Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

Facebook TRAGIC: Jordan Kemp was taken to Auckland hospital after his collapse but never recovered. Northland rugby player Jordan Kemp may have received perfect concussion treatment earlier this year and died from an unrelated brain bleed, a former All Blacks doctor says. The talented hooker collapsed during a game between his Otamatea Hawks side and Old Boys Marist in Whangarei on Saturday. It is believed he suffered a brain bleed after a clash of heads. He died in hospital on Sunday. Kemp had been blue-carded under world-leading concussion rules earlier this season. That meant he had to see a doctor immediately after the game and get medical approval before he played again. He did not play for five weeks after the concussion and Northland Rugby Union chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said he had played for the last six weeks "symptom-free". Graham Paterson, who has worked for more than 25 years in rugby medicine and was the All Blacks' doctor from 2004-05, said there were three possibilities for Jordan's death, but the cause would not be known until after an autopsy. "People can die from a one-off head injury and it might be that the post-mortem shows he's got a brand … Continue reading →

Northland rugby player Jordan Kemp may have received proper concussion treatment earlier this year and died from an unrelated brain bleed, a former All Blacks doctor says. The talented hooker collapsed during a game between his Otamatea Hawks side and Old Boys Marist in Whangarei on Saturday. It is believed he suffered a brain bleed after a clash of heads. He died in hospital the next day. Kemp had been blue-carded under world-standard concussion rules earlier this season, meaning he had to see a doctor immediately after the game and get approval before he took the field again. He did not play for five weeks after the concussion and Northland Rugby Union chief executive Jeremy Parkinson said Kemp had played for the last six weeks symptom-free. Graham Paterson, who has worked for more than 25 years in sports medicine, and was All Blacks doctor from 2004-05, said there were three possibilities regarding Kemps death, but the cause would not be known until after an autopsy was carried out. Hed had a concussion that was treated perfectly and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and this had nothing to do with the previous concussion. The next … Continue reading →

By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, July 1, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- People who suffer a severe head injury often develop anemia, but aggressively treating the blood condition may do more harm than good, a new clinical trial suggests. Experts said the findings, reported July 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, were disappointing: Treating anemia with blood transfusions -- and in some cases, the medication erythropoietin -- did nothing to improve brain-injured patients' long-term recovery. And when transfusions were used more aggressively, the risk of blood clots increased. Lead researcher Dr. Claudia Robertson said the results "will probably change clinical practice." Anemia is a condition in which the body has too few oxygen-carrying red blood cells. It's common for people with serious traumatic injuries to develop anemia, because of internal and external bleeding and other damage to the body. In trauma victims without a brain injury, doctors normally give a transfusion of red blood cells after the patient's hemoglobin levels fall below 7 grams per deciliter (g/dL), explained Robertson, a neurosurgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. But, she said, there has been "controversy" over what's best for brain-injured patients. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in … Continue reading →

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center has released new clinical recommendations and support tools to assist in the identification and treatment of a sleep disturbance occurring in patients after a concussion (mild traumatic brain injury or mTBI). The suite of products assists health care providers in the identification of a sleep problem and provides recommendations for its treatment. "Sleep disorders are common after a person sustains a concussion," said Col. Sidney Hinds, II, M.D., DVBIC's national director. "The prompt identification and treatment of sleep disorders are an important part of the recovery process for concussion. Sleep is critical to the brain's healing and recovery processes. Research shows that if sleep is regular and adequate, restorative processes are promoted." Since 2000, more than 300,000 U.S. servicemembers have sustained a traumatic brain injury. Common sleep disorders associated with TBI include insomnia, circadian rhythm sleep wake disorder and obstructive sleep apnea. Insomnia is the most common sleep disturbance after concussion. Restorative sleep is critical in any brain injury recovery, said Dr. Heechin Chae, the director of TBI National Intrepid Center of Excellence program at Fort Belvoir. Many servicemembers who have been deployed to combat zone already have interrupted sleep which increases the … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 1-Jul-2014 Contact: Graciela Gutierrez ggutierr@bcm.edu 713-798-4710 The JAMA Network Journals In patients with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), neither the administration of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) or maintaining a higher hemoglobin concentration through blood transfusion resulted in improved neurological outcome at 6 months, according to a study in the July 2 issue of JAMA. Transfusing at higher hemoglobin concentrations was associated with a higher risk of adverse events. Patients with severe traumatic brain injury commonly develop anemia. For patients with neurological injury, anemia is a potential cause of secondary injury, which may worsen neurological outcomes. Treatment of anemia may include transfusions of packed red blood cells or administration of erythropoietin. There is limited information about the effect of erythropoietin or a high hemoglobin transfusion threshold (if the hemoglobin concentration drops below a certain level, a transfusion is performed) after a TBI, according to background information in the article. Claudia S. Robertson, M.D., of the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial that included 200 patients (erythropoietin, n = 102; placebo, n = 98) with a closed head injury at neurosurgical intensive care units in two U.S. level I trauma centers between May … Continue reading →

