Traumatic Brain Injury: March 2007 Archives

More Americans Have Serious Head Injuries

An increasing number of Americans are being sent to the hospital with serious head injuries and researchers say they do not know why. Government statisticians said that there was a 38 percent increase in hospital admissions for type 1 traumatic brain injury, the most serious type of brain injury, between 2001 and 2004. The biggest cause was falls. The rate of brain injury had been declining over the last ten years, so the result was surprising.

More Americans Get Serious Head Injuries: Study

Dr. Claudia Steiner from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said that the conclusions were drawn by "taking data, looking at data, and then seeing these kinds of trends." Steiner added that she hoped that the report would cause people with more knowledge of the area to research the issue further. Traumatic brain injury occurs when the head hits an object or something goes through the skull and enters the brain. Symptoms can range from dizziness to coma and can lead to death.

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Brain Injury Linked to Moral Decisions

Injuries that damage an area of the brain behind the forehead can drastically affect the way in which people make moral decisions in life-or-death situations. Those with such an injury expressed increased enthusiasm to kill or harm other people if doing so would save the lives of other people. These findings are the strongest evidence that the natural tendency not to hurt others depends upon a part of neural anatomy and that this region evolved before the higher brain regions that are responsible for analysis and planning.

Brain Injury is Linked to Moral Decisions

The researchers who conducted the study say that their sample size was small and that the moral decisions were hypothetical: the research does not predict how people with or without brain injuries actually will perform in real life-or-death situations. However, previous studies have shown that this region of the brain is active in decision making and that damage to it affects moral judgment. Such findings could have implications for legal cases.

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Volunteer Actor Sues For $1 Million

Tijana Popovic, who volunteered to act in an end of the year film assignment, has filed a $1 million lawsuit after she was hit in the head by a movie light on the set. Film student Kai Wan Laurence Li asked Popovic to perform in his film assignment, Poly Cotton and a Catholic Girl last may. Popovich says that during a break in the shooting, a film light on a stand toppled over and hit her in the head. The following day, Popovich visited the hospital and was diagnosed with a mild concussion and had to wear a neck brace.

Volunteer Actor Sues Ryerson and Former Film Student for $1 Million

Popovich says that after the accident she has "suffered pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life." The accident also has had "a detrimental impact on all of the social and recreational activities that she previously enjoyed." The suit alleges that Li "failed to inspect all film equipment prior to setting up."

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Bertuzzi Still Liable for Lawsuit

A vicious hockey attack still is making its way through the court system. On March 8, 2004, Todd Bertuzzi punched Steve Moore and drove him face first into the ice. As a result of the attack, Moore suffered a broken neck and a concussion and has not been cleared to return to the NHL. Bertuzzi's attack was said to be retaliation for Moore's actions in a February 16, 2004 game: Moore knocked out Canucks captain Markus Naslund with an open-ice shoulder hit to the head.

Bertuzzi Still Faces Lawsuit Over Injury

Two days after the attack, Bertuzzi made an emotional apology and was charged with assault causing bodily harm. A plea agreement was reached in December 2004, in which Bertuzzi pleaded guilty and was given a conditional discharge and a year of probation. Moore and his parents filed a civil lawsuit in February 2006, asking fro about $20 million in damages. Timothy Danson, Moore's attorney, said that they were already well into the litigation and "it's out hope that we will be examining Mr. Bertuzzi in the very near future."

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Brain Injury Expert Wants to Start Pennsylvania Clinic

Dr. George Zitnay, a brain-injury expert, hopes to start a clinic for brain-injured veterans near Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Zitnay has created a special long-term rehabilitation program for brain-injured veterans and he would like to offer the program at more locations. Zitnay co-founded the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1992.

Brain Injury Expert Wants to Start Clinic for Vets Near Johnstown

Zitnay has asked Congress to help fund the pilot program because "if they [brain injured veterans] get placed in a typical nursing home, they don't provide any active treatment. Those guys can spend the next 40 years in hell."

