Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Story highlights The living brains of two ex-soldiers show damage similar to that of football players who have committed suicide Brain trauma is a "signature injury" of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, has no cure "Your brain is throwing parties because you're home, you're alive," says Garcie. "So, it doesn't settle in right away." Now he's not sure what bothers him most: the fogginess of his brain, the anger that can erupt from nowhere or the deep, dark depressions he can't shake off. "One minute I'm in a good happy mood, everything is cool; the next minute I'm depressed," Garcie told CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "I don't want to be around anybody, I want to isolate. Some days, I don't want to get out of bed." "We could walk around this town and everybody, 90% of these people, would say, 'Hey, Shane, hey,' " Garcie says about his hometown of Natchitoches, Louisiana. "But it's not Shane. It looks like me, it walks like me, it talks like me, but it's not me because of the damage." Since 1984, Green Beret Tommy Shoemaker has served in many war theaters -- Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, … Continue reading →

Denver, CO (PRWEB) April 07, 2015 CereScan Corp. is proud to continue servicing the state of Texas with a groundbreaking partnership agreement with Envision Imaging in Arlington, Texas. This collaborative effort will expand CereScans sophisticated brain diagnostic products and Envisions state of the art neuroimaging capabilities to adults and children who are suffering from invisible brain issues. This partnership creates a powerful combination of cutting edge technologies focused on identifying specific brain related conditions such as traumatic brain injury, concussions, Alzheimers disease, and attention deficit disorder. The State of Texas and the southwest region of the country now have easy access to the capabilities that these two companies can deliver to medical professionals who are focused on finding solutions for patients with chronic brain disorders. CereScan is the nations leader in providing statistically measured brain diagnostics based on a new generation of imaging software and SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) neuroimaging technologies. Since 2009, patients from all over the country and throughout the world have consulted Denver-based CereScan and its leading physicians concerning chronic neurological and psychiatric issues. By partnering with Envision and their extensive experience in nuclear imaging, this Arlington center will now offer unmatched functional brain imaging … Continue reading →

Story highlights The living brains of two ex-soldiers show damage similar to that of football players who have committed suicide Brain trauma is a "signature injury" of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, has no cure "Your brain is throwing parties because you're home, you're alive," says Garcie. "So, it doesn't settle in right away." Now he's not sure what bothers him most: the fogginess of his brain, the anger that can erupt from nowhere or the deep, dark depressions he can't shake off. "One minute I'm in a good happy mood, everything is cool; the next minute I'm depressed," Garcie told CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. "I don't want to be around anybody, I want to isolate. Some days, I don't want to get out of bed." "We could walk around this town and everybody, 90% of these people, would say, 'Hey, Shane, hey,' " Garcie says about his hometown of Natchitoches, Louisiana. "But it's not Shane. It looks like me, it walks like me, it talks like me, but it's not me because of the damage." Since 1984, Green Beret Tommy Shoemaker has served in many war theaters -- Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, … Continue reading →

Pushing new frontiers in dementia research, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a new way to treat dementia by sending electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain to enhance the growth of new brain cells. Known as deep brain stimulation, it is a therapeutic procedure that is already used in some parts of the world to treat various neurological conditions such as tremors or Dystonia, which is characterised by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms. NTU scientists have discovered that deep brain stimulation could also be used to enhance the growth of brain cells which mitigates the harmful effects of dementia-related conditions and improves short and long-term memory. Their research has shown that new brain cells, or neurons, can be formed by stimulating the front part of the brain which is involved in memory retention using minute amounts of electricity. The increase in brain cells reduces anxiety and depression, and promotes improved learning, and boosts overall memory formation and retention. The research findings open new opportunities for developing novel treatment solutions for patients suffering from memory loss due to dementia-related conditions such as Alzheimer's and even Parkinson's disease. This discovery was published in eLife, a peer-reviewed open-access … Continue reading →

New brain cells can be formed through deep brain stimulation, improving memory retention IMAGE:(from left) NTU scientists Dr Lee Wei Lim and Asst Prof Ajai Vyas discovers a new treatment for dementia by growing brain cells. view more Credit: NTU Singapore Pushing new frontiers in dementia research, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have found a new way to treat dementia by sending electrical impulses to specific areas of the brain to enhance the growth of new brain cells. Known as deep brain stimulation, it is a therapeutic procedure that is already used in some parts of the world to treat various neurological conditions such as tremors or Dystonia, which is characterised by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms. NTU scientists have discovered that deep brain stimulation could also be used to enhance the growth of brain cells which mitigates the harmful effects of dementia-related conditions and improves short and long-term memory. Their research has shown that new brain cells, or neurons, can be formed by stimulating the front part of the brain which is involved in memory retention using minute amounts of electricity. The increase in brain cells reduces anxiety and depression, and promotes improved learning, and boosts overall … Continue reading →

