Disadvantaged Homes - study finds school and behavior problems in brain-injured children from more stressed, less advantaged families.
Federal TBI Act - information on Act XII of the recently passed Children's Health Act 2000 concerning traumatic brain injury.
Guidelines for Treatment of Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury - expansion of the scope of existing guidelines to incorporate education, injury prevention as well as the role of rehabilitation and physiatry services in the management of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).
Household Falls and TBI - researchers have determined that rapid head rotations sustained when a baby's head contacts a hard surface during household falls may result in diffuse brain injuries.
Not Breathing During Sleep - children who stop breathing during sleep show brain damage in regions that regulate the cardiovascular system, body temperature and urination (7.25.05).
Predisposition to Injury - children with heart conditions who require surgery as infants may be more vulnerable to neurologic problems if they have a particular variety of a gene.
Stem Cells for Children - trial will gauge safety and potential of using child's own bone marrow stem cells to treat brain trauma (1.30.06).
Treating TBI in Children - scientific guidelines for the best way to treat children who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.
Why Brain-Injured Children Often Recover - decrease in activity sites may mean that language areas in the brain are more flexible when children are younger (4.18.06).
Coma
Predicting Consciousness Recovery After Coma - the first reliable measure of neurobehavioral functioning during coma that predicts recovery of consciousness up to one year after injury (3.14.05).
Consequences
Anger After Brain Injury - study finds anger and irritability patients exhibit may have more to do with an injury to the brain than it does post-injury depression.
Bypass Surgery Does not Harm Brain - a review of the effects of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on brain functions concludes that the procedure probably does not cause late or permanent neurological effects (5.9.05)
Concussion Effects Linked to Lawsuits - a review of studies suggests that long-lasting symptoms of concussion may increase when the outcome of a lawsuit is at stake (5.02.05).
Concussions Linked To Weakened Brain Functioning Years Later - word is spreading, on the sidelines, in the locker rooms, and in the media, that an athlete whose bell has been rung – that is, suffered a concussion – may have experienced an injury that could take a more serious toll later in life (3.02.09).
Depression After TBI - many patients who experience a traumatic injury to the brain experience major depression or other psychiatric illnesses within a year after their head injuries.
Headaches After Concussion - any degree of post-concussion headache even one week after injury likely is associated with incomplete recovery.
Head Injury Survival - patients transferred to level I trauma centers are more likely to survive than if they're transferred to level II facilities, according to study (4.11.05).
Head Trauma - When to Get Help - Mayo Clinic recommends emergency care and evaluation if specific symptoms occur after head trauma (6.13.05)
Impact of Brain Injury on Family Members - After a traumatic brain injury medical professionals tend to focus on the patient but research shows a great impact on family members as well (4.02.07)
Learning After Severe TBI - psychologists have evidence that severe-CHI survivors may still be able to learn without awareness that they're learning.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder - victims who suffer a severe head injury are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder if they remain conscious during their ordeal.
TBI Outcome Patterns - improved outcomes are related to the institution of TBI treatment guidelines, organized trauma systems, and federally-mandated use of seat belts and air bags (4.18.05).
Underestimating Head Injury - doctors and other carers often overlook some important aspects of outcome amongst patients who have suffered head injuries, according to a new study (8.08.05).
Visual Neglect Explained - scientists have developed an explanation for a condition following brain injury in which patients fail to see - neglect - half of their visual world.
Dementia
Alzheimer's Drug May Help TBI Survivors - drugs currently used to enhance function of the chemical transmitter acetylcholine may benefit survivors of TBI [1.17.05].
Alzheimer's Gene Influences Memory After TBI - a gene implicated in Alzheimer's disease makes it harder for the brain to recover memory functions after brain injury, according to a new study by researchers.
Alzheimer's and TBI - study indicates a strong relationship between severe TBI and development of Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's Risk and TBI - new research suggests that brain injury leads to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Parkinson`s Disease and Head Injury - researchers have found that those who have experienced a head injury are four times more likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
Study Outlines How Stroke, Head Injury Can Increase Risk of Alzheimer's Disease - researchers have discovered how the death of brain cells caused by a stroke or head injury may cause generation of amyloid-beta protein - the key component of senile plaques seen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (06.18.07).
