The ten year period following a traumatic brain injury will involve a return to relationships and family, community living and mobility and work or avocational pursuits. In an ongoing long term Outcome Validation Study conducted by the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute of Ontario (NRIO) and the Neurologic Rehabilitation Institute at Brookhaven Hospital (NRI) we have been [...]

Both the government and insurance agencies released recent studies drawing a direct correlation between helmet laws and death of motorcyclists. CNN reports the following: “The second study released Monday, by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that the death rate of motorcyclists from 2001-02 increased 25 percent compared with the two years before the [...]

We normally do not associate auditory hallucinations with brain injury and individuals who present these problems can pose clinical and behavioral management issues. There is an excellent article in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 17:2, Spring 2005, page 243, by Bronagh Stewart, MD and D.M. Brennan, MD which describes this phenomena following a [...]

Brain injuries caused by attempted suicide are on the rise. The Center for Disease Control in a 2004 report indicated that overall firearms related deaths increased 11% from 7.6 per 100,000 to 8.4 per 100,000. 66.5% of all firearms caused brain injuries were regarded as “suicidal in intent”. In a 2002 report of the Massachusetts [...]

Brain injuries reflect how truly interdependent we are upon each other. As a brain injury case manager, I have the unique position of seeing a wide range of individuals involved in a single survivor’s life, and I also am witness to the toll that caretaking exacts on families. Most people simply aren’t prepared to deal [...]

On 2.14.93 I had a traumatic brain injury, then spent 6 months a coma, lived through years of rehab in a wheelchair, and experienced many surgeries, many changes, etc., etc. I started writing a book the year of my injury. Within 12 years Dad and my guardian Granny died. I moved to Mom’s in Florida. [...]

One of the perks of attending numerous brain injury conferences is the access it gives you to the latest ideas and attitudes. I’ve heard “Cognitive Fitness” mentioned, but I hadn’t seen it in print until I came across a great article in Wired News. Here’s a great quote: “Most people’s idea of fitness stops at [...]

Aphasia is an all too-common complication that affects many individuals with TBI. However, treatment for aphasia continues to be a hot topic among researchers. Here’s an excerpt from an article entitled “Understanding Aphasia: Loss of Lanuage Takes Many Forms” from the Texas Medical Center News: “Treatment advances in aphasia also are increasing, and are not [...]

Family members often express frustration at not being able to understand MRIs, especially when it comes to brain injuries. While it does require a professional to interpret the results, there are helpful guides to understanding the basics of MRI. Here’s a great link to several .pdf and Powerpoint files on MRIs

Researchers at the University of Virginia have made recent strides in understanding how the brain responds to injury and stroke. Progress has been made by understanding how microglia–the brain’s “emergency response” cells–function to affect and assist in dealing with damaged tissue: “These cells are a whole lot more dynamic than we had thought,” said Dr. [...]