Feature Channels: Trauma

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A new blood biomarker correctly predicted which concussion victims went on to have white matter tract structural damage and persistent cognitive dysfunction following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). If validated in larger studies, this blood test could identify concussion patients at increased risk for persistent cognitive dysfunction or further brain damage and disability if returning to sports or military activities.

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According to a recent study done by doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, high school athletes who play collision sports at higher altitudes are less likely to suffer from concussions than those who play at lower altitudes.

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Hospitals vary in management of children with traumatic brain injury—particularly in monitoring and preventing the harmful effects of increased intracranial pressure (ICP), according to a study in the November issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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To better measure the effects and causes of sports concussions, researchers from University of Virginia School of Medicine and UVA’s Curry School of Education plan to track 130 student-athletes in three sports over the next year.

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A stem cell therapy previously shown to reduce inflammation in the critical time window after traumatic brain injury also promotes lasting cognitive improvement, according to preclinical research at UTHealth in Houston.

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Topics ranging from PTSD to cognitive performance that have a direct effect on Veterans and the rehabilitation care and support they may receive.

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Loyola University Medical Center researchers have published the first ever study of emotional and psychological anguish, known as “moral distress,” experienced by nurses in an intensive care unit for burn patients.

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New research has shown that chest compressions only can be an effective method of delivering CPR to people in need. Find out how one man was able to save his father after to a heart attack. To learn more, visit www.VanderbiltHeart.com

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Accurately diagnosing traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions is difficult, as standard CT or MRI scans can’t see most changes to the brain caused by these injuries. Borrowing a tactic used to identify lung infections, University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered a potential method to identify TBI that uses positron emission tomography (PET) scans and the body’s immune response to a brain injury.

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Patients treated in intensive care units across the globe are entering their medical care with no evidence of cognitive impairment but oftentimes leaving with deficits similar to those seen in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that persists for at least a year, according to a Vanderbilt study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Faced with news of suicides and brain damage in former professional football players, geneticist Barry Ganetzky bemoaned the lack of model systems for studying the insidious and often delayed consequences linked to head injuries.

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A nuclear bomb or nuclear reactor accident can produce a deadly combination of radiation exposure and injuries such as burns and trauma. Now the first study of its kind in 50 years is providing new insights into combined radiation injury.

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One of the top reasons for trauma admission at Vanderbilt University Medical Center may come as a surprise: falls. Second only to motor vehicle accident victims, fall-related injuries account for more than 15 percent of the annual trauma patient volume at Vanderbilt, the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, which has seen more than 7,000 fall victims over the past quarter-century.

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Washington University in St. Louis engineers are now applying a new imaging technique to a model of brain tissue to see how stiff or soft it might be. Philip Bayly, PhD, professor of engineering has received a three-year, $429,222 grant from the National Science Foundation to study directionally dependent mechanical properties in muscle, white matter in the brain or artificial tissue.

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A series of 6 infographics on Youth Concussion Management is now available for free download from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's "Minds Matter" Initiative.

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Spinal injuries are present in 1 out of 9 U.S. military personnel sustaining combat injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan—a much higher rate than in previous wars, according to a report in the September 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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Nearly 80 percent of trauma centers in the United States that serve predominantly minority patients have higher-than-expected death rates, according to new Johns Hopkins research. Moreover, the research shows, trauma patients of all races are 40 percent less likely to die — regardless of the severity of their injuries — if they are treated at hospitals with lower-than-expected mortality rates, the vast majority of which serve predominantly white patients.

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For the first time, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been able to erase dangerous drug-associated memories in mice and rats without affecting other more benign memories. The surprising discovery points to a clear and workable method to disrupt unwanted memories while leaving the rest intact.

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Results show that small, near objects can appear farther away than larger, farther objects.

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Mental Health disorders are the leading cause of hospital bed days and the second leading cause of medical encounters among active component service members in the U.S. Military, according to a new study.

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The same compound in a common household clothes detergent shows promise as a treatment to preserve muscle tissue after severe injury. Researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine hope the oxygen-generating compound could one day aid in saving and repairing limbs and tissue.

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New study shows that in the wake of a negative event, people are more likely to find clarity by considering the larger picture.