Neurophysiology
Adult Stem Cells Finding Provides Foundation for Brain Injury Cure - adult stem cells originate in a different part of the brain than is commonly believed, and with proper stimulation they can produce new brain cells to replace those lost to disease or injury (8.04.08).
Adult Stem Cells Reprogrammed In Their Natural Environment - researchers have become very adept at manipulating the fate of adult stem cells cultured in the lab. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies achieved the same feat with adult neural stem cells still in place in the brain (7.28.08).
Altering Brain Receptors May Reduce Damage - researchers are hopeful that changing the genetic blueprint of receptors can help to block lethal flows of calcium into neurons of human brain damage victims (4.24.06).
Blast Waves May Cause Brain Injury Without Direct Head Impact - using computer simulations, Lawrence Livermore scientists have discovered that nonlethal blasts can induce enough skull flexure to generate potentially damaging loads in the brain, even without direct head impact (9.14.09).
Brain Activity in Minimally Conscious - researchers have found that some seemingly unconscious patients with severe brain damage are capable of responding to speech (2.28.05).
Brain Cells Work Differently Than Previously Thought - scientists have identified specific molecules in the brain that are responsible for awakening and putting to sleep brain stem cells, which, when activated, can transform into neurons (nerve cells) and repair damaged brain tissue (6.16.08).
Brain Repairs Itself - researchers show neuronal cells in the relatively undamaged areas of the brain can slowly grown new and important connections over a period of years in a process known as axonal re-growth (7.04.06).
Brain on a Chip - scientists have coupled living brain tissue to a chip equivalent to the chips that run computers (6.12.06).
Brain-Injury Recovery Depends on Acetylcholine Circuitry - the ability of the brain to recover from such injury as stroke or trauma depends on a particular circuitry of neurons that "talk" to one another using the brain chemical acetylcholine (4.25.05).
Brain May Be Less Plastic Than Hoped - studies have indicated the brain may have less flexibility in response to injury than previously thought (8.1.05).
Brain's Capacity for Self-Repair Studied - the brain's natural ability to heal might ultimately have clinical implications for the treatment of brain damage, according to the researchers (12.18.06).
Brain Stem Cells Can Be Awakened, Say Scientists - scientists know that information travels between brain cells along hairlike extensions called axons. For the first time, researchers have found that axons don't just transmit information -- they can turn the signal up or down with the right stimulation (8.27.07).
Damaged Brain Can Be Repaired And Cerebral Functions Restored - Scientists have shown that it is possible to repair an injured brain by creating a small number of new, specifically-targeted innervations, rather than a larger number of non-specific connections. (04.21.08).
Delivery of Brain Probes by Eye Drop - researchers describe the development of gene probe eye drops that—for the first time—make it possible to monitor and detect tissue repair in the brain of living organisms using MRI (04.14.08).
Flexible Electronics Aid Brain Injury Research - researchers have developed membranes feature microelectrodes that are able to withstand the sudden stretching that is used to simulate severe head trauma (04.16.07).
Healing the Brain - researchers have shown ordinary human brain cells may share the prized qualities of self-renewal and adaptability normally associated with stem cells (8.21.06).
Imaging Shows Structural Changes in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury - researchers report that diffusion tensor imaging can identify structural changes in the white matter of the brain that correlates to cognitive deficits even in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (10.29.07).
Improving Brain Cell Survival - researchers have found a protein in the brain that can save neurons from dying after experiencing traumatic brain injury from incidents such as stroke, car accidents and falls (7.10.06).
Master Regulator Found for Regenerating Nerve Fibers - researchers report that an enzyme known as Mst3b, previously identified in their lab, is essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibers) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral and central nervous systems (11.9.09).
