Submit the press release Bellingham, Washington 15 February, 2017 As TBI awareness increases through newscasts, and popular media as the Will Smith movie Concussion which demonstrates the long-term impact of the 900-1500 blows to the head a professional football player takes, TBI is a growing concern for parents of children in sports and young drivers. Over 40% of TBIs are caused by falls, 15% by blunt trauma as in sports injuries, and 14% due to motor vehicle accidents. More than half (55%) of TBIs among children 0 to 14 years, and More than two-thirds (81%) of TBIs in adults aged 65 and older are caused by falls. Motor vehicle accidentsand falls are responsible for most TBIs suffered by Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 million Americans per year experience TBI, with 14.3% caused by traffic accidents and 40.5% caused by falls. That means some 286,000 TBIs results from car crashes annually. The actual number may be much higher, because brain injuries arent always immediatelyobvious after an accident. TBI is commonly referred to as a silent epidemic because many people do not associate brain injury with concussionsthe most common form of TBI. Concussion sufferers often … Continue reading →

By: Erika Fernandez February 15, 2017 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Members of the military put their lives on the line in hotspots around the world. But, all too many are dying from a different struggle when they come back home. On average, 20 veterans take their own lives every day. The Veteran Affairs is dedicating new resources to the mental health crisis. It's a job they say is built for warriors. "The thought is accomplish the mission at all costs and there's no time for whining and crying," says Army veteran, Steve Ratliff. Ratliff joined the Army at age 17. After serving as a cannon crew member, over time, he suffered traumatic brain injury. "I spent a lot of time in the field firing the cannon and the cannon makes a lot of noise, a lot of percussions, loud noises, so I never wore ear plugs," Ratliff says. But it wasnt just the brain damage that changed his life. After 10 years in the military, Steve suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. "I used to be a young, happy guy, i was shy. But later on in life... I started to get agitated with just people in general," Steve says. Ratliff … Continue reading →

Those with severe injuries are five times more likely to develop secondary Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). People with mild to moderate brain injuries are two times more likely to have developed attention problems and those with severe injuries are five times more likely to develop secondary Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in an average of seven years after injury, reveals a study. Researchers from Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in the US presented the study at annual meeting of the Association of Academic Physiatrists in Las Vegas. The findings indicated that parenting and home environment exert a powerful influence on recovery of these attention problems. Certain skills that can affect social functioning, such as speed of information processing, inhibition and reasoning, show greater long-term effects. Children with severe Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in optimal environments may show few effects of their injuries while children with milder injuries from disadvantaged or chaotic homes often demonstrate persistent problems. Many children do very well in long-term after brain injury and most do not have across the board deficits. The team is working to identify genes important to recovery after TBI and understand how these genes may interact with environmental factors to influence … Continue reading →