12.23.08
Posted in Brain Injury News at 1:00 pm by Jenny
Below is a press release which I received from the Brain Injury Association of America in which they applaud the Center for Disease Control's National Center for Injury Prevention on their efforts in funding traumatic brain injury research. I as well applaud the CDC's efforts and offer my continued support for an increasingly necessary area of medical research.
(WASHINGTON D.C.) - The number of civilians in the United States living with a long-term disability from traumatic brain injury (TBI) is now estimated to be 3.17 million, according to a new article published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 394-400). The new prevalence estimate reflects the use of updated methodology and is not indicative of a reduction in the annual incidence of TBI, which remains at 1.4 million civilians in the U.S. The estimate is based on the results of statistical modeling and analysis of TBI hospitalization data from three states (Maryland, Vermont and New Jersey) in 2005 and does not include persons with TBI who were treated and released from the emergency department or other healthcare setting and those who did not seek treatment.
The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) applauds the CDC for funding this important research and urges swift and widespread use of the new prevalence estimate in the field of brain injury. The Brain Injury Association of America reminds advocates, clinicians, researchers, policymakers and the public that the 3.17 million people living in the U.S. with a long-term disability are unique individuals whose lives are forever changed by their injuries and who need and deserve ongoing specialized rehabilitation, lifelong neurological disease management and individualized services and supports in order to maximize their health, independence and happiness.
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12.19.08
Posted in Brain Injury News at 1:15 pm by Jenny
The International Brain Injury Association has announced that the 8th World Congress on Brain Injury will be held from March 10 - 14, 2010 in Washington, D.C., USA. The conference is for all professionals involved with serving persons with acquired brain injury. For more details, the reader is invited to the IBI web page which can be found online here.
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12.17.08
Posted in Brain Injury News, Brain Injury Resources & Links at 1:44 pm by Jenny
I recently found a website which I think will be very helpful to the readers of my blog. The site is an online presentation established by the Department of Psychology at Macquarie University in Australia which is designed to assist people who have suffered from a mild Traumatic Brain Injury through the administration of the Abbreviated-Westmead Post-Traumatic Amnesia Scale. The scale was developed in order to assist in the early identification of cognitive impairment following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
The site states that early identification of patients with cognitive problems after a traumatic brain injury is imperative in the management of the injury. The most common symptom associated with mild traumatic brain injury is memory loss or amnesia.
You can read more on Macquaire University's presentation here.
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12.08.08
Posted in Brain Injury News at 1:53 pm by Jenny
A new study published in the Journal of NeuroTrauma (November 2008) supports the use of Diffusion Tenser Imaging (DTI) in mild traumatic brain injury patients to assist in diagnosing this injury. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center conducted the current study, the purpose of which was to identify otherwise occult white matter abnormalities in patients suffering persistent cognitive impairment due to mild traumatic brain injury.
The researchers retrospectively analyzed DTI MRIs of seventeen patients who had cognitive impairments due to mild TBI that had occurred eight months to three years prior to imaging. These studies were then compared to ten healthy controls.
This study is important not only because it supports the use of DTI with mild traumatic brain injury patients, but also is one of the first of its kind to demonstrate abnormalities in MTBI patients during the chronic phase of this disorder.
Also of interest was the distribution of abnormalities found in the subject group which was concordant with pathological and imaging studies of diffuse axonal injury which typically follows severe trauma with impairment at the time of injury and poor prognosis.
The authors conclude:
We have shown that DTI can identify abnormalities in patients cognitively impaired following MTBI. While the findings hold promise for identifying MTBI patients who have cognitive impairment, they do not necessarily imply that DTI can be used to identify such patients before the onset of neurobehavioral symptoms. That question is most important as its answer could facilitate early identification of the fifteen percent or more of patients who are at risk for cognitive decline following MTBI. Such early identification could certainly be used to define prognoses, but more importantly might serve as a proxy endpoint in the study of novel treatments with potential for preempting light cognitive disability altogether.
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12.01.08
Posted in Brain Injury News at 1:36 pm by Jenny
Readers of this blog are familiar with my entries regarding bogus scientific literature published in the name of science but paid for by the pharmaceutical, insurance and other large industries of corporate America.
Again, those familiar with this blog, will certainly recognize Dr. Lees-Haley’s name. It was recently revealed in Federal Court documents that Dr. Lees-Haley had been paid in excess of $800,000 by the welding industry. Not coincidentally I’m sure, Dr. Lees-Haley had published numerous articles defending the welding industry from claims that exposure to their product caused cognitive injuries.
In this “Propaganda Techniques” article, Dr. Lees-Haley wrote, “Psychologists have studied several perceptual factors that helped explain how reasonable people conclude that they have suffered toxic exposures and injuries when they have not.” Dr. Lees-Haley goes on to write, “People tend to assume that sensational terms represent reality. Multiple chemical sensitivity and Gulf War syndrome are prime examples. The existence of a name does not necessarily mean that there is a corresponding real event. However, spurious allegations may appear plausible if associated with common symptoms of human existence, especially if depicted by an expert.”
The recent Federal Report confirming that Gulf War illness is real and not “propaganda” related to environmental scares once again debunks the junk science published by Dr. Lees-Haley.
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