New research on TBIs

Many Missouri residents are some of the estimated 1.7 million Americans who incur traumatic brain injuries each year. TBIs can destroy their quality of life and leave them unable to meet their basic daily needs. Their may be lasting effects that persist for years after the injury is incurred. Researchers have been working to detect the exact way in which TBIs cause this long-term impairment, as understanding the syndrome may prove helpful in developing new methods of treatment.

The University of Texas researchers studied MRI brain scans of 40 patients with TBIs and then compared them to 17 individuals with unharmed brains that had been matched to them by gender, age and education. None of the TBI patients had encountered their injury less than six months before, and the average time that had elapsed between the injury and the study was eight years.

The researchers observed quantifiable disruptions in communication between essential neural networks in the TBI patients, and they were able to identify the exact networks that were damaged. This may lead to more specific and effective treatments in the future.

The devastating damage wreaked by a traumatic brain injury can leave the sufferer in serious financial straits. Not only might they have to deal with expensive medical bills and rehabilitation efforts that could take years, but their ability to work and make a living may be severely impacted. While these types of brain injuries are often linked to contact sports, blows to the head can also take place in car accidents or sudden falls. In the event that the injury was caused by another party’s negligence, a victim might want to have the help of a lawyer in pursuing compensation for these and other losses.

Source: Medical Xpress, “Brain Connectivity Disruptions May Explain Cognitive Deficits in People With Brain Injury”, March 1, 2016