Each year in America, there are millions of traumatic brain
injuries (TBIs) that severely debilitate citizens from a
number of common, everyday activities that often depend on
the severity of their injury.
According to the National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), common TBI disabilities
include difficulties with cognition — affecting
memory and reasoning; communication through expression and
understanding; sensory processing, affecting the five
senses in various combinations and ways; behavior and
mental health problems ranging from personality changes to
increased aggression to social inappropriateness; and TBI
can also cause an individual to become unresponsive and
even fall into a coma.
The seriousness for which TBI can range and the length of
time these disabilities affect a victim is based on the
severity of the injury, and while there are several common
treatments, a large number of individuals suffering from
TBI are never fully rehabilitated. Luckily, with advances
in technology a breadth of emerging alternative treatments
and research methods are being developed to help lessen and
even cure the ill effects of a severe brain injury.
A Tidal Wave of Brain Injury Treatment Research
The U.S. National Institute of Health currently monitors
and recruits over 150 clinical trials for TBI victims
ranging from preventing epilepsy in a victim after TBI to
continued research for Vietnam head injuries to TBI-related
hormone deficiency treatments of adults.
Testing For TBI Injuries Gets a One-Up
One of the most recent TBI research studies was completed
by senior author and neurology professor at UT Southwestern
in Dallas, Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, M.D., Ph.D. Diaz-Arrastia
along with other researchers developed a method for a new
technique of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analyzation.
The study will help individuals who suffer from an
overlooked condition called diffuse axonal injury (DAI).
According to researchers, DAI is a type of brain injury
that affects axons, which are a type of nerve cell. The
injury occurs when something happens to disrupt movement of
the head, such as in an automobile accident. Even modern
day computerized tomography scans or MRIs are not
adequately capable of detecting the damage done by a DAI.
Scientists use a technique in this method deriving from a
mathematical analysis known as diffusion tensor
tractography where water, which has been released by
damaged axons, is monitored to determine healthy axons,
which absorb water, compared to dead axons, which release
water when they die.
Similarly, neurologists discovered a new method of brain
scanning that helps to identify and measure brain activity
in real time to more accurately assess injury while
increasing ability to more adequately diagnose and treat a
TBI patient. The scan is known as magnetoencephalography
(MEG) and allows victims who suffer from TBI-induced
epilepsy to find reprieve through more accurate diagnosis
and monitoring.
According to Anto Bagic, M.D., a neurologist at the Center
for Advanced Brain Magnetic Source Imaging at UPMC in
Pittsburgh, who was recently quoted in news reports, the
imaging scan allows for thousands of magnetic field samples
of brain activity to be recorded every second, which is
unlike any other scan. Additionally, when using a
combination of the MEG scan with magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), it will enable neurosurgeons to have a detailed map
of the brain allowing them to remove damaged tissues and
keep healthy tissue intact.
Cognitive Developmental Methods
One of the most researched and augmented methods of
treatment for TBI deals with cognitive repair and it's
controversy is often discussed among the science and
medical community. Many argue that permanent injuries
cannot be changed, however, as researchers are learning, it
is becoming more noted that the winning side of this
argument sees that once thought as a permanent injury can
actually be reversed. A recent study completed by the
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie des Processus Adaptatifs found
exactly this when TBI victims that suffered from brain
damage are likely to have the ability to restore cerebral
function.
Scientists found that by development of a small amount of
new and specifically targeted innervations proves
successful in restoring cerebral functions. Reinnervation
is when nerve function restoration occurs, often through
nerve grafting. The scientists found that with behavioral
tests, there was a high success rate of new cell axons
"interacting with the network of undamaged neuronal cells
to restore their associated functions, such as synchronized
movement and spatial orientation," according to a Science
Daily news report. Previously, researchers were using a
large amount of non-specific connections when attempting
reinnervation.
Uncovering Controversial Drug Treatments
There are a multitude of medications available on the
market that allegedly treat of a TBI injury, however, as
dangerous medications slip onto shelves and under the radar
of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) it is
important to research and understand any and all
medications prescribed after a TBI accident.
An example of semi-controversial drug treatments comes from
a recent research team at the Hangzhou Normal University.
Researchers there concluded a study that uncovered a common
component found in progesterone, which is a contraceptive
pill, "may actually improve the neurological outcome for
patients with severe head injuries." The team, supervised
by Weiqi Yan, a professor, that the female hormone may be a
safe and effective treatment, although the test could not
expand on the neuroprotective effects. However, the results
did conclude that progesterone was adequate in treating
individuals with a TBI for up to six months.
Likewise, a rather interestingly and debatable study by a
group of physicians reported on the link of alcohol blood
content levels among TBI patients who survived. The
physicians recently discovered that patients who had a low-
to moderate-level of alcohol in their bloodstreams after
arriving at the hospital because of a TBI-related accident
were less likely to die or become worse because of the
alcohol, which physicians believe to act as a
neuroprotective. Neuroprotection occurs after a
brain-related injury and happens when a mechanism in the
nervous system protects cells and neurons within the brain
from degeneration.
However, individuals with a significantly high amount of
blood alcohol in their system were more likely at risk for
death. But the study suggested an interesting method that
may be explored where administering small doses of alcohol
into patients of TBI upon arrival may improve their
outcome. Although the authors of this study were extremely
hesitant in clarifying their results, and research will
likely continue for extremely injured TBI victims.
Protecting and Healing TBI Victims
Because TBI is so prevalent in the United States it is
important to understand that there is are vast plentitude
of causes of brain injury as well as types of brain
injuries, symptoms and treatments. The best way to protect
an individual suffering from TBI is to consult a medical
professional immediately. Once a victim has been diagnosed,
it will be apparent that medical bills can quickly
calculate to large sums of money, which is why speaking
with an experienced traumatic brain injury law firm is also
just as important to protect and heal a brain injury victim.
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Visit the brain injury causes and treatment homepage at
http://brain-injury.legalview.com/ . Or peruse other legal
issues on the LegalView homepage, http://www.LegalView.com
, such as the recent discovery of levaquin side effects,
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