Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressman asked the Pentagon on Tuesday to explain why the soldier accused in the massacre of 16 Afghan villagers was sent back into combat after earlier suffering a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, as lawmakers questioned how seriously the military deals with the mental health of troops. The Army staff sergeant accused in Sunday's shooting served three deployments to Iraq before he was sent to Afghanistan last year. The soldier, whose name has not been disclosed publicly, was treated for a traumatic brain injury suffered in a vehicle rollover in 2010 in Iraq, according to a U.S. official. Representative Bill Pascrell, founder of a U.S. congressional task force on brain injuries, wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta requesting details of the accused soldier's injury, diagnosis, and when and how he was returned to combat duty. "I am trying to find out basically whether there was a premature 'OK' on this guy," Pascrell, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. "This is not to excuse any heinous acts; we are all sickened by it. But dammit, we all have an obligation to prevent these things," Pascrell said. "If this soldier fell through the cracks, does that mean … Continue reading →

The link between traumatic brain injuries and a tendency to commit violent acts, like that which occurred in Afghanistan earlier this week, is still being unraveled by scientists. Photo: U.S. Air Force Its incredibly difficult to surmise what might have pushed one American sergeant to allegedly massacre 16 Afghan civilians.But new details about the still-unnamed staff sergeants background suggest that brain damage, wrought by a traumatic brain injury during an earlier deployment, might have been a contributing factor. It would be misleading, and downright reductionist, to suggest that TBI sufferers will commit murders. But scientists have linked brain trauma to some violent episodes. In an interview with ABC News on Monday, an unnamed source claimed that the sergeant suffered a TBI sometime in a past deployment, either by hitting his head on the hatch of a vehicle or in a car accident. A subsequent story from Reuters reported that the TBI occurred as recently as 2010. The alleged shooter is said to have later undergone TBI-specific treatment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, before being cleared for duty and then redeployed. He also reportedly passed typical behavioral health assessments during his enlistment. The sergeant is hardly alone in suffering from a brain … Continue reading →

Afghanistan shooting survivors speak Afghans railed at American forces Monday as investigators combed through two villages where a U.S. Army sergeant is accused of having gone on a weekend rampage, killing 16 civilians. An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity also revealed more about the suspect, saying he had once been diagnosed with a brain injury but had later been found fit for duty. Men wept openly as they showed the bodies of their neighbors -- and some of their neighbors' children -- on Monday. In one truck, a toddler with a bloodstained face lay between the bodies of two men, while another held the charred remains of two more people. "One guy came in and pulled a boy from his sleep and he shot him in this doorway. Then they came back inside the room and put a gun in the mouth of one child and stomped on another child," one woman said. "This base told us to come back to our villages," another woman shouted. "They said, 'We won't bother you, this is your land and this is your own village.' Then those dogs come and grab us?" Some of the villagers said more than one … Continue reading →

The Army staff sergeant who allegedly went on a rampage and killed 16 Afghans as they slept in their homes had a traumatic brain injury at one point and had problems at home after his last deployment, officials told ABC News. But the soldier, who is based at Fort Lewis in Washington, was considered fit for combat duty and deployed to Afghanistan in December, officials said. Details about the staff sergeant, who has not been identified, emerged as the Taliban vowed revenge against "sick-minded American savages" after the mass killing. What has trickled about the suspect is that he was 38, on his fourth combat deployment in 10 years, the first three in Iraq. He was on his first tour in Afghanistan, where he'd been since December. When the massacre took place he was assigned to Camp Belambay, a remote combat outpost where his job was to be protection for Special Operations Forces who were creating local militias. He was not a member of the special forces unit. An official told ABC News that the soldier has suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past, either from hitting his head on the hatch of a vehicle or in … Continue reading →

The Army staff sergeant who allegedly went on a rampage and killed 16 Afghans as they slept in their homes had a traumatic brain injury at one point and had problems at home after his last deployment, officials told ABC News. But the soldier, who is based at Fort Lewis in Washington, was considered fit for combat duty and deployed to Afghanistan in December, officials said. Details about the staff sergeant, who has not been identified, emerged as the Taliban vowed revenge against "sick-minded American savages" after the mass killing. What has trickled out about the suspect is that he was 38 and serving on his fourth combat deployment in 10 years, the first three in Iraq. He was on his first tour in Afghanistan, where he'd been since December. When the massacre took place he was assigned to Camp Belambay, a remote combat outpost where his job was to be protection for Special Operations Forces who were creating local militias. He was not a member of the special forces unit. An official told ABC News that the soldier has suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past, either from hitting his head on the hatch of a … Continue reading →

