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 technique may help replace brain cells, restore memory

Although brains—even adult brains—are far more malleable than we used to think, they are eventually subject to age-related illnesses, like dementia, and loss of cognitive function.

15 Jun 2016

Surgeons take first step towards eliminating surgical care disparities

Surgeons and researchers, responding to the known prevalence of inequalities in U.S. surgical care, have taken the first steps toward eliminating surgical care disparities by grouping their causes into themes and identifying modifiable contributing factors.

13 Jun 2016

Study provides new insight into poorly understood effects of high explosive blasts in male soldiers

Scientists have identified a distinctive pattern of injury in the brains of eight deceased military personnel who survived high explosive attacks and died between 4 days and 9 years later from their injuries or other causes.

13 Jun 2016

Advanced imaging technique helps predict recovery in concussion patients

Using an advanced imaging technique, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System were able to predict which patients who'd recently suffered concussions were likely to fully recover.

10 Jun 2016

Chronic marijuana use can interrupt the brain's natural reward processes

Chronic marijuana use disrupts the brain's natural reward processes, according to researchers at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas.

8 Jun 2016

Human stem cells restore motor function in chronic stroke patients

Injecting modified, human, adult stem cells directly into the brains of chronic stroke patients proved not only safe but effective in restoring motor function, according to the findings of a small clinical trial led by Stanford University School of Medicine investigators.

7 Jun 2016

JBCPP journal publishes new evidence for clinical efficacy of cannabis therapy

New evidence for the clinical efficacy of cannabis therapy is presented in the latest issue of the Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, a De Gruyter publication.

23 May 2016

LaVision BioTec reports on use of light sheet and 2-photon microscopy for brain injury research

LaVision BioTec, developers of advanced microscopy solutions for the life sciences, report on the work of Ali Ertürk, a Group Leader at the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (part of the Klinikum der Universität München) at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.

12 May 2016

Scientists find tau protein as better marker of Alzheimer's disease

A buildup of plaque and dysfunctional proteins in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. While much Alzheimer's research has focused on accumulation of the protein amyloid beta, researchers have begun to pay closer attention to another protein, tau, long associated with this disease but not studied as thoroughly, in part, because scientists only recently have developed effective ways to image tau.

12 May 2016

Researchers monitor ICP and PRx to characterize temporal evolution in severe TBI patients

Winner of the Best International Abstract Award, Hadie Adams, presented his research, Characterizing the Temporal Evolution of ICP and Cerebrovascular Reactivity after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury, during the 2016 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting.

5 May 2016

Elusive brain receptor may play vital role in death of neurons from neurological diseases

Strokes, seizures, traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia: these conditions can cause persistent, widespread acidity around neurons in the brain. But exactly how that acidity affects brain function isn't well understood.

30 Apr 2016

People with TBI may have long-term sleep disturbances

People who have had a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may still have sleep problems a year and a half after being injured, according to a study published in the April 27, 2016, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. In addition, people with TBI may also be unaware of just how much their sleep is disturbed.

28 Apr 2016

Traumatic brain injury has lasting effect on sleep

Sleep-wake disturbances are a persistent problem in people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury and one that is underestimated by patients, study data indicate.

28 Apr 2016

Single season of contact sports can cause measurable brain changes

Repeated impacts to the heads of high school football players cause measurable changes in their brains, even when no concussion occurs, according to research from UT Southwestern Medical Center's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

26 Apr 2016

Study shows beneficial effect of hNSC transplantation for TBI

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity, often causing lifelong disability for those who survive. Treatment is limited to supportive care, but stem cell therapy has received recent attention as a way to promote recovery for injuries to the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, researchers transplanted human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into the brains of mice modeled with TBI to investigate whether the hosts' immune systems and the stem cells acting in concert would enhance repair.

20 Apr 2016

Researchers evaluate TBI-associated risk factors in older adults

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a leading cause of death and disability, has become so common in recent times that it has been called a "silent epidemic." And because older adults are more likely to suffer TBI, have worse outcomes, and are less likely to survive their injury than younger adults, older adults are considered a "silent population" within this epidemic.

20 Apr 2016

NeuroLife device helps paralyzed man to perform complex functional movements

Six years ago, he was paralyzed in a diving accident. Today, he participates in clinical sessions during which he can grasp and swipe a credit card or play a guitar video game with his own fingers and hand. These complex functional movements are driven by his own thoughts and a prototype medical system that are detailed in a study published online today in the journal Nature.

15 Apr 2016

Brain implant enables paralyzed man to move his hand

Researchers have developed an electrical device that has helped a quadriplegic man to move his hand, wrist and several fingers, enabling him to carry out basic movements such as picking up a bottle and pouring a glass of water.

14 Apr 2016

Manipulation of signals in nervous system can enhance recovery after traumatic injury

Neurobiologists at UC San Diego have discovered how signals that orchestrate the construction of the nervous system also influence recovery after traumatic injury. They also found that manipulating these signals can enhance the return of function.

12 Apr 2016

Mild traumatic brain injury can affect quality of parent-child relationships

A study published in the Journal of Neuropsychology, reveals the adverse effects of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on the quality parent-child relationships. The young brain is particularly vulnerable to injury and one of the first visible signs of social difficulties in young children is a decline in their relationship with their parents. Parents should watch for emotional and behavioural changes in their children.

12 Apr 2016