Traumatic Brain Injury News and Research

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a form of acquired brain injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. A person with a mild TBI may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. Other symptoms of mild TBI include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking. A person with a moderate or severe TBI may show these same symptoms, but may also have a headache that gets worse or does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, an inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, and increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation.

New consensus statement outlines evidence-based medical opinion on abusive head trauma

Abusive head trauma, a medical diagnosis of infants and young children who suffer from inflicted intracranial and associated spinal injuries, is often misrepresented in legal proceedings of child abuse, according to a consensus statement supported by nine pediatric and radiology international organizations published in Pediatric Radiology.

25 May 2018

Global experts identify key issues in supporting children with brain injuries transition back to school

Children with brain injuries face significant challenges when transitioning from hospital or home to school where they face issues such as lack of educator understanding and catching up with missed work.

15 May 2018

Study lays foundation for treating drug, alcohol addicts with noninvasive brain stimulation

In a study investigating the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation for drug addiction, researchers at Medical University of South Carolina are the first to demonstrate that the noninvasive brain stimulation technique can dampen brain activity in response to drug cues in chronic alcohol users and chronic cocaine users.

15 May 2018

Gene variant may be linked to worse psychiatric symptoms in TBI patients

A variant of the APOE gene may be linked to worse psychiatric symptoms in people who have had a traumatic brain injury, found a Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System study. Study participants with both the gene variant and at least one TBI had more severe symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression than comparison participants.

14 May 2018

New tool provides high accuracy and precision in analyzing disease and drug effects

A new protein analysis tool developed at the University at Buffalo could vastly increase the speed and precision with which disease and drug effects are analyzed.

11 May 2018

Researchers explain neurophysiological link between breathing and attention

It has long been claimed by Yogis and Buddhists that meditation and ancient breath-focused practices, such as pranayama, strengthen our ability to focus on tasks.

11 May 2018

Researchers create a biomaterial that can be used to study the brain

Researchers have created a new type of biomaterial that can support the growth of nerve cells, potentially opening up new possibilities for patients who have experienced a stroke or traumatic brain injury.

8 May 2018

BrainScope One can reduce unnecessary ED referrals by up to 75%

BrainScope announced today the release of a white paper authored by Urgent Care physicians which demonstrated that the FDA-cleared BrainScope One had the potential to reduce unnecessary Emergency Department referrals by up to seventy-five percent.

7 May 2018

Scientists successfully test anti-alcoholism drug in animal models

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully tested in animals a drug that, they say, may one day help block the withdrawal symptoms and cravings that incessantly coax people with alcoholism to drink.

4 May 2018

New study reveals potential for better diagnosis and treatment of TBI patients

Patients who've suffered from traumatic brain injuries have changes in tiny blood vessels in their brains that researchers believe are linked to a range of cognitive symptoms, according to new findings presented at the 2018 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting.

30 Apr 2018

Researchers develop new technique for measuring blood flow in the brain

Biomedical engineers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a new technique for measuring blood flow in the human brain, which could be used in patients with stroke or traumatic brain injury, for example.

27 Apr 2018

Rehabilitation technique for stroke appears beneficial for multiple sclerosis patients

A rehabilitation technique originally developed for stroke has now been shown to also be effective for improving function for people with multiple sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease.

24 Apr 2018

Clinical trial to examine stem cell therapy for treatment, prevention of complications after traumatic injury

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has received funding through a public/private partnership for the first-ever clinical trial investigating a stem cell therapy for early treatment and prevention of complications after severe traumatic injury.

23 Apr 2018

Researchers discover blood biomarkers that may help detect, confirm mild traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, Georgetown University and the University of Rochester have found that specific small molecules in blood plasma may be useful in determining whether someone has sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as a concussion.

20 Apr 2018

Concussion recovery and symptom severity found to vary between men and women

A new study comparing male and female athletes examined whether there are clear sex-related differences in post-concussion symptom severity and length of recovery. In addition to a finding of significant differences between the male and female college varsity athletes, differences among the women depending on hormonal contraceptive use were reported in the study published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

20 Apr 2018

People diagnosed with traumatic brain injury may have increased risk of Parkinson's disease, shows study

People who have been diagnosed with a mild concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, may have a 56 percent increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study published in the April 18, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Apr 2018

Novel interactive diagram shows many facets of mild traumatic brain injury

A Portland State University research team studying concussion has published an interactive diagram showing the many facets of mild traumatic brain injury - from sleep problems to mood disorders to the increased danger of dementia - and how they connect with and affect each other.

17 Apr 2018

Receptor that detects heat of red chili pepper may help protect the brain after TBI

A receptor on our immune cells that can detect both the heat of a red chili pepper and the extreme physical heat of a pizza oven may help protect the brain following a traumatic brain injury, scientists say.

13 Apr 2018

People with TBI have increased risk of developing dementia

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury is associated with an increased risk of developing both dementia and Alzheimer's disease, according to a nationwide study of 2.8 million people over 36 years, published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

12 Apr 2018

The brain fights neurodegenerative diseases by shifting resources

The brain continues to put up a fight even as neurodegenerative diseases like dementia damage certain areas and functions. In fact, recent findings in a Baycrest-University of Arizona study suggest that one method the brain uses to counter these diseases is the reassigning of tasks to different regions.

11 Apr 2018