Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Traumatic brain injury causes a number of minor to serious complications that typically require both immediate and ongoing, long-term treatment. While the first stages of treatment for TBI involve sustaining life and preventing further injury, chronic care requires a combination of rehabilitation programs and assistive technologies. Most rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury is aimed at overcoming, minimizing or working through disabilities so patients can live as independently as possible. Immediately after the incident that has caused traumatic brain injury (which can include physical abuse or a serious fall), patients are generally rushed to the hospital for immediate, acute treatment of TBI. During acute treatment, medical professionals will: At these specialized care facilities, medical staff will fully evaluate the patients impairments, disabilities and probability of recovery. Additionally, doctors will outline a course of appropriate treatments, helping patients and their families build the right team of medical professionals necessary for rehabilitation and chronic TBI treatment. Although most traumatic brain injury patients enter subacute treatment centers in shock or a state of post-traumatic amnesia, they leave these facilities ready to live independently, live with home care or move onto to long-term care centers. Patients with mild to moderate TBI spend little, if no … Continue reading →

PORTSMOUTH, Va. March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Navy Medicine East staff and its health care facilities across the eastern hemisphere are encouraging the Navy and Marine Corps family to "Think Ahead: Be Safe. Know the signs. Get help," the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center theme for 2017. "Traumatic brain injuries can happen to anyone, so it's especially important we think ahead when it comes to the prevention of brain injuries whether driving your kids to school, enjoying a recreational activity, or playing a sport," said Capt. Gail H. Manos, NME wounded, ill and injured, psychological health, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) program manager. "Everyone should learn the signs and symptoms of brain injury and when to get checked out. Early detection, evaluation, and treatment will shorten recovery time." According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), every year 1.7 million people are diagnosed with traumatic brain injury a blow or jolt to the head which disrupts the normal function of the brain. Eighty percent of TBIs are mild, commonly called concussion, making it the most common form of brain injury for U.S. Armed Forces personnel. However, most TBIs are not combat related, even in military members. Common … Continue reading →

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images People living with HIV are susceptible to all forms of brain injury, just like people without HIV. That said, in order to make an accurate diagnosis of HIV-associated dementia, other causes of memory and concentration problems must be ruled out. Reversible causes include substance abuse (e.g. sedative abuse), other central nervous system infections (e.g. encephalitis), vitamin deficiencies (e.g. vitamin B12 deficiency), psychiatric disorders (e.g. severe depression mimicking dementia) and hormonal imbalances (e.g. hypothyroidism). In these cases, once the cause is addressed, the cognitive problems might resolve. Some forms of dementia are progressive and irreversible, such as Alzheimer's or vascular dementia. Nonetheless, even in those cases, there are interventions that may slow down the progression, such as treating coexistent high blood pressure or diabetes. Untreated HIV infection can lead to brain damage, which in turn can cause dementia. The use of HIV medications, also known as antiretroviral medications, is essential in preventing and minimizing the damage HIV can cause to the brain. When someone is experiencing memory problems that could be caused by HIV infection, it is the physician's job to assure the patient is indeed compliant with his or her … Continue reading →

The researchers hope the discovery would help treat people with traumatic brain injury, stroke or epilepsy. Stimulating the brain with electricity may synchronise brain waves and help improve short-term working memory, an advance that could help treat people with traumatic brain injury, stroke or epilepsy, a new study has found. Researchers at Imperial College London found that applying a low voltage current can bring different areas of the brain in sync with one another, enabling people to perform better on tasks involving working memory. They hope the approach could one day be used to bypass damaged areas of the brain and relay signals in people with traumatic brain injury, stroke or epilepsy. The brain is in a constant state of chatter, with this activity seen as brainwaves oscillating at different frequencies and different regions keeping a steady beat. The team found that applying a weak electrical current through the scalp helped to align different parts of the brain, synchronising their brain waves and enabling them to keep the same beat. The study found that buzzing the brain with electricity could give a performance boost to the same memory processes used when people try to remember names, telephone numbers, or even … Continue reading →

WINCHESTER Patients with brain injuries whether from an accident or a stroke may require the expertise of several health-care professionals. They may need a neurologist, a psychologist, a chiropractor or a physical therapist. They also may need a case manager who can help them find physicians and treatment programs, and help them fill out the insurance paperwork. To help patients and their caretakers, The Winchester Brain Injury Group has invited several health-care professionals to join a panel discussion called Brain Injury Recovery Takes a Team. The panel will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium at Handley Library, 100 W. Piccadilly St., Winchester. The event is free, and anyone interested in the care and treatment of brain injuries is invited. Even years [after a brain injury], youre still figuring pieces of the puzzle, said Kathleen Mancini, one of the leaders of the Winchester Brain Injury Group. This is a way to figure out the puzzle. Members of the panel are: Dr. Mariecken Fowler, neurologist; John Lewis, neuropsychologist; Rebecca Morrison, psychologist; Dr. Scott Cabazolo, chiropractor; Dr. Tod Davis and Dr. Lori Griffith, vision therapists; Amanda Holsinger-Jenkins, case manager; Pamela Plasberg, physical therapist; Angie Cottrill, occupational therapist; and … Continue reading →

