ballet bassist was today at The Cotswolds facility... By: Northampton Chron … Continue reading →

The state's public advocate is calling for all prisoners to be routinely checked for all cognitive impairments, including acquired brain injuries and intellectual disabilities, when they enter jail. Colleen Pearce heads the independent body the Victorian government set up to protect the rights of people with a disability. She said it was critical to identify impairments early on to ensure prisoners received effective support and to prevent them from reoffending when released, because there were higher and more severe rates of cognitive impairments in prisons than in the community. ''Without [routine screening], people with cognitive impairments can get trapped in a revolving door of endless contact with police and prisons with attendant costs to the community and, worse, the loss of their potential as contributing community members,'' she said. Fairfax Media reported last month that up to half of state prisoners have an acquired brain injury, many undiagnosed. Advertisement Neuropsychologist Rachel Hutchens said acquired brain injuries, in particular, should be tested routinely. Dr Hutchens was involved in a five-year study that developed a screening tool for such injuries, which was commissioned by the Department of Justice in 2009. The study - conducted by La Trobe University and brain damage specialist … Continue reading →

British doctors have become the first in the world to administer xenon gas to stricken newborn babies while travelling in an ambulance. Two babies at risk of brain injury after being deprived of oxygen during birth were given the inert gas as they were transferred between hospitals. Using xenon to prevent brain injuries in newborns was first performed in 2010 and has since been used on a limited number of specialist wards in the UK. It is currently undergoing clinical trials in Bristol. The pioneering treatment must be carried out within a tight timeframe in order to be effective - meaning many sick babies have missed out as they could not reach a participating hospital in time. But in a world first, experts from the Universities of Bristol and Swansea have built equipment which allows xenon gas to be administered in a transportable incubator. This means babies can receive xenon and cooling therapy immediately after birth and during ambulance journeys between neonatal units. Every year more than 1,000 otherwise healthy babies born at full term die or suffer brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood supply at birth, which can lead to life-long problems such as cerebral … Continue reading →

Newly released article details "New Hope for Survivors of Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury". (PRWEB) April 24, 2013 "Rarely do we see such a radical breakthrough in medical treatment as this for stroke." "These results represent a sea change in the therapeutic possibilities for stroke and TBI patients. Our team observed first hand, rapid clinical improvement in stroke patients following this brief office treatment," said Professor Ralph. "Dr. Ralph visited Neurological Wellness Center in Managua, Nicaragua in 2012 where he learned to preform perispinal injections," said Dr. Augusto Ramirez M.D. of Neurological Wellness Center. Neurological Wellness Center physicians began teaching perispinal injection technique for the drug Enbrel in 2010. Since then physicians, nurses and caregivers from every continent have visited the center. "We have amassed a trove of anecdotal reports confirming the efficacy of perispinally injected Enbrel for the treatment of stroke, TBI and Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Ramirez. For injections of Enbrel to be effective they must be administered to the soft fatty tissue in the back of the neck between cervical vertebrae C-5 and C-6. This simple subcutaneous injection, performed with a fine gauge inch needle, is referred to as a perispinal injection. Neurological Wellness Center offers a … Continue reading →