Memory Function Varies After Damage to Key Area of the Brain - scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered dramatic differences in the memory performance of patients with damage to the hippocampus, an area of the human brain key to memory (12.22.08).
Nerve Regeneration - researchers have discovered a naturally occurring growth factor that stimulates regeneration of injured nerve fibers (axons) in the central nervous system (5.15.06).
Neural Activity Connected To Blood Flow In New Brain Stimulation Technique - have for the first time measured the electrical activity of nerve cells and correlated it to changes in blood flow in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a noninvasive method to stimulate neurons in the brain (10.15.07).
Neurotransmitters In Biopolymers Stimulate Nerve Regeneration - research reported December 11 in the journal Advanced Materials describes a potentially promising strategy for encouraging the regeneration of damaged central nervous system cells known as neurons (12.30.07).
New Stem Cell Therapy May Aid Repair Of Damaged Brains - according to some experts, newly born neuronal stem cells in the adult brain may provide a therapy for brain injury. But if these stem cells are to be utilized in this way, the process by which they are created, neurogenesis, must be regulated (6.08.08).
New Way To Sort Stem Cells Discovered - scientists have found a new way to sort stem cells that could in the future expedite therapies for people with conditions like brain damage (1.07.08).
One Step Closer To Transplanting Stem Cells In The Brain - stem cells transplanted into the brains of mice generate more numerous and more mature nerve cells if the brain cells called astrocytes are not activated (08.20.07).
Roots of Epilepsy May Lie in Oft-Ignored Brain Cells - star-shaped brain cells that are often overlooked by doctors and scientists as mere support cells appear to play a key role in the development of epilepsy (8.15.05).
Preventing Secondary Brain Injury - developing a resuscitation fluid that contains hemoglobin, allowing effective restoration of the oxygen-carrying capacity that is compromised when an injury leads to profuse blood loss (5.22.06).
Receptor Could Preserve Neurons After Trauma - activation of the GPR91 receptor could be beneficial in helping salvage neurons in damaged brain tissue in stroke or head injury victims (10.13.08).
Replacing Brain Cells Lost by Trauma - newly created neurons in adults rely on signals from distant brain regions to regulate their maturation and survival before they can communicate with existing neighboring cells (11.12.07).
Regeneration Of Brain Cells - researchers have achieved an additional step for the potential replacement of damaged brain cells after injury or disease (09.24.07).
Researchers Create Molecule That Nudges Nerve Stem Cells to Mature - inspired by a chance discovery during another experiment, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have created a small molecule that stimulates nerve stem cells to begin maturing into nerve cells in culture (8.25.08).
Researchers Engineer First System of Human Nerve-Cell Tissue - researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have demonstrated that living human nerve cells can be engineered into a network that could one day be used for transplants to repair damaged to the nervous system (3.03.08).
Researchers Regenerate Axons Necessary for Voluntary Movement - for the first time, researchers have clearly shown regeneration of a critical type of nerve fiber that travels between the brain and the spinal cord and which is required for voluntary movement (4.13.09).
Scientists Unmask Brain's Hidden Potential - new findings explain how the brain compensates for vision loss; suggests much more versatility than previously recognized (9.02.08).
Shift in Language Control Site Offers Rehab Hope - scientists have found that the site in the brain that controls language shifts with aging which might offer hope in the treatment of speech problems resulting from traumatic brain injury (10.10.05).
Stanford Researchers Track Human Stem Cells Transplanted Into Rat Brain - researchers have illuminated the path taken by human neural stem cells that were transplanted into the brains of rats and mice, and found that the cells successfully navigate toward areas damaged by stroke (6.11.07).
Stimulating Brain Cell Growth - scientists have identified key compounds that stimulate stem cell growth in the brain (09.05.06).
Stopping a Receptor Called 'Nogo' Boosts the Synapses - scientists have found that reducing the nogo receptor in the brain results in stronger brain signaling, effectively boosting signal strength between the synapses, the connections between nerve cells in the brain (3.31.08).
