July 6, 2017 Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) differ from civilians with TBI in some key wayswith potentially important implications for long-term care and support of injured service members and their families. New research from the Veterans Administration TBI Model System is assembled in the July/August special issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). "The VA TBI Model System is uniquely positioned to inform policy about the health, mental health, socioeconomic, rehabilitation, and caregiver needs following TBI," write Guest Editors Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD, of James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, Fla., and Lillian Stevens, PhD, of Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Richmond, Va. The special issue presents initial reports from a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-specific database of patients representing all traumatic brain injury (TBI) severity levels. The findings will play a critical role in VA's efforts to meet the long-term needs of veterans with TBI. VA TBI Model System Will Guide Care for Veterans and Families Affected by TBI The initial TBI Model System was developed by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research now the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-in 1987. Over the years, 16 civilian hospitals … Continue reading →

Marine Corps Systems Command aboard Quantico is bringing innovative, life-saving and award-winning technology to Marines on the front line. The Infrascanner is a portable, medical diagnostic device that provides early detection of intracranial hematomas or bleeding within the skull in the field, potentially saving lives and improving casualty care and recovery. The handheld device uses near-infrared light invisible light that is nearly visible to the naked eye to effectively check for intracranial hematomas on different parts of the skull. With the device, medical personnel at battalion aid stations can quickly assess Marines who may have suffered a head injury. Intracranial hematomas if gone untreated can put pressure on the brain, causing potential brain damage or even death, said Mark Urrutic, project officer for the Family of Field Medical Equipment Team at MCSC. A retired Navy chief hospital corpsman, Urrutic is familiar with the scenarios Marines face that can lead to this type of injury. Marines can sustain these types of injuries by falling and hitting their heads, or by being in close proximity to a blast, which could damage the brain by rattling it within the skull, he said. Successful treatment of traumatic brain injuries often relies on timely diagnosis … Continue reading →

ESPN senior writer Peter Keating joins OTL to share his findings on concussions in female athletes, featured in ESPN The Magazine and on espnW.com. This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue 2017. Subscribe today! EVERY FOUR YEARS or so, some of the world's most prominent scientists gather to synthesize and summarize the latest in brain-injury research. Since first meeting in 2001, the assemblage, called the Concussion in Sport Group, has grown in size and influence. Doctors, athletic trainers and media types around the world take their cues from the recommendations it publishes and from the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) it has developed. When members gathered in Berlin last October, Jiri Dvorak, then FIFA's chief medical officer, said they worked on behalf of some 1billion professional and amateur athletes. For that 2016 symposium, around 400 medical and sports professionals met in the Grand Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton hotel, with art nouveau stylings that hark back to the days before the world wars and trappings so posh that guests enjoy breakfast honey harvested from a rooftop beehive. Over two days, a stone's throw from where the Berlin Wall used to stand, the leading lights of the sports neuro-establishment made … Continue reading →

Acupuncture is found effective for the treatment of paralysis caused by a stroke. Researches tested the Shujintongluo acupuncture protocol for the treatment of hemiplegia, a type of stroke affecting one side of the body. The addition of acupuncture to standard drug therapy following an acute cerebral infarction increased the positive patient outcome rate by 11.77%. Upper limb acupoints A randomized clinical trial of 68 patients examined results in two groups. One group received standard drug therapy and the other group received standard drug therapy plus acupuncture. The drug therapy only group had a total effective rate of 70.59%. The group receiving drug therapy plus acupuncture had an 82.36% total effective rate. One of the more important results measured in the study was the recovery rate, defined as a disability rank of level 0 and the NHISS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale/Score) improvement rate of 91% 100%. The group receiving acupuncture plus drugs had a 29.41% recovery rate and the drugs only group had a 20.59% recovery rate. Another important result was the significantly effective rate, defined as a disability rank of level 1 3 and an NHISS improvement of 46% 90%. The acupuncture plus drugs group had a 38.24% … Continue reading →