Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Protecting the brain health of premature and dangerously ill newborns is the focus of an ambitious new effort at Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital. On April 23, the hospital launched a new Neuro NICU that will provide specialized neurology care for babies at risk for brain injury. The Neuro NICU at Packard Childrens, consisting of six beds inside the Packard Childrens neonatal intensive care unit, will be one of just a small handful of such units around the country. These units represent advances in treatments and technologies that allow physicians not only to keep fragile babies alive, but reduce their risk of suffering neurological problems. Survival rates of critically ill premature and term babies are now quite robust, but we are realizing that some of these surviving babies have developmental problems, said Packard Childrens neonatologist Krisa Van Meurs, MD, medical director of the Neuro NICU. Fortunately, Van Meurs added, new neurologic research has provided a diverse set of tools for improving vulnerable infants developmental outcomes and giving them the best chance at starting strong in life. Several conditions can leave infants susceptible to brain injury or developmental deficits, including premature birth, early-life infections, birth defects such as … Continue reading →

Martin Kemp opens new brain injury treatment unit in Northampton Popstar and former Eastender Martin Kemp has opened a new brain injury service in Northampton. The Spandau Ballet bassist was today at The Cotswolds facility... By: Northampton Chron … Continue reading →

The state's public advocate is calling for all prisoners to be routinely checked for all cognitive impairments, including acquired brain injuries and intellectual disabilities, when they enter jail. Colleen Pearce heads the independent body the Victorian government set up to protect the rights of people with a disability. She said it was critical to identify impairments early on to ensure prisoners received effective support and to prevent them from reoffending when released, because there were higher and more severe rates of cognitive impairments in prisons than in the community. ''Without [routine screening], people with cognitive impairments can get trapped in a revolving door of endless contact with police and prisons with attendant costs to the community and, worse, the loss of their potential as contributing community members,'' she said. Fairfax Media reported last month that up to half of state prisoners have an acquired brain injury, many undiagnosed. Advertisement Neuropsychologist Rachel Hutchens said acquired brain injuries, in particular, should be tested routinely. Dr Hutchens was involved in a five-year study that developed a screening tool for such injuries, which was commissioned by the Department of Justice in 2009. The study - conducted by La Trobe University and brain damage specialist … Continue reading →

British doctors have become the first in the world to administer xenon gas to stricken newborn babies while travelling in an ambulance. Two babies at risk of brain injury after being deprived of oxygen during birth were given the inert gas as they were transferred between hospitals. Using xenon to prevent brain injuries in newborns was first performed in 2010 and has since been used on a limited number of specialist wards in the UK. It is currently undergoing clinical trials in Bristol. The pioneering treatment must be carried out within a tight timeframe in order to be effective - meaning many sick babies have missed out as they could not reach a participating hospital in time. But in a world first, experts from the Universities of Bristol and Swansea have built equipment which allows xenon gas to be administered in a transportable incubator. This means babies can receive xenon and cooling therapy immediately after birth and during ambulance journeys between neonatal units. Every year more than 1,000 otherwise healthy babies born at full term die or suffer brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood supply at birth, which can lead to life-long problems such as cerebral … Continue reading →

Newly released article details "New Hope for Survivors of Stroke and Traumatic Brain Injury". (PRWEB) April 24, 2013 "Rarely do we see such a radical breakthrough in medical treatment as this for stroke." "These results represent a sea change in the therapeutic possibilities for stroke and TBI patients. Our team observed first hand, rapid clinical improvement in stroke patients following this brief office treatment," said Professor Ralph. "Dr. Ralph visited Neurological Wellness Center in Managua, Nicaragua in 2012 where he learned to preform perispinal injections," said Dr. Augusto Ramirez M.D. of Neurological Wellness Center. Neurological Wellness Center physicians began teaching perispinal injection technique for the drug Enbrel in 2010. Since then physicians, nurses and caregivers from every continent have visited the center. "We have amassed a trove of anecdotal reports confirming the efficacy of perispinally injected Enbrel for the treatment of stroke, TBI and Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Ramirez. For injections of Enbrel to be effective they must be administered to the soft fatty tissue in the back of the neck between cervical vertebrae C-5 and C-6. This simple subcutaneous injection, performed with a fine gauge inch needle, is referred to as a perispinal injection. Neurological Wellness Center offers a … Continue reading →

