Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global health epidemic, widely recognized as diffuse axonal injury and a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder in children. Typically characterized by external forces and pathologic change, TBI encompasses a broad range of etiologies and subsequent symptomatology. The Brain Injury Association of America cites TBI as the leading cause of disability and death in children and adolescents in the United States (BIAA, 2015), with reported estimations from various sources including emergency room visits, hospital admissions, sports related injuries, falls, motor vehicle accidents, and death. Incidence rates are difficult to ascertain and are significantly underestimated due to a broad classification of symptoms …show more content…
Since TBI is broadly classified to include most brain-related injuries, methods to universally standardize TBI have not been implemented, which presents a concern when identifying patients, clinical symptoms, severity of trauma , neurologic impairment, and treatment strategies across large demographics. Due to a broad classification, TBI mortality rates have been attributed to other brain-related disorders, which presents a grave concern when symptoms can occur post-injury, as in clinically silent secondary insults or latent inflammatory responses, or present later in life as a chronic …show more content…
Diagnosis is typically defined as mild, moderate, or severe based on radiologic evidence and pathologic change. The current literature for pediatric TBI correlates advanced imaging techniques and cognitive deficits as reliable determinants to assess progression. Novel identification and treatment strategies at the molecular and cellular levels are limited to clinical drug trials that target synaptogenesis and cellular activation. Amavii, a biomedical device start-up company, has developed a neuro-trauma simulator to study TBI at the cellular level by exposing neurons to shock waves of varying pressure frequencies. The company objective is to study neurons from different areas of the brain that were exposed to traumatic injury and correlate a response to structural or functional abnormalities characterized by pathological change and cognitive disability. This revolutionary research would be a pivotal diagnostic tool and an indicator of injury progression in the developing
The case studies post-mortem examinations that Dr. Omalu and his colleagues conducted exhibited chronic trauma to the brain, causing encephalopathy or brain damage (Omalu, Hamilton et al 42). Appropriately, Dr. Omalu decided that the research encompassed the pathology of Neuro-degenerative disease. Accordingly, he decided to name the research based on the findings of these case studies, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).
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.
In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015).
Did you know, that someone suffers from a brain injury every 21 seconds (Haas)? Children get concussions all the time, and most of the time they go unnoticed. The majority of concussions happen when one is playing a sport such as football, hockey, or lacrosse. Many famous athletes have had their careers, even their lives cut short due to concussions. Brain damage and death can result from serial concussions (Schafer). When one suffers from a concussion, one’s brain needs time to recover physically and mentally. Between 2002 and 2006, statistics showed that 52,000 people died from concussions and about 275,000 were hospitalized (Fundukian). Everyone’s recovery process is different (“Injury and Pain Care”). Although concussions seem minor, they are very serious brain injuries that may result in severe damage to one’s brain.
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.
The rapid objective methods in the diagnosing, evaluating, and follow up of the battlefield mild traumatic brain injury needs treatment standards. There are standards for the moderate to...
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.
Scientific American 306.2 (2012): 66-71. Print. The. Brady, Erik. “Changing the Game on Youth Concussions.”
Traumatic brain injury or TBI occurs when a child has a head injury that causes damage to the brain. These injuries can be caused from being hit in the head or violently shaken. The results of TBI can change how a person’s brain develops, how they act, move, and think. It can also affect how they learn in school (NICHCY, 2012). TBI can affect the way a child thinks, retains information, attention span, behavior, speech, physical activities (which includes walking), and the way a child learns.
If I could have everyone's attention. Good-morning ladies and gentlemen. For those of you who don't know me my name is Jasmine Davenport. Today I’d like to discuss traumatic brain injury also referred to as TBI. I chose this topic because traumatic brain injury is a serious and complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. Traumatic brain injury effects people of all ages and is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. A traumatic brain injury can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head that disrupts normal functions of the brain Also, traumatic brain injury can cause physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral affects.
Today, many professional, college and high school athletes throughout our country suffer from a common injury. It is an injury with serious side effects that can permanently change their lives. This injury is a concussion. Concussions are a constant threat in the game of sports. Coaches and athletes were under the assumption that a head injury that didn’t require a trip to the hospital could be ignored. We have been raised in a culture that celebrates hard knocks as a rite of passage, we don’t think twice about the bandages around our heads. (Carroll and Rosner 11). According to the Disease Control and Prevention Center, there are an estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sports related head injuries in the United States each year. With the increasing number of concussions, the issue is relevant in today’s society. Concussions are a traumatic brain injury. In order to understand this growing issue, we need to become aware of what a concussion is, the testing and treatment that is used and the lifelong effects that concussions can cause. It is important for athletes to know this vital information about concussions in order to keep safe.
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...
Over 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries are reported each year. According to reports the leading cause of brain injuries are from falls followed by motor vehicle accidents, and accidents that were a result of being struck by something. Falls account for 32.5% of traumatic brain injuries in the United States. 50% of all child brain injuries are from falling. 61 % of all traumatic brain injuries among adults are 65 years old or older. Traumatic brain injuries are very violent blows or jolts to the head or body that result in the penetration of the skull. Mild traumatic brain injuries can cause brief dysfunction of the brain cells. Serious brain injuries can cause bleeding, bruising, physical damage to other parts of the body and torn tissues. Brain injuries are more prevalent with males rather than females. Causes of brain injuries include:
As a result of many deaths of professional athletes through suicide as well as general concern for health, concussion awareness and testing is as high as it’s ever been. Precautions and tests are currently being set up in almost sports in the attempt to diminish the long term effects. Although the symptoms and exact recovery time are still unknown, doctors and researchers are sure that concussions and other forms of head impacts can have long term effects that can present serious issues throughout the rest of these individual’s lives. The risk of potential damage to the brain increases as the number of concussions increase. In the athletics, players deliver and absorb many hits to the head which a primary reason why rules and regulations at a levels of football, for example, are changing to try and decrease the number of concussions received by players and to make the game safer to those who play it. However these head injuries are not just restricted to athletics, roughly three million Americans have brain injuries every year, half of which are considered serious (Dekosky 2010). Also, many of our nation’s brave men and women suffer traumatic head injuries that take months, even years to fully recover from. Though the exact number of concussions in soldiers can be completely accurate, many army officials believe it to be around eighteen percent (Charles 2008).