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New research suggests that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease associated with repeat brain trauma including concussions in athletes, may affect people in two major ways: initially affecting behavior or mood or initially affecting memory and thinking abilities. The study appears in the August 21, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. CTE has been found in amateur and professional athletes, members of the military and others who experienced repeated head injuries, including concussions and subconcussive trauma.

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Teenagers who have been seriously injured in a fight show a reduction in intelligence and cognitive ability, according to a large study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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New research suggests that treadmill training soon after a spinal cord injury can have long-lasting positive effects on recovery – as long as the training is accompanied by efforts to control inflammation in the lower spinal cord.

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In a recent study published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Policy in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that pediatric trauma patients with preexisting chronic conditions have longer hospital stays, higher hospital charges and an increased mortality risk.

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Western Illinois University senior Garrick Hodge is partnering with his stepbrother, X Games adaptive snocross bronze medalist Garrett Goodwin, for a new book about perseverance.

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As federal and state policies encouraging people to be covered by health insurance go into effect, this study signals a need to prepare for potential large increases in demand for care of minor and moderate pediatric and young adult injuries in both emergency department and outpatient settings.

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Less contact during practice could mean a lot less exposure to head injuries for young football players, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Virginia Tech.

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Scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center have developed a new way to measure the cumulative effect of impacts to the head incurred by football players.

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A study on HIV-positive women who were sexually abused as children has found that the more severe their past trauma, the greater their improvement in an intervention program designed to ease their psychological suffering.

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New research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found military service members who have trouble sleeping prior to deployments may be at greater risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety once they return home. The study found that pre-existing insomnia symptoms conferred almost as a large of a risk for those mental disorders as combat exposure.

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People who have a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be more likely to have a future stroke, according to research that appears in the June 26, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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One in four people who survive a stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) suffer from symptoms of PTSD within the 1st year post-event, and one in nine experience chronic PTSD more than a year later. The data, e-published by PLOS ONE, suggest that each year nearly 300,000 stroke/TIA survivors will develop PTSD symptoms as a result of their health scare.

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In early April, senior leaders from medical, law enforcement, military, and fire/rescue agencies met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss one question: how can first responders improve survival after a mass casualty event?

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In the largest study of its kind, Baltimore researchers find that traumatic injury outcomes in patients with organ transplants are not worse than for non-transplanted patients, despite common presumptions among physicians. Additionally, transplanted organs are rarely injured in traumatic events.

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In conflict-ridden countries around the world, rape and other forms of sexual violence are being used as weapons of war. In these settings, treatment services for victims are limited. A trial found an evidence-based group psychotherapy treatment for sexual violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to the study, this group therapy achieved more dramatic results in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety compared to individual support services.

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When injected into mice immediately following a traumatic event, a new drug prevents the animals from developing memory problems and increased anxiety that are indicative of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists utilized mouse studies to suggest that a receptor called Oprl1 is altered in mice with PTSD-like symptoms. They then worked with a group at the Scripps Research Institute who had previously developed the Oprl1-targeted drug to examine its effects on fear memory modulation.

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The more heart attack-induced PTSD symptoms a patient has, the worse their sleep likely was in the month following their heart attack. New findings from a research team at Columbia University Medical Center’s Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

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Practicing a form of meditation and stretching can help relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and normalize stress hormone levels, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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An international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that a single injection of human neural stem cells produced neuronal regeneration and improvement of function and mobility in rats impaired by an acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

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Case series reveals logistic, medical and societal challenges faced in treating spine trauma in morbidly obese patients.

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Arachnoid cysts are a common type of brain lesion that is usually harmless, but with a risk of rupture or bleeding. A new study identifies risk factors for rupture or bleeding in children with "incidentally" detected arachnoid cysts, reports the May issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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Women are less likely than men to receive care in a trauma center after severe injury, according to a new study of almost 100,000 Canadian patients.

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Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or under-react in response to stressful tasks.

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Victims of trauma are at higher risk of either dying or suffering a major complication if they are treated at a hospital that serves a large population of black patients, finds a large new study in Health Services Research.

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Suicide risk is higher among military personnel with more lifetime TBIs, even after controlling for clinical symptom severity. Results of the study show that multiple TBIs, which are common among military personnel, may contribute to increased risk for suicide.

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First Map of Its Kind Reveals Key Areas for Additional Research and Support Services