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General Brain Injury Information

Janet Frick, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of Lebanon County, has written an interesting article that outlines the effects of traumatic brain injury. Crashed cars serve as a sobering reminder of the dangers of everyday life. However, we rarely think about the consequences of the accident for those involved in the accident and their families. Each day 140 people die from traumatic brain injury and 6,300 go on to survive with disabilities. TBI affects more than one and a half million Americans each year, eight times the number who is diagnosed with breast cancer. Car accidents are responsible for 50% of all TBIs, but violence, suicidal behavior, and assault with weapons

A primer on brain injuries caused by trauma

In the United States, two percent of the entire population is living with permanent, TBI-related disabilities. Traumatic brain injury is caused when a sudden physical assault on the head causes damage to the brain. TBI can occur in the form of a closed head injury or an open head injury. Damage to any major blood vessel in the head can cause bleeding in the brain, which can lead to injury. The extent of the brain injury is dependent upon the severity of the hit, but also the health, age, and the location of the injury. Common TBI disabilities include difficulty in memory, sensory processing, communication skills, and behavior.

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Political Leader Scanned for Skull Fracture, Brain Injury

The main opposition leader of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, apparently suffered a skull fracture, brain injury, and internal bleeding after beatings while in police custody. Tsavangirai told the British Broadcasting Corporation in an interview that police hit him on the head and that he always was hit on the knees and back, and that his arm was broken during the beating. "I think the intent was to inflict as much harm as they could," Tsavangirai said.

Opposition leader scanned for suspected skull fracture, brain injury

Tsvangirai and a dozen others were still in the hospital after allegedly being beaten by police. 34 others had already been released. All of the injured were arrested after the police broke up an opposition prayer meeting. Tsvangirai is the leader of the opposition group Movement for Democratic Change.

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Phase II Clinical Trial Begun for Xytis

Xytis plans to study the effects of anatibant in phase II clinical trials on 400 patientswith moderate to severe closed head traumatic brain injury in nine countries over the next year. Phase I clinical trials showed favorable clinical safety, tolerability, and pharmokinetic profile. There currently are no drug treatments for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, even though there are about 1.4 million TBI cases a year.

Xytis begins phase II brain injury drug trial

The president and CEO of Xytis said that the phase II trials will take this course of action: "Patients with moderate to severe TBI will receive one of three doses of anatibant or placebo for five days. Endpoints for the trial include safety and tolerability, mortality as well as functional assessment at days six and 15 post-injury."

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Recovering After Brain Injury

36-year-old Kim Valentini relies upon the calendar taped to the refrigerator in her parents' kitchen in order to remember where her father is because she cannot remember from hour to hour, sometimes from minute to minute, where he will be. Valentini was involved in a car accident eleven years ago that harmed her ability to remember short-term events and erased entire sections of her long-term memory. She had worked as a contract administrator before the accident but Valentini says that the version of herself who had a foolproof memory and a quick mind "died." Valentini, however, maintains a positive outlook, saying that the "old Kim" spent all her time working: "Now I'm seeing things most people don't have time for. I have time to stop and smell the roses."

The Long Road Back After Brain Injury

More than 5.3 million Americans currently live with long-term disabilities because of traumatic brain injury. Experts often say that traumatic brain injury is a "silent epidemic" because it can leave behind significant impairment without any visible signs; the initial injury often is dismissed as a bump on the head. Jonathan Lifshitz, an assistant professor at the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center at the University of Kentucky, says that brain injury has made "countless "walking wounded" who look just fine on the outside, but who aren't the same on the inside."

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Brain Injury Continues After Initial Brain Injury

Researchers say that one day of emergency treatment immediately after brain injury should be able to stop much of the brain damage caused by traumatic brain injury. Scientists have assumed for years that most of the brain damage resulting from traumatic brain injury occurred immediately upon impact. However, over the last decade, researchers have begun to realize that much of the injury to brain cells can take hours or even days to be complete.

