Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

By: Mary Kathryn Kight Chris McHann has no recollection of the day his four-wheeler flipped, but his mother remembers it like it was yesterday. It was May 1, 2010 at noon, and Chris was on his way to go fishing with a friend when his four-wheeler flipped and landed on top of him, said Chris mother Tonya McHann. Chris escaped with no broken bones, but suffered six skull fractures and bleeding on his brain. We spent 33 days in the neuro ICU at UMC in Jackson. He stayed in a coma, and I was afraid he would never walk or talk to us again, she said. After his lengthy hospitalization and spending a couple of weeks in an inpatient rehabilitation clinic, Chris came home in June and began physical, occupational and speech therapy at OCH Regional Medical Centers Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic, where he relearned how to do day-to-day tasks. I didnt want to go, but it wasnt about wanting to go. I needed to go, recalled Chris. All of the therapists were really helpful and good to me. They got me back to where I needed to be. OCH Regional Medical Center Speech-Language Pathologist Laurel Jones, MS, CCC-SLP, worked one-on-one … Continue reading →

WEST ORANGE, NJ--(Marketwire - Sep 20, 2012) - Kessler Foundation has appointed two research directors. Trevor Dyson-Hudson, M.D., has assumed the position of director of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) & Outcomes Assessment Research. Nancy Chiaravalloti, Ph.D., has been named director of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Research. Drs. Dyson-Hudson and Chiaravalloti are also project directors of National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)-funded model systems -- the Northern New Jersey SCI System (NNJSCIS) and the Northern New Jersey TBI System (NNJTBIS), respectively. Kessler Foundation is one of six centers with model systems in both spinal cord and brain injury. Both researchers had served as interim directors prior to their appointments. John DeLuca, Ph.D., vice president for Research and Training, oversees the Foundation's well-known research and postdoctoral training programs. In addition to SCI and TBI, Kessler Foundation conducts research in stroke rehabilitation, human performance and engineering, outcomes assessment and neuropsychology & neuroscience. "As accomplished researchers, Drs. Chiaravalloti and Dyson-Hudson contribute to Kessler Foundation's international leadership in rehabilitation research," said Rodger DeRose, president and chief executive officer of Kessler Foundation. "As well regarded collaborators in their fields, they extend the Foundation's work to change the lives of individuals with disabilities caused by … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (DoD) are investing more than $100 million in research to improve diagnosis and treatment of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). At VA, ensuring that our Veterans receive quality care is our highest priority, said Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. Investing in innovative research that will lead to treatments for PTSD and TBI is critical to providing the care our Veterans have earned and deserve. The two groups, The Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP) and the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) will be jointly managed by VA, and by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), on behalf of the DoD. More than 15 percent of Servicemembers and Veterans suffer impaired functioning as a result of PTSD. CAP will study potential indicators of the trauma, as well as prevention strategies, possible interventions, and improved treatments. Biomarker-based researched will be a key factor for CAPs studies. A primary goal of CENC is to establish an understanding of the aftereffects of an mTBI. Potential comorbidities also will be studied; that is, conditions associated with and worsen because of a neurotrauma. PTSD and mTBI are two of … Continue reading →

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (DoD) are investing more than $100 million in research to improve diagnosis and treatment of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). "At VA, ensuring that our Veterans receive quality care is our highest priority," said Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. "Investing in innovative research that will lead to treatments for PTSD and TBI is critical to providing the care our Veterans have earned and deserve." The two groups, The Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP) and the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) will be jointly managed by VA, and by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), on behalf of the DoD. More than 15 percent of Servicemembers and Veterans suffer impaired functioning as a result of PTSD. CAP will study potential indicators of the trauma, as well as prevention strategies, possible interventions, and improved treatments. Biomarker-based researched will be a key factor for CAP's studies. A primary goal of CENC is to establish an understanding of the aftereffects of an mTBI. Potential comorbidities also will be studied; that is, conditions associated with and worsen because of a neurotrauma. "PTSD and mTBI are two of the most … Continue reading →