Strong Link Found Between Concussions and Brain Tissue Injury - For the first time, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have linked areas of brain injury to specific altered mental processes caused by concussions (8.31.09).
Synthetic Blood for TBI - biological effects of Oxycyte in patients with traumatic brain injury to be studied (9.19.05).
Trigger For Brain Plasticity Identified - Otx2 helps a key type of cell in the cortex to mature, initiating a critical period -- a window of heightened brain plasticity, when the brain can readily make new connections (8.18.08).
Prevention
Alcohol and Smoking - recent neuroimaging studies of chronic smokers have shown brain structural and blood-flow abnormalities (2.27.06).
Alcohol and TBI - study suggests that people with alcohol problems seem more injury prone than people who use illicit drugs.
Bicycle Safety Tips - by wearing a helmet, a child can reduce his/her risk of injury by as much as 85 percent.
Bike Helmet Legislation Could Make Cycling Safer - legislation that requires people to wear bicycle helmets appears to increase use and decreases injury rates, according to the results of a Cochrane Review (4.23.07)
Blood-flow Detector Software Show Promise In Preventing Brain Damage - researchers have designed an automated means of continuously tracking potentially dangerous changes in blood flow to the brain in real time, a system that shows promise for preventing brain damage and death in children with head injuries (9.3.07)
Costs of Not Wearing a Helmet - motorcycle riders who crash without a helmet rack up far larger hospital bills than those whose heads were protected in a crash, a new study finds.
Cyclosporin as a Neuroprotector - the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is developing compound to treat TBI's (7.18.05).
Device Absorbs Blow to Head - oral appliance that prevents concussion and serious brain injury by locking an athlete's lower jaw into a static and safe position.
Device Detects Concussions - development of a new device to detect brain injuries on the sidelines of a football game, on a battlefield or in the emergency room (5.13.05)
Diet and Cognition - diet may help protect your brain if you should suffer an accidental head injury.
Drug May Prevent Brain Injury in Newborns - A drug already approved by the FDA may protect newborns from brain injury and long-term neurologic problems caused by excitotoxicity, or over-activation of neurons.
Fast and Safe Way to Test Brain Pressure - researchers have taken the first steps toward evaluating a new protocol for quick detection of elevated brain pressure. (1.31.05)
Helmet Use During Skiing Reduces TBI's - alpine skiers and snowboarders who wear a helmet have a reduced risk of head injury, according to a recent study. (3.06.06)
Impact of Brain Injury Often Overlooked in Driver's Ed - Young people learn about drugs and alcohol and how driving under the influence can take lives, but do they know what happens when accident victims survive? (2.10.06)
Level of Protection Provided by Children’s Bicycle Helmets - children’s bicycle helmets provide measurable protection in terms of both reducing the deceleration experienced by the child’s head and protecting against direct compressive force (5.08.06)
Mandating Bicycle Helmets - research on reducing head injuries with laws requiring helmets for bicyclists.
Motorcycle Helmets Keep Riders Alive - helmet use is highly significant in reducing both accidental death and injury, reducing head injury risk by 69 percent and death by 42 percent (2.04.08)
New Brain Injury Monitoring System - football helmets are fitted with accelerometers, which measure impact to the helmets and keep track of head impact data.
Protective Helmets - the importance of wearing protective helmets to prevent traumatic brain injury.
Rafting Safety Helmet - engineering students have designed a new helmet to better protect rafters and kayakers from life-threatening head injuries.
Roller Coaster Safety Review - brain injury association review of the existing scientific and industry data regarding the correlation between roller coaster rides and brain injury.
Roller Coasters Safe - scientists find that coaster G's, twists, and speeds are not enough to injure the brain.
Roller Coaster Safety - two scientific studies on roller coasters and brain injury state that rides are safe and present no health risk to the public.
Soccer Headgear Fails - foam helmets and padded headbands do little to soften the impact of heading a soccer ball, according to a new study.
TBI
Prevention Technique Debunked - contrary to popular thinking
in athletics, traditional neck muscle resistance training may not
protect athletes from head injuries (1.10.06).