After initial brain injury, damage continues

While some of the damage caused by traumatic brain injury does result from the brain slamming into the skull, much of the damage occurs in response to the brain's own reaction: brain chemicals are released, axons tear open, and proteins released in response to the tearing can destroy other cells. Researchers are working to create a drug that can slow or stop these secondary effects of traumatic brain injury.

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Department of Defense Calls for Changes in Brain Injury Treatment

A previously undisclosed Department of Defense memorandum says that the Pentagon needs to overhaul its approach in treating the teens of thousands of U.S. troops who may have suffered traumatic brain injury. The memo, which was dated August 11, 2006, says that troops with mild and moderate brain injury are of the greatest concern because their injuries are difficult to memorize and can affect mental performance. The memo says that "there remains a need to better understand the unique characteristics of blast-associated TBI and to reduce the health risk and complications from mild or moderate forms of brain injury."

Administration News: Department of Defense Memo Calls for Changes to Brain Injury Treatment

The memo suggests that the Pentagon improve protective gear for troops, standardize battlefield methods to recognize brain injuries, discover better methods to decide when an injured soldier can return to duty, and screen returning troops for brain injury. In response to the memo, the Pentagon said that it plans to give $14 million to fund more research on blast injuries and to provide combat zone medics with evaluation forms to diagnose and treat brain injuries.

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Wearing Seatbelts Reduces Brain Injury

Think First, a national, non-profit organization says that brain injuries are the top killer to people under the age of 24. Even non-fatal brain injuries have the potential to be life-changing; many survivors are left with permanent disabilities that affect their speech, vision, movement, cognitive function, and behavior. However, many brain injuries can be easily avoided by following simple advice that everyone has heard: wear your seatbelt! In 1976, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to require that seat belts be worn. Since then, car crash-related brain injuries have declined.

Wearing seatbelts reduces brain injuries

Police say that by using a seatbelt, the risk of death caused by a motor vehicle collision will decline by 75 percent and risk of injury will be reduced by 55 percent. Transport Canada estimates that every one percent increase in seatbelt use saves about five lives a year.

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March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Missouri governor Matt Blunt has declared March as Brain Injury Awareness Month in Missouri; this coincides with National Brain Injury Awareness Month. In honor of those who are suffering from brain injuries and are affected by the lack of funding for rehabilitative care, a group will meet in Jefferson City on March 13 to remind legislators about the issues affecting the brain injured population.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Brain Injury advocates will discuss the need for more funding in order to build adequate brain injury sevices, the need for more brain injury preventative measures, and to educate legislators about brain injury. The Missouri Center for Head Injury Services invites interested survivors, family members, and concerned citizens to contact them and to participate in Brain Injury Awareness Day in Jefferson City.

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Increased Brain Injury Awareness Will Improve Treatment

Defense Department leaders and the military medical community are focusing more on traumatic brain injury; brain injury appears to be the "signature wound" of the war in Iraq. Brain injury frequently is difficult to diagnose because soldiers often do not recognize the symptoms and screening tests often are not effective. Brain injuries can be caused by repeated concussions or indirect exposure to bomb blasts.

Increased Awareness Will Improve Brain-Injury Treatment, Officials Say

The war in Iraq demands better brain injury treatments because of more effective head protection devices and also because explosives are being used more frequently in this war. Head injuries that once would have killed a soldier often no longer will; instead, many head injuries will lead to brain damage. Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr. says that "Everyone's antenna are raised at this point about the need to look for the subtle cases - those who might not have been right immediately in a blast zone, but could have been near, or that they might have experienced this kind of event two or three times. In those cases, they need to be looked at very carefully."

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 01:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Boxer Suffers Brain Injury

Boxer Victor Burgos had to undergo surgery in order to relieve pressure from a blood clot in his brain that he suffered during a fight with Vic Darchinyan. Darchinyan stopped Burgos during the 12th round of the fight and after referee Jon Schorle stopped the fight with 1:27 of the final round remaining, Burgos began to fall into unconsciousness. The fight took place at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Boxer Suffers Brain Injury

Fight promoter Gary Shaw said that Burgos "had a brain bleed and was operated on last night. The bleeding has been stopped. And he appears to be in stable condition." Shaw said that he had tried to visit Burgos in the hospital but was turned away. Shaw promotes Darchinyan and is president of Gary Shaw Productions, the main promoter for Saturday's fight. Darchinyan also tried to visit Burgos in the hospital but was turned away.