COLUMBUS Jackson Kumpf admits he was timid when he stepped back onto the basketball court. The Scotus Central Catholic junior had been out of the game for about three weeks after suffering a hit to the head in a game against the Grand Island Central Catholic Crusaders. During that Centennial Conference Tournament game Jan. 27, a post player for the Crusaders came down with the ball and struck Kumpf in the back of his head. The hit knocked out the 17-year-old and left a gash in his head that required him to get seven staples after he went to the emergency room. The visible injury wasnt what kept Kumpf off the court until his return Feb. 19. It was the resulting concussion he suffered from the blow that left him on the sideline. Gone are the days when student-athletes could just shake off a head injury and get back in the game. Concussions, which are traumatic brain injuries caused by the brain being shaken in the skull, are taken seriously, from the professional level to children's sports. At the forefront is the health of the player, which is why the Nebraska Concussion Awareness Act was put into effect in 2012 … Continue reading →

Can deep brain stimulation affect how well and what we remember? An x-ray shows EEG-recording electrodes under the skull of an epilepsy patient. For some of the approximately 10 million people worldwide with traumatic brain injury (TBI), forming and holding onto new memories can be one of the hardest things theyll do in a day. Now imagine a device implanted in the brain that can help them encode memories by means of small electric shocks. Initial steps toward such a memory neuroprosthetic are being taken at the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers have started tests on brain surgery patients to try to locate, and influence, the processes that control memory formation. When people suffer brain injuries, several things happen. Neurons might be damaged from the initial impact or from bruising or swelling in the brain afterward. The axons that connect brain regions might be severely jarred during impact, in some cases literally separating from neurons. The brain is a complex network of neurons that all have to communicate with each other, says Matthew Kirschen, a pediatric neurologist at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, who is not involved in the Penn research. All you need is a little disruption in axonal … Continue reading →

Boston, Mass (PRWEB) April 02, 2015 In the wake of the two-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, a new tradition is blossoming in the city of Boston. April 15 will now be recognized as "One Boston Day" to honor the citys resilience, generosity and strength during and after the 2013 attacks, according to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Mayor Walsh envisions One Boston Day as an opportunity for Boston residents to give back. Dr. Diane Roberts Stoler, Ed.D. (Dr. Diane), a Massachusetts neuropsychologist, board certified sports psychologist, trauma therapist, and co-author of "Coping with Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury," is doing just that. "If you were within a quarter mile of the Boston Marathon blasts, and are still suffering from persistent symptoms including headaches; fatigue; impaired concentration and decision-making ability, sleep disturbances; dizziness; gait imbalance; loss of taste and smell; loss of sex drive; reading and communication difficulties; and emotional or behavioral problems, then you likely sustained a concussion, a form of traumatic brain injury, and are dealing with Post Concussion Syndrome, said Dr. Diane, who specializes in concussion and brain injury. You do not have to come into physical contact with an explosion for it to cause significant … Continue reading →

IMAGE:A staffer in Dr. Margaret Naeser's lab demonstrates the equipment built especially for the research: an LED helmet (Photomedex), intranasal diodes (Vielight), and LED cluster heads placed on the ears... view more Credit: Photo courtesy of Naeser lab Following up on promising results from pilot work, researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System are testing the effects of light therapy on brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness. Veterans in the study wear a helmet lined with light-emitting diodes that apply red and near-infrared light to the scalp. They also have diodes placed in their nostrils, to deliver photons to the deeper parts of the brain. The light is painless and generates no heat. A treatment takes about 30 minutes. The therapy, though still considered "investigational" and not covered by most health insurance plans, is already used by some alternative medicine practitioners to treat wounds and pain. The light from the diodes has been shown to boost the output of nitric oxide near where the LEDs are placed, which improves blood flow in that location. "We are applying a technology that's been around for a while," says lead investigator Dr. Margaret Naeser, "but it's always been used on the … Continue reading →

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, results from sudden head trauma that interrupts brain function. This can be caused by direct or indirect force, by rotational and/or deceleration with both direct and indirect force, if the head abruptly and forcefully hits an object, or when an object penetrates the skull and damages brain tissue. Rapid force or rapid deceleration of the head can cause the brain to strike the inside hard surface of the skull, which is a bony vault. The severity of traumatic brain injury is determined by several factors, including the nature, speed, and location of the brains movement and impact. In the U.S., approximately 1.6 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury Interestingly, persons with mild, moderate, or even severe traumatic brain injury often display many of the same symptoms, although some indications are exclusive to one or the other. Someone with mild TBI may experience disorientation with no actual loss of consciousness, or may experience only a brief loss of consciousness remaining unconscious for a few seconds or minutes, while the symptoms of moderate TBI are similar but usually more serious and long lasting. Some common signs of both mild … Continue reading →