Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is becoming more prevalent every year, “with an incidence of about 100 to 300 per 100 000” (Konrad et al 2010). Mild traumatic brain injury or concussion can be the result of any minor trauma to the head from accident, sports related injury, blast injury, or fall. “Possible acute symptoms of mTBI comprise short-time unconsciousness, headache, dizziness, irritability, anxiety and impaired neuropsychological functions such as reduced attention, concentration or memory problems” (Evans, 1992; Hall et al. 2005 as cited by Konrad et al 2010). Some people who sustain a mTBI return to base level of function within hours and some take up to two months, there are even those that years later have not fully return to base level functioning resulting in the impairment of daily functioning.
There are several methods to assess behavior post-mTBI, most of these tests are traditional pen and paper test but there are also computer-based tests. One of the difficulties with current mTBI assessment is the time it takes to complete them. Most mTBI assessments use several tests and take an estimated seven hours to complete. The three studies that follow each explore different behavioral assessments for mTBI.
Konrad et al (2010) hypothesized that mTBI resulted in sustained functional and emotional effects and cognitive impairments even six years after the trauma took place.
In their study Konrad and colleagues recruited 33 mTBI subjects and matched up 33 control subjects. The following criteria determined the mTBI subjects: fluency in the German language, documented proof of diagnosis, aged between 18 and 65 at the time of assessment, a score 13-15 on the Glasgow Coma Scale taken 30 minutes after the su...
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... trauma, or could there be a genetic link? Therefore it is paramount to the welfare of people with mTBI that we find an accurate means of predicting whether these individuals will eventually return to their baseline level of function.
Works Cited
Konrad, C., Geburek, A. J., Rist, F., Blumenroth, H., Fischer, B., Husstedt, I., …Lohmann, H. (2011). Long-term cognitive and emotional consequences of mild traumatic brain injury. Psychological Medicine, 41, 1197-1211.
Raskin, S. A., Mateer, C. A., & Tweeten, R. (1998). Neuropsychological assessment of individuals with mild traumatic brain injury. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 12(1), 21-30.
Schatz, P., Pardini, J. E., Lovell, M. R., Collins, M. W., & Podell, K. (2006). Sensitivity and specificity of the ImPACT Test Battery for concussion in athletes. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 91-99.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) account to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. with an estimated 1.7 million individuals sustaining TBI each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Classifications of brain injury (e.g., mild, moderate and severe) is mostly done using the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) which has gained broad acceptance for the assessment of the severity of brain damage (Bauer & Fritz, 2004). Recent studies suggest that almost all patients with moderate or severe TBI have a period of recovery during which they are responsive but confused. This state is commonly referred to as the post-traumatic amnesia. Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) is defined as “a failure of continuous memory” (Artiola et al., 1980; p.377). PTA is often cited as the best method for codifying the degree, level of recovery and outcome after a closed head injury (e.g., Artieola et al., 1980; Tate, Pfaff, & Jurjevic, 2000). PTA duration is a better indicator of outcome than early injury scales such as the GCS score (Richardson et al., 2009).This analysis will examine the limitations of the general PTA assessment scale, and investigate the benefits and limitations of both retrospective and prospective methods used to measure the duration of PTA.
Researchers and doctors had little information on the proper management and care of someone who sustained a concussion. There were 2,350 participants in this study, with each player being enrolled in any one of the Ivy League schools, University of Virginia, or University of Pittsburgh. Players who experienced a mild head injury during practice or a game were removed from the field to be examined and assessed for “cognitive and psychosocial dysfunction through the use of neuropsychological techniques and self-reported questionnaires up to four times after injury” (Barth, et al., 1989). In order for a player to be diagnosed with a mild head injury, he must have had either a head contact injury or a complete loss of consciousness that lasted under two minutes and displayed some sort of memory and/or attention deficient. The results of Barth’s study showed that there were 195 documented mild head injuries.
Concussions are very common. In the United States alone 1.4 million people suffer from concussions annually (Schafer). Researchers studied fifty brains of people who have suffered from concussions t...
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, previously referred to as dementia pugilistica, can be understood as a tauopathic, neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease. While there is no neurobiological or neuropathological explanation as to why CTE occurs, the majority of researchers believe the disease is strongly related to previous head injuries. An individual suffering from CTE will most likely experience changes in their mood, behavior and cognition. Because this is a relatively new area of research, there are still a vast amount of unknowns pertaining to the disease’s symptoms, pathology, and natural course.
Thesis: Concussions affect children and adults of all ages causing physical, emotional and metal trauma to a person and their brain.