Canadian Institutes of Health Research experts discuss traumatic brain injury OTTAWA, March 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the number one killer and disabler of young Canadians under the age of 40. Each year, 50,000 Canadians sustain brain injury due to a blow to the head, a fall from a bike, a car accident or physical violence. In an instant, the victims' lives change and they have to live with memory problems, headaches, attention deficits,mood swings and frustration. Young athletes are particularly susceptible to concussions, one type of TBI, thus the debate over whether violence should be eradicated from sports like hockey in an effort to reduce the number of brain injuries. In light of Brain Awareness Week (March 12-18), CIHR-funded researchers are available to discuss the impact of TBI on people's health. Experts: Giving your head a check: detection, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury Dr. Anthony Phillips, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (Vancouver, British Columbia) Concussions in athletes: is this an epidemic? Drs. Maryse Lassonde and Hugo Thoret, CIHR-funded researchers (Montral, Qubec) Single and multiple concussions: the short and long-term consequences Dr. Robin Green, CIHR-funded researcher (Toronto, Ontario) … Continue reading →

The Portland personal injury lawyers at Shulman DuBois LLC are confident that new high-definition fiber tracking brain scans can help traumatic brain injury victims' claims for compensation by providing evidence of brain damage not available in the past. Portland, OR (PRWEB) March 12, 2012 After a car accident where youve hit your head, it can be difficult to prove an injury without medical records indicating the extent of the damage, Shulman said. But these new tests will help us show insurance companies and juries just how significant the head injury really is. Shulman and his partner Sean DuBois are members of the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon, and their firm recently settled a brain injury case for $500,000 in a premises liability claim. The new test, called high-definition fiber tracking, allows doctors to pinpoint the areas of damage in the brain by using high-powered MRIs that map brain fiber tracts. The map will employ different colors to designate functions and injuries. In the past, brain injuries were not always apparent, as current scans can only show bleeding or swelling. Bleeding and swelling, unfortunately, did not always explain brain injury victims symptoms, making it difficult to show cause and effect after … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, March 9 (HealthDay News) -- Aggressive treatment of patients with traumatic brain injury improves chances of recovery and reduces long-term care costs, according to a new study. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers analyzed data from 1,000 patients with traumatic brain injury and found that aggressive care was much more costly than routine care or comfort care. But it was also much more effective and led to better results, improved quality of life and lower long-term care costs, the researchers said. Aggressive care includes invasive intracranial pressure monitoring and decompressive hemicraniectomy, a procedure in which part of the skull is removed to allow a swelling brain to expand. The investigators found that aggressive care was cost-effective in patients of all ages, but especially in younger patients. The study, published online March 6 in the Journal of Neurosurgery, is the first to show the cost-effectiveness of aggressive care for these patients, the authors said. "This study clearly shows that aggressive care, for both young and older patients who suffer a severe traumatic brain injury, provides patients the best chance at surviving and recovering, and also reduces lifetime costs associated with TBI [traumatic brain injury] treatment," lead author and neurosurgery … Continue reading →

Editor, Gazette-Journal: March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. A brain injury can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. Brain injuries do not discriminateit doesnt matter how old or young you are, what sex or race, or how rich or poor you are. More than 1.7 million people sustain a brain injury each year from a fall, a motor vehicle accident, a sports-related injury, or a medical event like a stroke. An injury that happens in an instant can bring a lifetime of physical, cognitive and behavior changes, but early and adequate access to care can greatly increase overall quality of life and make those challenges a little less difficult. The Brain Injury Association of Virginia is proud to join advocates across the country to recognize March as Brain Injury Awareness Month, honoring the millions of people with brain injury who, with proper acute care, therapeutic rehabilitation and adequate long-term supports, are living with the successes and challenges that each day brings. I encourage everyone to visit our agencys website, http://www.biav.net, to learn more about brain injury and what you can do to help the Brain Injury Association of Virginia continue to raise awareness of the impact of brain injury in our … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, New York, United States (AP) - Researchers are reporting the first treatment to speed recovery from severe brain injuries caused by falls and car crashes: a cheap flu medicine whose side benefits were discovered by accident decades ago. Severely injured patients in the US, Denmark, and Germany who were given amantadine got better faster than those who received a dummy medicine. After four weeks, more people in the flu drug group could give reliable yes-and-no answers, follow commands, or use a spoon or hairbrush - things that few of them could do at the start. Far fewer patients who got amantadine remained in a vegetative state, 17 percent versus 32 percent. "This drug moved the needle in terms of speeding patient recovery, and that's not been shown before," said neuropsychologist Joseph Giacino of Boston's Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, co-leader of the study. He added: "It really does provide hope for a population that is viewed in many places as hopeless." Many doctors began using amantadine for brain injuries years ago, but until now there's never been a big study to show that it works. The results of the federally funded study appear in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. … Continue reading →