Brewer - A government council is hearing directly from those who it's designed to help out. Folks like Patrick Skidgel, who has survived three brain tumors, and William Parker, whose wife suffered a major stroke two years ago. The Acquired Brain Injury Advisory Council held a public hearing at the Maine Center for Integrated Rehab in Brewer on Tuesday. The council is required to hold these types of hearings at least twice a year. "They're really looking for ideas and suggestions and feedback on how things could be better for folks with brain injuries and their families," said Gary Wolcott, Associate Director of the Office of Aging and Disability Services. Mainers who've suffered from these injuries say government funded services have been a huge help to them and they don't want to see them cut from the budget. "Every time they go to do the budgets, they cut Maine head trauma stuff and it's like, that's the last thing they need to be cutting. We need to increase that again so we can have these services available for people," said Skidgel. They say since there are services available, make sure the folks who need them, know how to get them. … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Sep. 18, 2012) A child who suffers a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have substantial functional disabilities and reduced quality of life 2 years after the injury. After those first 2 years, further improvement may be minimal. Better interventions are needed to prevent long-lasting consequences of TBI in children conclude the authors of a study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Frederick Rivara and colleagues from University of Washington, Seattle, and Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, Tacoma, WA, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, describe the functional and quality of life outcomes of children who experienced a moderate or severe TBI when they were 0-17 years of age. In the article "Persistence of Disability 24 to 36 Months after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Cohort Study" they follow up on a previous report that found improvement in some areas of functioning for up to 24 months. In this expanded study, the authors showed no significant improvement in the children's ability to function, participate in activities, or in their quality of life between 24 and 36 months post-injury, and they suggest that a … Continue reading →

Teens who hit their heads while participating in sports such as football, horseback riding, cheerleading or gymnastics, are at risk of suffering concussions - and more. "A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and it is similar to a stroke in that both affect normal brain function and may have similar symptoms," said neurologist Frederick Nahm, MD, PhD, head of the Stroke Center at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut. According to Nahm, if a concussion has not properly healed, some teens are at risk of developing a mental disorder such as anxiety or depression. "These secondary complications, like anxiety disorders or a new phobia of tests, memory problems, depression, apathy, inattention and other behaviors are indelible and can be difficult to treat. It's not something the student can control or work harder to fix' because it's the result of an injured brain. "Only a [neuropsychologist or doctor] trained in the treatment of concussion or traumatic brain injury can do a thorough assessment for a severe brain injury," said Nahm. Immediate concussion symptoms may include confusion, disorientation and occasionally becoming unconscious. Ignoring these symptoms is extremely dangerous. "During a game, your adrenaline is going and you're pumped up, … Continue reading →

WUERZBURG, Germany, September 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VAS203 demonstrates potential as safe and effective treatment vasopharm GmbH, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases, today announces that the explorative phase IIa NOSTRA trial in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients met all clinical endpoints for safety and in addition demonstrated strong evidence of clinical benefit in patients. Traumatic Brain Injury is caused when an external force impacts the head. It is a condition with high unmet medical need and is the leading cause of death and disability among young adults in the developed world. TBI accounts for more potential years of life lost than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined and there are currently no drugs available to treat this condition. The NOSTRA (NO-Synthase inhibition in TRAumatic brain injury) trial was a European, multicentre, placebo-controlled, double blind study with safety and tolerability as primary endpoints. The study employed 'in vivo' microdialysis to monitor pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of the compound VAS203. VAS203 is a novel allosteric NO-synthase antagonist which interrupts the inducible nitric oxide process involved in brain swelling. In total, 32 patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury … Continue reading →

VAS203 demonstrates potential as safe and effective treatment vasopharm GmbH, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases, today announces that the explorative phase IIa NOSTRA trial in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients met all clinical endpoints for safety and in addition demonstrated strong evidence of clinical benefit in patients. Traumatic Brain Injury is caused when an external force impacts the head. It is a condition with high unmet medical need and is the leading cause of death and disability among young adults in the developed world. TBI accounts for more potential years of life lost than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined and there are currently no drugs available to treat this condition. The NOSTRA (NO-Synthase inhibition in TRAumatic brain injury) trial was a European, multicentre, placebo-controlled, double blind study with safety and tolerability as primary endpoints. The study employed 'in vivo' microdialysis to monitor pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of the compound VAS203. VAS203 is a novel allosteric NO-synthase antagonist which interrupts the inducible nitric oxide process involved in brain swelling. In total, 32 patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury were enrolled in three cohorts in six … Continue reading →

By John Barry, Times Staff Writer John BarryTampa Bay Times In Print: Saturday, September 15, 2012 TAMPA A brain-damaged Marine captain who was promised treatment rather than prison after he killed another motorist while driving drunk in 2010 wept Friday when he learned that a knot of red tape in two states stands between him and his medical care. After an hour of brainstorming, even a judge, his defense attorney and a prosecutor could only partly untangle the knot. "Imagine what chance the average injured veteran would have without all this help," said John Fitzgibbons, the attorney for Scott Sciple, the Marine who suffers from traumatic brain injury. "None." Shortly after his transfer to MacDill Air Force Base in August 2010, Sciple drove the wrong way on Interstate 275, killing a 48-year-old father of five. His blood-alcohol level was three times the level at which the state presumes someone is impaired. Last year, the Marine Corps made an extraordinary admission that it failed to diagnose and treat Sciple for his combat-related brain injuries and never should have sent him to MacDill. In May, the widow of crash victim Pedro Rivera told a judge she was convinced Sciple needed medical care … Continue reading →