Apr. 24, 2013 The production of a certain kind of brain cell that had been considered an impediment to healing may actually be needed to staunch bleeding and promote repair after a stroke or head trauma, researchers at Duke Medicine report. These cells, known as astrocytes, can be produced from stem cells in the brain after injury. They migrate to the site of damage where they are much more effective in promoting recovery than previously thought. This insight from studies in mice, reported online April 24, 2013, in the journal Nature, may help researchers develop treatments that foster brain repair. "The injury recovery process is complex," said senior author Chay T. Kuo, M.D., PhD, George W. Brumley Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Pediatrics and Neurobiology at Duke University. "There is a lot of interest in how new neurons can stimulate functional recovery, but if you make neurons without stopping the bleeding, the neurons don't even get a chance. The brain somehow knows this, so we believe that's why it produces these unique astrocytes in response to injury." Each year, more than 1.7 million people in the United States suffer a traumatic brain injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control … Continue reading →

Apr. 24, 2013 A multicenter study led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that mild traumatic brain injury after blast exposure produces inflammation, oxidative stress and gene activation patterns akin to disorders of memory processing such as Alzheimer's disease. Their findings were recently reported in the online version of the Journal of Neurotrauma. Blast-induced traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become an important issue in combat casualty care, said senior investigator Patrick Kochanek, M.D., professor and vice chair of critical care medicine and director of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research at Pitt. In many cases of mild TBI, MRI scans and other conventional imaging technology do not show overt damage to the brain. "Our research reveals that despite the lack of a lot of obvious neuronal death, there is a lot of molecular madness going on in the brain after a blast exposure," Dr. Kochanek said. "Even subtle injuries resulted in significant alterations of brain chemistry." The research team developed a rat model to examine whether mild blast exposure in a device called a shock tube caused any changes in the brain even if there was no indication of direct cell death, such as bleeding. … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A potential treatment for traumatic brain injuries may be tested in retired professional football players, who are the focus of concern over blows to the head. Neuralstem, Inc., of Rockville, Md., said Wednesday it is working with the National Football League Alumni Association to study the feasibility of such a test, which would need government approval. It would involve a drug that's now in an early human trial for treating depression. In animal studies, the drug appeared to stimulate creation of brain cells. Concern has mounted about brain injuries and disease in former NFL players, driven in part by some high-profile suicides. Thousands of former players are suing the league and its teams, saying that for years the NFL did not do enough to protect players from concussions. Copyright (c) Read the original here: Company hope to test brain injury treatment … Continue reading →

NEW YORK The National Football League Alumni Association is working with Neuralstem, Inc., of Rockville, Md., to possibly test a potential treatment for traumatic brain injuries. 17 Photos If the plan goes through, the treatment would be tried on retired professional football players, who are the focus of concern over blows to the head. Neuralstem, Inc said Wednesday it is working with the National Football League Alumni Association to study the feasibility of such a test, which would need government approval. It would involve a drug that's now in an early human trial for treating depression. In animal studies, the drug appeared to stimulate creation of brain cells. Concern has mounted about brain injuries and disease in former NFL players, driven in part by some high-profile suicides. Thousands of former players are suing the league and its teams, saying that for years the NFL did not do enough to protect players from concussions. A lawyer representing the about 4,200 players told the Associated Press that the league held evidence about the damage concussions could do even after they created a Mild Trauma Brain Injury committee in 1994. Play Video Play Video "It set up a sham committee designed to get … Continue reading →

Newswise SAN DIEGO, CA A new study on mild traumatic brain injury refutes previous notions that age and amnesia are the indicators of prolonged recovery time from sports-related concussion. William P. Meehan, III, MD, Director of the Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Director of the Sports Concussion Clinic, and Director of Research for the Brain Injury Center at Boston Childrens Hospital, presented his research on Saturday, April 20, 2013 at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine 22nd Annual Meeting in San Diego, Cal. Funded by The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Meehans one-year study examined athletes from two concussion clinics who had suffered sports-related concussions. Possible predictors of prolonged recovery, including age, score on symptom inventories, number of prior concussions, composite scores on computerized neurocognitive tests, prior treatment for headaches, history of migraines, family history of concussions, loss of consciousness, and amnesia, were compared between two groups: those whose symptoms resolved within 28 days and those whose symptoms persisted beyond 28 days (defined as prolonged concussion symptoms). The higher the athletes scored on the 22-item Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), the higher their odds of suffering a prolonged recovery. Dr. … Continue reading →