Yates, Keith, et al. “Longitudinal Trajectories of Postconcussive Symptoms in Children With Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Their Relationship to Acute Clinical Status.” Pediatrics. 123.3 (2009) : 735-743. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Recreational athletes, competitive athletes, high school athletes, college athletes, and professional athletes all have one thing in common: the risk of a concussion. It's impossible to go a season without one athlete from a team receiving a concussion. The more that these concussions are studied, the more we learn about them, such as their detrimental effects on athletes. Because of the risk of health issues and death that come with concussions, doctors, coaches, athletic trainers, and lawmakers are stepping in to protect athletes of all levels from receiving concussions. Concussions occur time after time throughout different sporting events and many are familiar with the word concussion, but what really is a concussion?
"Incidence of Concussion in High School Football Players of Ohio and Pennsylvania." Journal of Child Neurology. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. .
Children who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury might suffer from learning disabilities as a result of their injury.
Through sports or through everyday life, concussions tend to happen. An estimated 300 000 sport-related traumatic brain injuries, predominantly concussions, occur annually in the United States. Sports are second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people aged 15 to 24 years. (U.S National Library of Medicine). Coaches and parents often do not go through the right procedures or protocols when dealing with a teenager who has received a blow to the head. The usual questions that are asked when there is a head injury are, “what day is it, what’s the score, and how many fingers am I holding up?” Now these are not poor questions, but these questions alone cannot determine if a person has suffered a concussion. The correct method, which they are now implementing in most professional sports leagues, is for anyone with a head injury to take a legitimate concussion test performed by the team doctor. (WebbMD) At present the symptoms can be hit or miss. After receiving a concussion, research shows that an “estimated 80 to 90% of concussions heal spontaneously in the first 7 to 10 days”. (Barton Straus) But, it is important to remember not to return until all symptoms are
The first being mild TBI symptoms which is the loss of consciousness and/or confusion and disorientation and shorter than 30 minutes. individuals with this type may have cognitive problems such as headache, difficulty thinking, memory problems, attention deficits, mood swings, and frustration. many of these injuries may be overlooked. Other names for mild TBI is concussion. This is often missed at time of initial injury and 15 percent of people with mild TBI have symptoms that last longer than one year. Some common symptoms of mild TBI are fatigue, headaches, visual disturbances, memory loss, poor attention/concentration, sleep disturbances, dizziness/loss of balance, irritability – emotional disturbances, feeling of depression, and seizures. Symptoms may not be present or noticed at the time of injury. They may be delayed days or weeks before they appear. Symptoms are often subtle and often times are missed by the injured person in their doctor. With mild TBI the person may look normal and often moves normal in spite of not feeling or thinking normal. This makes the diagnosis easily missed. The biggest changes that is first noticed is behavioral changes. Students with mild TBI usually do not face significant changes in their academic or language abilities. The next is moderate TBI symptoms. Moderate TBI is defined as a brain injury resulting in a loss of consciousness 20 minutes to 5 hours. and students with
Next, there's Iam a lot of informative and educational information you will be able to learn by the end of my presentation. You will be able to define traumatic brain injury signs and symptoms, diagnosis and treatments and prevent ions. You can expect to learn that the signs and symptoms of traumatic brain injury varies depending on the severity . the sights and symptoms could be mild, moderate, or severe. If you h...
Concussions and the effect they have on people ranging from the young to the old has become a very popular discussion in recent years. Generally people watch sports for entertainment and then there are those who engage in high impact sports from a very young age on. The people at home know how fun playing in a sport is, however they may not know the brutal consequences for some participating in that sport. Injuries to the brain are a main concern among those in the world of high impact sports. Football, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse, and rugby are among sports that athletes receive injuries in. The injuries vary from sprains, to fractures, to torn MCL or ACL, and bruised organs. Concussions are a severe type of injury endured by athletes in the sports world and this life changing injury is one that people are becoming more aware of.
Following behind motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury in sports is the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for people fifth-teen to twenty-four years of age. Immense concerns follows given that American football accounts for the highest incidence of concussions (Rowson and Duma 2130). In addition, th...
The mental status exam investigates global and limbic brain functions, left and right parietal functionality and language. This is achieved through tests such as, level of consciousness, memory, and language assessment (Blumenfeld, 2010). Yanagawa and Miyawaki (2012) highlight the importance of obtaining reports from witnesses to assist with a mental status examination. They state that pre-hospital patients can deteriorate quickly into unconsciousness, limiting the ability for para...