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VA to Test All Combat Vets for Brain Injury

The Department of Veterans Affairs officials say that all Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who are receiving veterans' medical care will be screened for previously undetected traumatic brain injuries, beginning in the spring. A statement says that all 155 medical centers will participate in screening every patient who served in combat zones.

VA to Test All Combat Vets for Brain Injury

Brain injuries rapidly are becoming known as the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Explosions and roadside bombs put troops at risk for brain injuries that are not immediately apparent and that can be difficult to diagnose. Mandatory training already has begun for all Virginia health care professionals in diagnosing traumatic brain injuries. Brain injury symptoms can range from headaches, irritability, and sleep disorders to memory problems and depression.

Posted by Patricia Bowling at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Head Injury Clarification

After John Terry's injury in the League Cup Final, the English Football Association clarified that FA rules on head injuries do not set a specific rest period, but instead say that each injury much be reviewed individually by a doctor. FA Medical Recommendations say that: "Since all head injuries are different in terms of the effects on the brain no fixed time periods are applicable in professional football as to when the player should return to training and playing. The brain's response to the injury determines the time of return and playing and must be clinically assessed by the Club Medical Officer or a Specialist Neurosurgeon/Neurologist."

Head Injuries Clarification

The recommendation goes on to say that "no player should return to training or playing until symptom-free and sign-free at rest and on provocation." The FA provides English football teams with a list of neurologists to diagnose injured players.

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Coping with Disability Following NFL Career

Brent Boyd was an offensive guard with the Vikings from 1980-1986. Boyd is to be featured in an ESPN NFL segment on its "Outside the Lines" show and the feature will discuss Boyd's disability from NFL concussions. Boyd says that the NFL denied him disability even though he suffers from "physical (headaches, dizziness, knee replacement) and mental (depression, anxiety, forgetfulness) the inaction of the NFL has caused me and my son incredible financial hardships."

Questions with Bob Sansevere: Coping with Disability After NFL Career Ends

Boyd also discussed how concussions are dealt with in the NFL: "When I was with the Vikings, I kept complaining about headaches. It started in 1980, my rookie year. I hurt my knee in 1981 and they gave me anti-inflammatory and said the headaches were from that. My first concussion was my rookie year during the preseason. I lost vision in one eye. I played about half the game and couldn't see out of one eye. A concussion back then wasn't what it is now. Unless you were strapped on a gurney, anything less than that wasn't a concussion. It was getting your bell rung." The NFL has come under recent scrutiny for not giving players who have suffered head injuries adequate rest. Continuing to play football after a concussion can lead to much more severe brain damage.

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Steroids Risky Treatment for Brain Injury

British researchers evaluated the results of more than 10,000 patients with brain injury and found that those treated with corticosteroids after traumatic brain injury were more likely to die from the injury than those who had not taken the drugs. Of those who received steroid treatment, 21% died, compared to 18% who were given a placebo. Dr. Ian Roberts, a professor of epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Topical Medicine said that "there is a 3 percent absolute increase in the risk of death such that 21 percent of patients die with steroids and 18 percent die without."

Steroids Risky Treatment for Brain Injury

Corticosteroids are hormones that are used to treat inflammation that results from a variety of conditions. Roberts and his colleagues say that corticosteroid use is widespread after serious brain injury. Approximately 1.4 million Americans suffer from traumatic brain injuries each year and 50,000 die from those injuries.