Thrill Ride Danger - amusement part thrill rides may be mysterious cause of neurological symptoms.
Sports
Amateur Boxing Linked to Brain Cell Damage - a study of 14 Swedish amateur boxers suggests that they have higher levels of certain chemicals in their cerebrospinal fluid in the days following a bout, indicating injuries to neurons and other cells important to brain function (9.25.06).
Concussions in Sports - research will objectively study, for the first time, the effects of single and multiple concussions on the brains of high school and college athletes.
Concussions in High School Athletes - High school athletes who sustained even mild concussions showed significant decline in memory processing and other symptoms within one week post-injury, say researchers.
Golf Popularity Leading to More TBI's - children's increasing interest in golf is resulting in an unfortunate upswing in golf-related head injuries (6.20.05)
Head Gear for Lacrosse - researchers have found that more protective gear for women and children is warranted.
High school footballers wearing special helmets to monitor brain injuries - special football helmets have been developed which use six strategically placed, spring-loaded accelerometers to wirelessly beam information to a Web-based system on a laptop computer on the sidelines, to more effectively – and more immediately – detect when blows to players’ heads may result in concussions or more severe brain injuries (10.01.07).
Multiple Concussions - three or more concussions may result in up to nine times as many symptoms compared to athletes with no concussions.
Recovery From Football Concussions - collegiate football players may need up to 7 days to recover from a concussion, including full recovery of cognitive function and balance.
Returning to Play - early recognition and proper assessment of concussions continue to be crucial for the athlete's recovery.
Role of Age in Recovery - researchers have found that following a concussion, high school athletes required longer recovery compared to college athletes.
Rugby and Concussions - study suggests that rugby leads to far more concussions than players, coaches and medical personnel have previously thought.
Rugby Helmets Not Effective - study shows protective equipment not very effective for rugby players (7.11.05).
Decline in TBI's - the rate of traumatic brain injury declined 11.4 percent between 1989 and 1998.
Epidemiology of TBI - statistics regarding the causes, incidence, and cost of traumatic brain injury in the US.
Hospitalizations due to TBI down 35% over a decade - new data released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) show that fewer Canadians are admitted to hospitals due to traumatic head injuries than were a decade ago (12.11.06).
National TBI Registry - medical Center to start the nation's first Emergency Department-based traumatic brain injury registry.
NIH Report on TBI - National Institutes of Health's consensus report supporting traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.
Population Study of TBI - study of blunt head traumas to calculate the rates of potential brain injury and to describe the various causes of these injuries.
Bob Woodruff Partners with Brain Injury Association - The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has entered into a partnership with ABC
Anchor Bob Woodruff and his family to raise awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to administer the newly created Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI to assist servicemen and women and their families affected by the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. (3.01.07).
Brain Cleaner - people suffering from brain injury may be able to reprogram their brains to improve motor skills (1.22.07).
Brain-Injured Recover Emotional Perception Skills - people who have lost the ability to interpret emotion after a severe brain injury can regain this vital social skill by being re-educated to read body language, facial expressions and voice tone in others, according to a new study (12.01.08).
Chemical Compound Found In Tree Bark Stimulates Growth, Survival Of Brain Cells - researchers have identified a compound in tree bark that mimics the chemical reactions of a naturally occurring molecule in the brain responsible for stimulating neuronal cell signaling. Neuronal cell signaling plays a crucial role in the growth, plasticity and survival of brain cells (10.08.07).
Cognitive Rehab Helps People with Acquired Brain Injury - cognitive rehabilitation after a serious brain injury or stroke can help the mind in much the same way that physical therapy helps the body, according to a new meta-analysis (01.19.09).
Compounds to Treat Cell Injury - compounds have the potential to become treatments of central nervous system cells damaged by injury (9.6.05).
Computer That Reacts to Thought a Lifeline for Brain Injured - people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries and who are unable to speak or move are being given the first chance to communicate using just the power of thought – and a laptop loaded with sophisticated algorithms (12.15.08).