The voice of the 911 dispatcher crackled over the intercom at the Colorado Springs Fire Department. A 73-year-old man at a memory care unit in a nursing home had fallen and may have sustained a head injury. In short order, Dr. Stein Bronsky, the medical director, sped to the scene aboard a fire engine. Companies are racing to fill a potentially lucrative market for smaller, faster, more portable diagnostic tools. Upon arrival, he and an ambulance crew found the man sitting upright in a chair in a common area. They quickly learned that no one had witnessed the accident and that he was taking blood thinners. As the paramedics started to assess vital signs and check for any external bleeding, Bronsky produced the Infrascanner, a portable device that uses near-infrared light to detect bleeding inside the brain. About two minutes later after taking eight measurements of the right and left sides of the frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital areas of the mans head the result was positive. As a precaution, Bronsky repeated the test with the same results. Based on that positive reading, knowing that certain hospitals have neurosurgery capability and some dont, I instructed the crew to bring the … Continue reading →

The recovery process from an ABI differs significantly between patients due to individual circumstances. After patients leave the acute sector of a hospital they often spend a period of time in a rehabilitation ward or an ABI specialist rehab unit. When they are discharged to the community patients are designated case workers to assist with the rehabilitation process. Professor Perminder Sachdev says while the brain has a capacity to regenerate after an ABI, he says few patients return to their full abilities after an ABI. He also says there needs to better rehabilitation facilities available and different types of facilities including more physical rehabilitation options. We have to make our rehabilitation programs more comprehensive and look at other aspects of rehabilitation as well, Perminder says. Lisa Bryants daughter Ricky has a seizure when in 2015 at 23 years old and went from being very independent to requiring her mothers full time care. Lisa is no longer able to go to work, but along with the financial struggle, she says there has been an emotional toll of caring for her daughter who is now unable to perform basic function. You take what happens, you care for the child that you have, … Continue reading →

BROOMFELD, Colo. Weld County deputies located a missing veteran who was last seen Saturday night. Cory Hixson, 33, was found safe in Greeley Monday afternoon. Police were concerned because he has a traumatic brain injury and suffers from memory loss. He also has trouble navigating. He was last seen on foot in the area of West Midway Boulevard and ViaVarraDrive in Broomfield Saturday night. Hixsonis a Purple Heart recipient. He was hurt in Iraq in 2004,according to the Craig Daily Press. No other information about how he was found was released. --------- Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines. Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle. Or, keep up-to-date by following Denver7 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. View post: Missing veteran with traumatic brain injury found safe in Greeley - The Denver Channel … Continue reading →

Growing up, I loved playing soccer and from age 13 on I was a goalkeeper on numerous school and club teams. I ended my soccer career during a midseason game my sophomore year of college, when I caught a knee under my chin during a collision with a player from the other team. I was dazed and my tongue swelled so badly that the student athletic trainer had to crush up ibuprofen so that I could actually swallow it. When I saw the athletic director the next day, I was told I didnt have a concussion because, he saw concussions every day in football, and I was denied treatment. Meanwhile, over 1,100 miles away, my parents were frantic. As former EMTs, they knew that every head injury was potentially fatal. After over a week of nearly continuous sleep and constant headaches, I was finally allowed to seek medical help and was diagnosed with classic post-concussion syndrome. It took me months to recover and I took incompletes in all of my classes that term, finishing the necessary academic work over my winter break. Looking back, we estimate that last concussion was my eighth. I was 19 years old at the time. … Continue reading →

Researchers have identified a new mechanism by which inflammation can spread throughout the brain after injury. This mechanism may explain the widespread and long-lasting inflammation that occurs after traumatic brain injury, and may play a role in other neurodegenerative diseases. The findings were published today in a study in the Journal of Neuroinflammation. This new understanding has the potential to transform how brain inflammation is understood, and, ultimately, how it is treated. The researchers showed that microparticles derived from brain inflammatory cells are markedly increased in both the brain and the blood following experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). These microparticles carry pro-inflammatory factors that can activate normal immune cells, making them potentially toxic to brain neurons. Injecting such microparticles into the brains of uninjured animals creates progressive inflammation at both the injection site and eventually in more distant sites. Research has found that neuroinflammation often goes on for years after TBI, causing chronic brain damage. The researchers say that the microparticles may play a key role in this process. Chronic inflammation has been increasingly implicated in the progressive cell loss and neurological changes that occur after TBI. These inflammatory microparticles may be a key mechanism for chronic, progressive brain inflammation … Continue reading →