Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

20 hours ago by Bob Yirka A healed depressed fracture on a skull from the early modern Sortebrdre cemetery in Odense, Denmark. Credit: George R. Milner; collection, ADBOU University of Southern Denmark (Phys.org)A trio of researchers with members from Denmark, the U.S. and Germany has found that a group of men living in medieval Denmark who had healed head traumas had a 6.2 percent higher chance of dying at any given time than did other men in the general populace. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jesper Boldsen, George Milner and Svenja Weise describe their study of skulls found in medieval cemeteries and how it relates to the modern study of traumatic head injuries. Traumatic head injuries have been in the news a lot of late, primarily because of later life lingering impacts being reported by athletesbut it is also common with soldiers and victims of car accidents. Scientists would like to better understand what happens to people who survive such events later on in life because it might lead to more effective treatments early on. To learn more, the research trio examined the skulls of men whose remains had been dug out of … Continue reading →

Teenager Ryan Thompson is battling a brain disease so rare that he is the only child in the world to have it. Medics were left baffled by the condition - known as CNS scleroderma - which causes seizures and affects Ryans speech. The syndrome is often diagnosed in peoples legs and arms but only a handful of adults in the entire world suffer from it in the brain and it is believed the 14-year-old could be the only child to have it. Now, as the North Easts leading paediatric neurologists research the disease, Ryan, of Newburn, Newcastle, is beginning to write his own medical history. Leading paediatric neurologist Rob Forsyth - who has spent years researching Ryans condition - believes they have now getting on top of it thanks to vital research. At the age of six Ryan fell in the school playground and he was taken to the former Newcastle General Hospital for treatment. Ryan Thompson, 14, from Newburn with his mum Deanne Medics originally thought that he could have a brain tumour but a diagnosis was finally made more than seven years later. His mum Deanne, 37, who works in recruitment, said: My world fell apart at that … Continue reading →

Cooling of newborn infants with moderate to severe hypoxic brain damage reduces the risk of death and of long-term neurological disability. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Maternity services are again under the spotlight with the start of a formal inquiry into the management of women in labour at Ballinasloes Portiuncula Hospital. It follows the discovery of a spike in the number of newborns referred to Dublin maternity units for specialist treatment. The treatment involved head cooling, an established intervention designed to reduce the extent of brain injury in a baby found to have suffered hypoxia (a lack of oxygen) during delivery. It is available in the three Dublin maternity hospitals and in a unit in Cork. Ideally the treatment starts within six hours of birth and continues for 72 hours. Head cooling is designed to prevent the further death of brain cells after the initial hypoxic insult.The second stage of damage is called reperfusion injury which occurs after restoration of normal blood flow and oxygen to the brain, and is due to toxins released from the damaged cells. By cooling down the brain, doctors are essentially trying to get the brain cells to rest. After 72 hours of cooling the brain … Continue reading →

Brain injuries can cause permanent physical and mental damage. Determining the value of a person's injuries can often be complicated. Generally, damage awards in a personal injury case include two types of damages: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Punitive damages are typically reserved for cases in which a defendant's actions justify a monetary punishment as opposed to simply compensating a victim, and are generally awarded at the discretion of a judge or jury. In most injury cases, the value of your case will largely depend on the amount of compensatory damages you are awarded. How are these damages calculated in a brain injury lawsuit? Calculating Damages There are a number of different factors that may contribute to the amount of damages a court determines were caused by an accident or injury. In a case involving brain injuries, it may be important to consider not just damages that have already occurred, but also those that are likely to occur in the future as a result of a brain injury. For example, lost wages from work missed following an injury are one common type of damage recoverable in a personal injury lawsuit. But in a brain injury lawsuit, it will also be … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, Jan. 22, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Hearing their loved ones tell familiar stories can help brain injury patients in a coma regain consciousness faster and have a better recovery, a new study suggests. The study included 15 male and female brain injury patients, average age 35, who were in a vegetative or minimally conscious state. Their brain injuries were caused by car or motorcycle crashes, bomb blasts or assaults. Beginning an average of 70 days after they suffered their brain injury, the patients were played recordings of their family members telling familiar stories that were stored in the patients' long-term memories. The recordings were played over headphones four times a day for six weeks, according to the study published Jan. 22 in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. "We believe hearing those stories in parents' and siblings' voices exercises the circuits in the brain responsible for long-term memories," study author Theresa Pape, a neuroscientist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University's School of Medicine in Chicago, said in a university news release. "That stimulation helped trigger the first glimmer of awareness," she added. This increased awareness can help coma patients wake more easily, be more aware of their … Continue reading →

