Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

SALT LAKE CITY A Utah lawmaker touted advances in spinal cord injury rehabilitation Friday as he presented a bill to direct new funding from off-highway vehicle users to an injury rehabilitation fund. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, found support from a number of injured and paralyzed members of the community, but drew the opposition of OHV enthusiasts. HB359 would impose an additional 50-cent fee for off-highway vehicle registrations to directly contribute to the Spinal Chord and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Fund. Hutchings cited OHV accidents as a leading cause for such injuries. "When people are disabled to the point where they cannot function, we step up. Society as a whole has determined that we are not going to leave these people," Hutchings told the House Transportation Committee. "Several years ago, we created a fund that would pull money from the back-end and put it to the front-end." Hutchings referred to the previously established Traumatic Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Fund and said activities that are most likely to have those injuries would be expected to fund and help pay for potential injury treatment. "We have only added fees to activities that are directly causing and we can directly show are causing … Continue reading →

When applied to the brain, nuclear medicine techniques reveal critical information about the progression of the most devastating diseases, from Alzheimers to traumatic brain injury. Just last week, Nature published research showing that brain imaging might be able to help diagnose autism in infants as young as 6 months old, an advance that would represent extraordinary progress in more effectively treating the disease. Such advances dont surprise Robert S. Miletich, interim chair and professor of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who is studying brain scans obtained from 16,000 patients. He says the wealth of information nuclear imaging techniques provide could pave the way toward a dramatic improvement in the clinical detection and treatment of many brain disorders. I predict that nuclear neurology is going to become as important to neuroscience as nuclear cardiology has been to cardiology, Miletich says. The field of nuclear neurology, also called neuromolecular imaging, provides physiologic imaging of the brain and spinal cord, he explains. By doing measurements on physiologic processes in all parts of the brain, we increase our diagnostic accuracy of brain disorders. Understanding these processes can also help us unravel the mystery of complex … Continue reading →

February 23, 2017 by Ellen Goldbaum Image of glucose metabolism PET overlaid on CT in an Alzheimer's patient with mild dementia. Green arrow points to regional hypometabolism in the medial parietal lobe, (which processes biographical information and memory),a proposed biomarker for Alzheimers. Credit: UB Center for Positron Emission Tomography When applied to the brain, nuclear medicine techniques reveal critical information about the progression of the most devastating diseases, from Alzheimer's to traumatic brain injury. Just last week, Nature published research showing that brain imaging might be able to help diagnose autism in infants as young as six months old, an advance that would represent extraordinary progress in more effectively treating the disease. Such advances don't surprise Robert S. Miletich, MD, PhD, interim chair and professor of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, who is studying brain scans obtained from 16,000 patients. He says the wealth of information nuclear imaging techniques provide could pave the way toward a dramatic improvement in the clinical detection and treatment of many brain disorders. "I predict that nuclear neurology is going to become as important to neuroscience as nuclear cardiology has been … Continue reading →

For the family of 6-year-old Devin Suau, every day is a race against the clock. Devin was given between eight months and two years to live after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor for which there is no known cure: diffuse intrinsic pontine giloma (DIPG). His family is hoping the hashtag #WhyNotDevin will raise awareness in time to find a cure. Three weeks ago, Devin got a concussion while snowboarding. While getting evaluated for treatment, doctors discovered the tumor on his brain stem. Life changing. Three weeks ago we were a normal family doing normal activities, Devin's father James Suau said. We got some of the results today that he has high grade, which means its a faster growing. Devin has three older brothers, and his parents are doing the best to keep things normal for the whole family while Devin undergoes radiation and doctors work to find clinical trials that might give him more time. Being told that your 6 year old has a maximum of two years of life is beyond anything you can comprehend, his mother Christine Suausaid. Since the family started using #WhyNotDevin, the Mass. State Police, Harvard hockey team, members of the military and … Continue reading →

Prevacus Announces the Addition of Key Individuals to its Sports Advisory Board P&T Community 22, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prevacus, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for concussion (mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)) and other neurological disorders; today announced the addition of Steve Mariucci, ... and more » Follow this link: Prevacus Announces the Addition of Key Individuals to its Sports Advisory Board - P&T Community … Continue reading →

Dr Suthon Pisuttinusart examined the damage to the face of Nong Sai at Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok on Feb 14, 2016, watched by Pavena Hongsakul of the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women. The teenage student who suffered a facial deformity after being hit by a coffee mug thrown by a teacher has fully recovered after five months of treatment, a doctor says. Naruedee Jodsanthia, 17, better known as Nong Sai, was now able to fully close her left eye and smile normally. There was no longer drooping at one corner of her mouth, Supoj Samritthiwanicha, a physician at Yanhee Hospital told the media on Sunday. Nong Sai had received a combination of treatments from experts in the fields of neurology and brain damage along with alternative treatments including acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen and physical therapy. Dr Supoj said Nong Sai and her mother were satisfied with the treatment results since the teen was taken to the hospital by the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women. Treatment began on Sept 16 last year. The upper secondary student at Chokchai Samakkee School in Nakhon Ratchasima was sent to the Bangkok hospital after Paithoon Klaengkrathok, a 58-year-old physical education teacher threw a coffee … Continue reading →

New test may quickly identify mild traumatic brain injury with underlying brain damage Science Daily A new test using peripheral vision reaction time could lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of mild traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a concussion, according to Peter J. Bergold, PhD, professor of physiology and ... More here: New test may quickly identify mild traumatic brain injury with underlying brain damage - Science Daily … Continue reading →

February 17, 2017 A new test using peripheral vision reaction time could lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of mild traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a concussion, according to Peter J. Bergold, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and corresponding author of a study newly published online by the Journal of Neurotrauma. While most patients with mild traumatic brain injury or concussion fully recover, a significant number do not, and earlier diagnosis could lead to better management of patients at risk for developing persistent symptoms, according to Dr. Bergold and his co-authors. Lingering symptoms may include loss of concentration and/or memory, confusion, anxiety, headaches, irritability, noise and light sensitivity, dizziness, and fatigue. "Mild traumatic brain injury is currently diagnosed with subjective clinical assessments," says Dr. Bergold. "The potential utility of the peripheral vision reaction test is clear because it is an objective, inexpensive, and rapid test that identifies mild traumatic brain injury patients who have a more severe underlying injury." Dr. Bergold's co-authors include colleagues from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; The University of Texas at Dallas; Washington University; the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; the Uniformed … Continue reading →

The device is currently being tested on healthy volunteers, but could be used clinically within two years, the team predicts. Photograph: Bob Beverly A transportable brain-scanning helmet that could be used for rapid brain injury assessments of stroke victims and those felled on the sports pitch or battlefield is being tested by US scientists. The wearable device, known as the PET helmet, is a miniaturised version of the hospital positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, a doughnut-shaped machine which occupies the volume of a small room. Julie Brefczynski-Lewis, the neuroscientist leading the project at West Virginia University, said that the new helmet could dramatically speed up diagnosis and make the difference between a positive outcome and devastating brain damage or death for some patients. You could roll it right to their bedside and put it on their head, she said ahead of a presentation at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston. Time is brain for stroke. Despite being only the size of a motorbike helmet, the new device produces remarkably detailed images that could be used to identify regions of trauma to the brain in the ambulance on the way to hospital or at … Continue reading →

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 →