Could Standard Treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury be Wrong? - the Brain Injury Research Center (BIRC) in the UCLA Department of Neurosurgery has been awarded a $4.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research new ways to heal the brain after a traumatic brain injury (06.08.09).
Drug for Coma Patients - clinical trials of drug for the treatment of patients in a vegetative or minimally conscious state (12.09.04).
Drug Improves Memory Loss for TBI Patients - traumatic brain injury patients with moderate to severe memory loss improved their memories while taking the drug rivastigmine (10.09.06).
Electrical Stim Boosts Recovery - sending electric pulses to the brain helps injury survivors regain some function (3.27.06).
Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Balanced Nutrition Saves Lives - researchers say that following TBI, patients should be given nutritional supplementation through a gastric feeding tube as soon as possible, which they say can improve their chances of survival by as much as four-fold (08.11.08).
Guidelines for Treating Behavior - evidence-based guidelines for the pharmacologic treatment of behavior problems associated with traumatic brain injury are published (11.06.06).
Intubated TBI Patients Fare Worse - Patients who receive an emergency breathing tube at the scene of an accident fare worse than those intubated after arrival to the hospital (11.19.04).
Magnetic Treatment for Brain Injury - researching transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a possible treatment for brain injury patients (1.24.05).
Medication Insufficient for Depression Due to Traumatic Head Injury - in a large clinical sample of patients with traumatic brain injury with symptoms of major depression, antidepressant medication has been shown to lead to remission of symptoms in a minority of patients (12.08.08).
Molecular Treatment of Brain Injury - the National Institutes of Health has awarded $1.7 million to a University of Cincinnati (UC) scientist to do molecular research that could lead to better treatments for brain injury patients (7.23.07).
Motor Skill Learning May Be Enhanced By Mild Brain Stimulation - people who received a mild electrical current to a motor control area of the brain were significantly better able to learn and perform a complex motor task than those in control groups (1.26.09).
New Technology Can Be Operated By Thought - neuroscientists have significantly advanced brain-machine interface (BMI) technology to the point where severely handicapped people using only their thoughts can execute motor actions (11.19.07).
New Treatment for Post-Concussion Syndrome - sports medicine specialists have developed a new method for treating athletes who sustain post-concussion syndrome that, unlike the conventional approach, allows athletes to maintain conditioning while recovering gradually from the injury (10.16.06).
New Treatments Prevent Brain Injury Hours After Stroke in Animals - two novel treatments -- a basic compound found in every cell in the body and an extract of green tea -- may prevent brain damage caused from stroke, according to two studies in rats led by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (01.02.07).
Physical Therapists Test Mechanical Arm to Help Patients Recover From Brain Injury - physical therapists at UT Southwestern Medical Center are evaluating a new mechanical arm that allows people recovering from neurological injuries to enter a virtual world where they can repeatedly practice movements needed to regain arm strength and movement (02.09.09).
Pioneering Treatment Helps Brain Injury Victim - two novel treatments - a groundbreaking new brain tissue stimulation treatment involving electrodes, a man left in a near vegetative state for six years after a brain injury is now making a dramatic recovery (08.06.07).
Progesterone Treatment for TBI (#2) - researchers have found that giving progesterone to trauma victims shortly following brain injury appears to be safe and may reduce the risk of death and the degree of disability (10.02.06).
Progesterone Treatment for TBI (#3) - Emory University officials this week announced the third phase of a groundbreaking study to evaluate the effectiveness of the hormone progesterone on acute traumatic-brain-injured patients (07.06.09).
Simple Therapy For Brain Injury - severe brain injury due to blunt force trauma could be reduced by application of a simple polymer, Polyethylene glycol or PEG, mixed in sterile water and injected into the blood stream (7.14.08).
Synthetic Blood for TBI - studies have shown that increasing brain oxygen in such patients improves functional outcome (6.05.06).
Traumatic Brain Injury Legislation For Veterans Introduced - top Democrat and top Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs joined forces to introduce new legislation which will help veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries (04.30.07).
