Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Balance Bike Ridden by Child Wearing Helmet Everyone, parent or not, knows that kids fall. My son ran headlong into doors, fell off tables, and even hit the floor when I fell down the stairs carrying him. (Thats a long storyIll try to get to it later) But did you know how many Brain Injuries (BIs) are caused by falls? In the Nov. 13 New England Journal of Medicine, the results of a study of more than 43,000 children led by Dr. Nathan Kuppermann, a professor in the departments of emergency medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine were published. The leading cause of BIs for children, individuals under the age of 18, was falls. Dr. Nathan Kuppermann For parents, the numbers can be frightening: under 2 years of age, 77% of BI are the result of falls. Seventy-seven! I dont know if thats a reassuring factMaybe there arent that many BIs in infants and newborns. For children between 2 and 12, the number is cut by half, and is only 38 percent. For children between age 13-17, the leading causes of BI were assaults, sports, and car crashes. Over recent years, we have seen … Continue reading →

Thecervical spine is the thinnest and most flexible part of the human spine. It is tasked with supporting the weight of the head in the upright position while allowing turning in multiple planes looking left, right, up, down and behind. The cervical spineprotects the brain stem and spinal cord; is directly behindtheesophagus and trachea, and containstwo important blood vessels on either side that bring blood toyour brain. Last but not least, the cervical spinehouses thenerves that control your arms and hands. Given all these vital functions, it is wise to take good care of your cervical spine in a proactive way. The cervical spine is naturally designed to curve, where the apex is at about the level of the Adams apple. This curve behaves much like a spring in a cars suspension; or the slight upwards curve you see in any bridge design. Long ago, architects discovered that the load capacity of bridges could be dramatically increased simply by integrating curves or arcs into the design. Like a neck curve, a bridge curve or arcdistributes weight over a greater area so that gravity cannot concentrate over one small area and cause structural failure. If the neck curve helps distribute the … Continue reading →

Raleigh, NC (PRWEB) April 13, 2015 Learning Services North Carolina, a brain injury rehabilitation and care center, has announced the opening of their new facility on their Raleigh Campus this Spring. Located on Robbins Drive, the center will be utilized for individual and group therapies, recreational activities, and special events. Two new and one existing neuro-residential facility surrounds the structure, offering accessibility for the residents. With various locations across the Country, Learning Services provides brain injury care including post-acute neuro-rehabilitation, neuro-behavioral rehabilitation, supported living, and day treatment rehabilitation. The new Raleigh Campus facility offers a twenty four-bed program and easy access to Wake Med Rehabilitation Hospital, North Carolina State University, and downtown Raleigh. Baker Engineering Consultants, Inc., a civil engineering firm that merged with Timmons Group earlier this year, provided the surveying, site design, and site permitting for the project. This included grading, stormwater plans, a landscape plan, and utility extensions. The firm also assisted with rezoning and a Board of Adjustment approval. I am very excited to see the new facility open on the Raleigh Campus. Learning Services offers state-of-the-art care, and now it has been brought to a wonderful location, said Rick Baker, Manager of Private Land Development … Continue reading →

I think I knew what was happening even before my head bounced off the hard kitchen counter on its way to the even harder stone floor. I was rapidly losing my connection with reality. My wife, Tabitha, later estimated that I was out for 10 minutes. When I emerged from unconsciousness I heard the sirens on the street in front of the house. It seemed as if half of Tucson's fire department was streaming through the front door. I was scared. At my age, which is old, you laugh at any childlike faith in your immortality. In this case, what brought on the unconsciousness was apparently a quick turn of my head while reaching for an onion to peel for the night's dinner, followed by the knockout blow from hitting the floor. I was scared. At my age, which is old, you laugh at any childlike faith in your immortality. An enormous hook and ladder and an ambulance were drawn up in front of the house, sirens winding down. The commotion was embarrassing, but it was comforting to know that my wife was in the next room, had called for help, and that 911 had responded to her call as … Continue reading →

A snowboarder crashes face first on an icy slope. A teenage driver is in a violent car accident. A middle age man walks past a construction zone, slips, falls and his head hits the concrete. A Marine in a war zone is hit with shrapnel from a roadside bomb. These individuals sustained traumatic brain injuries and their recovery may take months, years or a lifetime. Theyll all need help. A brain injury to a loved one is like an explosion in a family. Everyone is thrown into confusion or disarray. They must deal with fear, the unknown and anger. There can be marital stress, job-related issues, legal or financial problems and more. After insurance runs out, or progress from rehabilitation becomes difficult to see, or physicians say theyve done all they can do, the traumatized families are left to cope on their own. Spouses, parents and siblings may have to become caregivers while they are grieving. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant public health issue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1.7 million people experience a TBI in the United States each year, which is eight times the number of people diagnosed with breast cancer … Continue reading →