Santa Rosa, CA (PRWEB) June 30, 2014 The Center for Disease Control has estimated that as many as 5.3 million Americans are living with brain injuries at any given time, and a significant head injury occurs about every 21 seconds. In 2010, about 2.5 million emergency department visits, hospitalizations or deaths were associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The primary contributing factor for traumatic brain injuries among adults aged 65 and older are directly related to falls. However, few TBI victims receive direction to consult with an audiologist for a hearing evaluation following such an accident. How TBI Affects Hearing Loss Since the inner ear is directly connected to the central nervous system, hearing problems often follow a traumatic brain injury or TBI. In fact, tinnitus (ringing in the ear) and hearing loss are the most commonly reported side effects of a traumatic brain injury. Additional hearing problems that may occur following a brain injury include: No matter what the cause, hearing problems can be very frustrating and isolating for the patient so it is always a good idea to schedule an appointment with an audiologist for a complete hearing test. This will help determine the most appropriate treatment to … Continue reading →

- Anti-Inflammatory Substances Derived from EPA and DHA Protect Memory and Cognition STOCKHOLM, June 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) found in seafood and marine oils called EPA and DHA may offer a simple, affordable way to reduce the effects of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries by decreasing inflammation and nerve cell damage. They may also protect against cognitive impairment that can follow surgery or critical illness. These encouraging findings and more are being presented at the 11th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) in Stockholm 29 June-1 July, 2014. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), resulting from combat, falls, traffic accidents and sports, is a leading cause of death in children and adults 1-44 years of age. In 2010 alone, there were more than 10 million TBIs worldwide. TBI is associated with long-term complications such as epilepsy, chronic headaches and neuropsychiatric disorders. Spinal cord injury (SCI) from similar causes also results in severe disabilities, impaired sensorimotor function and chronic pain. The consequences of TBI and SCI include reduced blood flow and DHA levels, inflammation, swelling and cell death. Loss of certain types of cells impairs the ability of … Continue reading →

FORGETTING your mum's birthday or where you've put your car keys. Remembering how to send an e-mail or where to catch the bus home. These are a few of the difficulties people who have suffered brain injury face on a daily basis - simple things that those who haven't often take for granted. Along with memory problems, many people face months or years feeling isolated and lost, as if they have been sucked into a black hole. Many have suffered traumatic accidents, had strokes, or have underlying inherited conditions which can lead to haemorrhage, causing weeks or months of hospital treatment and years of difficulty on the long road back to normality. Services do exist to help those unfortunate enough to go through this, such as Momentum - Glasgow's only vocational rehabilitation programme for people with brain injury. I had never heard of the service until two months ago, when I met a confident young man. He told me how he had developed encephalitis and after getting out of hospital he struggled with anxiety and depression until he started going to Momentum. Six months before I met him, he said he would have been unrecognisable if it were not for … Continue reading →

Bob Barco knows firsthand how brain injury can contribute to a cycle of reoffending and imprisonment. Now 49, Barco was released from prison in 2009 after 20 years behind bars for armed robbery - much of it in maximum security. Barco fell into the wrong crowd as a teen, spent time in juvenile justice for breaking and entering, left school early, got into alcohol, drugs and stealing cars and, eventually, was put away for armed robbery. Hed been diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy as a child. Then I had my head cut open when a horse chased me through a fence. Then I went through the windscreen of a car - had about 130 stitches in my head. I had a few fights in jail too, got whacked over the head with a paddle bat. Advertisement Add in his use of heroin, amphetamines and benzodiazepines in his 20s and for a long time Barco, who has an IQ of 180 - putting him in the realm of genius - embodied what Corrections Victoria says are the clear linkages between acquired brain injury and crime. Nearly half of all male prisoners in Victoria have an acquired brain injury but fewer than … Continue reading →

by Lucy Bustmante, 13News Now WVEC.com Posted on June 27, 2014 at 5:29 PM Updated today at 5:29 PM NORFOLK -- A local charity is helping two wounded war veterans get breakthrough treatment for their traumatic brain injuries. Airman Mitch Kieffer and retired Navy SEAL Dave Hall spent their fourth session inside of the Hampton Roads Hyperbaric oxygen chamber in Norfolk Friday to get pain relief from their war wounds. "It's never gone away," Kieffer said. "No matter what treatment or pharmaceutical they've ever given me." At just 29 years old, Kieffer suffers from a broken back, pituitary gland damage, migraines, and major gastrointestinal issues. He says he should have been killed in Iraq in 2007 when his caravan was attacked by insurgents with RPGs, IEDs, and AK47s. Kieffer has tried a litany of pharmaceuticals and homeopathic remedies. While at Eglin Air Force Base and Langley Air Force base, he learned of hypberic oxygen treatments that were proven to help rewire broken neuropathways in the brain and make new ones. He began receiving treatment after America's Mighty Warriors paired with Hampton Roads Hyperbarics to sponsor four military members who needed the help. "It was a breath of fresh of air … Continue reading →