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Woodruff Shares his TBI Experience

ABC newsman Bob Woodruff remembers his body "floating" below him as he feel back into the tank in which he was riding after the roadside explosion that injured his brain. "I was spitting up a lot of blood," Woodruff said Monday at a news conference. "I remember driving along in the tank, up that road, and standing up outside through the opening at the top. When the IED [improvised explosive device] actually exploded, I don't remember that. But I do remember at that moment I saw my body floating below me and … whiteness … I just saw something."

Newsman Shares Struggle With Viewers As Recovery From Brain Injury Continues

Woodruff says that he doesn't remember what happened after the explosion until weeks later. A piece of Woodruff's skull had to be removed and he was unable to remember his children's names after the injury. Woodruff hopes to raise awareness about the frequency of brain injuries in Iraq and also to remind the American public of the sacrifices that American soldiers in Iraq make.

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Three Years for Thug Who Caused Brain Injury

A teenager was sentenced to three and a half years in jail for an attack that left his victim needing brain surgery. 17-year-old George Baillie hit Andrew McDonald with a piece of wood, leaving McDonald with such severe injuries that he had to spend two months in the hospital. Judge Lord Bracadale told first-time offender Baillie that "the consequences for him [McDonald] were grave. He sustained a brain injury which will leave long-term damage and his life was clearly in danger."

Three years for thug who left teenager with brain damage

McDonald, 17, had been walking home from a party when he was attacked by Baillie, who had been "cruising" around Edinburgh. Baillie and his friends struck McDonald with a piece of wood; McDonald later collapsed and became sick. A scan showed that McDonald had suffered a brain injury and a major complication had developed.

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Hormone Could Decrease Brain Damage from Trauma

Traumatic brain injury typically is caused by a hard blow to the head. While the skill is strong enough that it can take forceful external impact, the brain is not so strong. An injured brain inside an unfractured skull is called a closed-head injury. Brain injury also can occur when a projectile object pierces through the skull and penetrates the brain. More than 1 million Americans suffer brain injuries each year. While more than 75 percent of these injuries are mild concussions, even minor brain injuries can lead to bigger problems. Approximately 55,000 people die each year from brain injuries.

Hormone could decrease brain damage from trauma

A few signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury include headache, confusion, loss of consciousness, dizziness. and trouble concentrating. Researchers at Emory University have found a promising new treatment that might help in treatment of traumatic brain injury. They used progesterone, a natural hormone made in the brain, in the treatment of brain injuries in male and female rats and found that there was less swelling and more complete recovery in cases where progesterone was used. "Our findings, first and foremost, were that it appeared to be safe in the small number of patients we studied. We didn't find any increase in significant adverse events or adverse events between the group that didn't get progesterone and the group that did," Dr. David Wright, a researcher, said.

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March 30, 2007

More Americans Have Serious Head Injuries

March 29, 2007

Brain Injury Linked to Moral Decisions

March 28, 2007

Volunteer Actor Sues For $1 Million

March 27, 2007

Bertuzzi Still Liable for Lawsuit

March 26, 2007

Brain Injury Expert Wants to Start Pennsylvania Clinic

March 23, 2007

General Brain Injury Information

March 22, 2007

Political Leader Scanned for Skull Fracture, Brain Injury

March 21, 2007

Phase II Clinical Trial Begun for Xytis

March 20, 2007

Recovering After Brain Injury

March 19, 2007

Brain Injury Continues After Initial Brain Injury

March 16, 2007

Department of Defense Calls for Changes in Brain Injury Treatment

March 15, 2007

Wearing Seatbelts Reduces Brain Injury

March 14, 2007

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

March 13, 2007

Increased Brain Injury Awareness Will Improve Treatment

March 12, 2007

Boxer Suffers Brain Injury

March 09, 2007

VA to Test All Combat Vets for Brain Injury

March 08, 2007

Head Injury Clarification

March 07, 2007

Coping with Disability Following NFL Career

March 06, 2007

Steroids Risky Treatment for Brain Injury

March 05, 2007

Woodruff Shares his TBI Experience

March 02, 2007

Three Years for Thug Who Caused Brain Injury

March 01, 2007

Hormone Could Decrease Brain Damage from Trauma