Karen Macbeth watches as her son Cheyne Johnston interacts with one of his professional caregivers. Johnston who now lives with his mother suffered a traumatic brain injury last year in a off road motorcycle accident. CARLSBAD, Calif. A year ago, Cheyne Johnston was a fun-loving, athletic business owner with a dream life. But on April 27, the 35-year-old father of two suffered a traumatic brain injury in a motorcycle accident that dramatically changed his life and those of everyone around him. Tonight with the help of a famous musical friend Johnstons family will launch a foundation aimed at helping others navigate the mostly uncharted waters of TBI caregiving and recovery. Johnstons mom, Karen Macbeth, said she has learned a lot about TBI care in the year since the accident that left her son unable to speak clearly, walk without support or control his emotions. Through the foundation, she hopes to make the learning curve easier for those unfortunate enough to follow in her footsteps. Its been a long, hard road and Im still just finding my way every day, said Macbeth, who turns 58 today. This charity will be there for other families to help address the gaps we discovered … Continue reading →

njmg file photo Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9, outlines a legislative proposal called the SAFE PLAY Act on Sept. 8 at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood. Pascrell and Rep. Thomas J. Rooney, R-Fla., proposed legislation last month directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national system to track traumatic brain injuries, like a concussion. North Jersey health experts believe a proposed bill could help with further understanding traumatic brain injuries like concussions. The legislation, called the National Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Treatment Improvement Act of 2015, was introduced by Reps. Bill Pascrell, D-9, and Thomas J. Rooney, R-Fla., on March 10, the annual day of Brain Injury Awareness. If approved, it would require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to "establish a national system to track the occurrence of traumatic brain injuries and collect data to assist research, prevention and treatment development efforts." Top neurologists from Englewood Hospital and Medical Center and HackensackUMC called the bill "important" in efforts to understanding these injuries, which are classified as minor or major. The proposal came just days before 24-year-old Chris Borland, a rising star for the San Francisco 49ers as a linebacker, announced his retirement … Continue reading →

No more than 10 years ago, I played for a league where I felt the pressures both internally and externally to return to the field and keep playing no matter what. The words "concussion" and "TBI" (traumatic brain injury) were not frequently used among the medical staff. My teammates and I had no idea that seeing stars or blurred vision after a hard hit were signs of brain damage. Read MoreConcussion talk no longer taboo in the NFL: Jack Brewer But all that's changing. Recently, we've seen professional NFL athletes donating their brains toward research. Chris Borland, a 24-year-old player, retired after a stellar rookie season at the San Francisco 49ers. And Jack Miller, a star player at the University of Michigan, dropped out before his senior year both citing concerns about concussions. Beyond concussions in professional sports, millions of people suffer from brain-health issues, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, or traumatic brain injury. I'm sure most of us probably know a family member or loved one who has suffered from one of these. And the cost of health care for these conditions is huge: Caring for patients with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is expected to reach … Continue reading →

Deep brain stimulation involves implanting electrodes inside the skull Technique is already used to help treat diseases such as Parkinson's Scientists think it could help delay dementia by replenishing brain cells By Daily Mail Reporter Published: 18:44 EST, 7 April 2015 | Updated: 18:50 EST, 7 April 2015 Dementia could soon be treated with a 'brain pacemaker' inserted directly into the skull, according to new research. Scientists have shown that using deep brain stimulation (DBS), a technique already used to treat Parkinson's disease, can boost memory by causing new brain cells to be formed. A 'pacemaker' fitted with electrodes is inserted into the brain through holes drilled in the skull. Deep brain stimulation is already used to treat Parkinson's, but now researchers now believe it could be used to improve brain function and ward off diseases such as dementia (file image) Experiments on rats found the therapy improved their powers of recall, and it is hoped the same will apply to humans. The device sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain and has also been shown to provide benefits for a range of conditions including chronic pain, major depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. The device was implanted into … Continue reading →

Melody Zaccheus The Straits Times Publication Date : 07-04-2015 Sending electrical pulses to the front of the brain could enhance the growth of new brain cells. This improves short and long-term memory, and reduces the effects of dementia related conditions such as as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. "Minute" amounts of electricity are all that is needed to stimulate the front of the brain, which is involved in memory retention, to produce neurons. This therapeutic procedure was discovered by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) scientists on March 13. Their finding was published in eLife, a peer-reviewed open-access scientific journal published by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust. A recent study on nearly 5,000 seniors in Singapore found that one in 10 people aged 60 and above has dementia. View original post here: NTU discovers new dementia treatment by sending electrical impulses to the brain … Continue reading →