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online Hearing the soothing sound of a loved ones voice and listening to familiar stories can help awaken the unconscious brain and speed the recovery of coma patients, according to research published Thursday in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair. In the study, researchers from Northwestern University and the Hines VA Hospital found that coma patients who heard familiar stories stored in their long-term memory from family members four times a day for six weeks regained consciousness significantly faster and tended to have an improved recovery compared to those who did not hear such stories. We believe hearing those stories in parents and siblings voices exercises the circuits in the brain responsible for long-term memories. That stimulation helped trigger the first glimmer of awareness, said lead author Theresa Pape, a neuroscientist from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Hines VA Hospital. Its like coming out of anesthesia. Its the first step in recovering full consciousness, she added. After the study treatment, I could tap them on the shoulder, and they would look at me. Before the treatment they wouldnt do that. A coma is an unconscious state, typically caused by a … Continue reading →

Six babies were sent from Portiuncula last year to Dublin for brain cooling, which reduces the risk of brain injury by 50 per cent; four of these were referred in a space of two months. Maternity services at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe are being investigated following a spike in the number of babies born flat or with seizures last year. The internal investigation was triggered after it emerged the number of babies referred for a treatment to reduce the risk of brain injury was three times the level in comparable hospitals. Six babies were sent from Portiuncula last year to Dublin for brain cooling, which reduces the risk of brain injury by 50 per cent; four of these were referred in a space of two months. This compares to just two referrals from University Hospital Galway, which delivers almost 50 per cent more babies. All the babies are understood to be well, but it wont be apparent for two years whether any have suffered brain damage. Sources said some of the parents involved have been involved of the audit undertaken internally. The spike caused concern among staff, who contacted UHG and asked for an audit of procedures to establish the … Continue reading →

VIDEO:A new study shows shows the voices of loved ones telling the patient familiar stories stored in his long-term memory can help awaken the unconscious brain and speed recovery from... view more CHICAGO --- "Can he hear me?" family members are desperate to know when a loved one with a traumatic brain injury is in a coma. A new Northwestern Medicine and Hines VA Hospital study shows the voices of loved ones telling the patient familiar stories stored in his long-term memory can help awaken the unconscious brain and speed recovery from the coma. Coma patients who heard familiar stories repeated by family members four times a day for six weeks, via recordings played over headphones, recovered consciousness significantly faster and had an improved recovery compared to patients who did not hear the stories, reports the study. The paper was published in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair January 22. "We believe hearing those stories in parents' and siblings' voices exercises the circuits in the brain responsible for long-term memories," said lead author Theresa Pape. "That stimulation helped trigger the first glimmer of awareness." As a result, the coma patients can wake more easily, become more aware of their environment … Continue reading →

Researchers at the University of Virginia have learned that what happens to the body after sustaining a major spinal injury could actually help doctors treat some serious medical conditions. Researchers have singled out an immune system response that happens after someone sustains an injury to their central nervous system previously thought to be harmful. Doctors say the reaction could not only help them treat brain and spinal injuries but also treat conditions like ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, and Alzheimer's. "Because these diseases are chronic and the patients have them live really their whole life with the disability they get, if we can restore this function - really from the very beginning of the injury - then we can have a large impact on their quality of life, said one of the researchers, UVA medical student Jamie Walsh. This discovery is the result of collaboration between researchers in the U.S. and Germany and at UVA's Center for Brain Immunology. Major Discovery on Spinal Injury Reveals Unknown Immune Response: Finding Points to New Treatments for Trauma, Neurodegenerative Diseases CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Jan. 21, 2015 In a discovery that could dramatically affect the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries, researchers have identified a previously … Continue reading →

123RF BRAIN TRAINER: Neurofeedback helps individuals regulate their brain waves. In September 2013, Chris Gardner went from kicking and spinning as a black belt in taekwondo to being locked in a world where he could not follow conversations or even walk his dog. The 58-year-old Americanhad just had brain surgery to remove a large tumour, and the operation affected his mobility and cognition. After nine months of physical and occupational therapy, he'd made little progress. So he tried neurofeedback, hoping this controversial treatment would improve his balance and mental processes. Neurofeedback a type of biofeedback uses movies, video games, computers and other tools to help individuals regulate their brain waves. A patient might watch a movie, for example, while hooked to sensors that send data to a computer. A therapist, following the brain activity on a monitor, programmes the computer to stop the movie if an abnormal number of fast or slow brain waves is detected or if the brain waves are erratic, moving rapidly from fast to slow waves. The stop-and-start feedback, repeated over and over in numerous sessions, seems to yield more normal brain waves. Researchers who endorse the technique say they don't know exactly how it works … Continue reading →