Calls for Brain Injury to Be Defined As Disease

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not just a one-time injury that heals quickly, allowing a person to move on and forget about the injury. Rather, a person with a TBI can suffer several complications over his entire lifetime, depending on the severity of the TBI. A moderate brain injury could increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson's disease, besides placing the person at a higher risk for neuroendocrine disorders and depression. That is the reason why a team of researchers from the University Of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is calling for a redefining of traumatic brain injury as a chronic disease, like diabetes.

According to the researchers, defining brain injury as a disease would allow doctors to frequently monitor patients with TBI for complications or new conditions that might develop in the future. Take diabetes, for instance. Diabetes is considered a chronic disease, and a patient is placed under frequent monitoring, that involves regular testing of his blood sugar levels. The doctors also monitor the patient for other complications that may arise, like kidney disorders. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers are calling for similar scheduled monitoring and tracking of patients with TBI. Currently, this is not done. Instead, patients with TBI often find themselves confused, anxious and with no financial and educational resources to deal with these complications. Defining TBI as a disease would allow these patients to be reimbursed regularly by insurers.

This is undoubtedly an interesting concept, and it will greatly benefit persons with TBI who begin suffering from complications down the road. It will help these persons pay for additional medical expenses as a result of the TBI. Our Atlanta auto accident lawyers could also easily factor in long-term expenses from future complications into any accident or injury claim that involves a brain injury.

Much of brain injury treatment depends on being treated immediately after the injury, to prevent further damage to injured brain tissue. However very often, doctors fail to diagnose the injury, especially if the injured patient has not lost consciousness. Other times, doctors may be confused about whether the person has suffered a brain injury or is having a stroke of some kind. This delay in diagnosis can severely impact the person's recovery.

The US Department of Defense is investing approximately of $17 million to fund a study that will look into the development of biomarkers to easily diagnose brain injury. Currently, doctors use a blood test to diagnose the presence of a chemical called troponin in the blood, when a person is having a heart attack. Before these tests were developed, a physician only had the visible symptoms of a heart attack to depend on, for his diagnosis. However, with the biomarker test, he can look for protonin to confirm that the person is indeed having a cardiac arrest. The Defense Department study will look at developing something similar for brain injury. Consider this-a physician simply uses a test to diagnose a patient’s brain injury without having to depend on conflicting external symptoms.

There's a reason why the Department of Defense is so eager to have progress on this. Treatment of brain injuries in veterans continues to be a challenge for the military. Tests like these will help army medics diagnose injuries quicker and begin treatment faster.

These tests can also be used to diagnose brain injury in persons who have suffered an injury in an auto accident, motorcycle accident, slip and fall accident, workplace or industrial accident and so on. Preliminary tests conducted in lab rats show that there is a strong relationship between the level of the brain injury and presence of certain brain biomarkers in the animal's blood. There is reason to be very encouraged that we could soon have a device that facilitates speedy diagnosis of brain injury, and therefore, quicker treatment.

The Atlanta injury lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent injured victims of auto/truck/motorcycle accidents across Georgia.

Atlanta Researchers to Test Effects of Progesterone Hormone in Brain Injury Treatment

As car accident lawyers in Atlanta, we often come across patients with serious brain injuries after an automobile or motorcycle accident. These injuries are some of the most severe a person can suffer, and also some of the most difficult to treat. In fact, there has been no significant progress in the treatment of brain injury for many years now.

That may be about to change, and in our very own Atlanta at that. Researchers at Emory Hospital will soon begin clinical trials into the effects of a female sex hormone that could limit the effects of a brain injury. Progesterone is a hormone that helps support pregnancy. Researchers believe that this hormone if injected soon after a brain injury could help limit the extent of the injury and prevent disability or death.  This new trial will be lead by Doctor David Wright at Atlanta’s Emory hospital.  According to Dr. Wright, Traumatic Brain Injury involves swelling, inflammation and destruction of neuron cells, and progesterone seems to have beneficial effects on all of these.

Research into the effects of progesterone on brain injury is nothing new. A quarter century ago, studies proved that progesterone does act as a protective barrier over brain cells. The researchers don’t know yet how progesterone will help limit brain damage after a serious injury, but it is hoped that it will restrict self destruction of the neuron cells, and prevent inflammation. The hormone is injected about 4 hours after the injury occurs.

The Food and Drug Administration has given the trial permission to bypass consent from the patient or family members before injecting the hormone. So, doctors can go ahead and inject the hormone if they don’t receive consent from the patient (who may likely be unconscious) or family members within an hour.

The Atlanta injury lawyers at the Katz Law Firm represent injured victims of brain injury as a result of a car, truck or motorcycle accident, industrial accident, slip and fall accident or other causes.