Help raise awareness through the #NotAloneinBrainInjury campaign!
www.biausa.org 
​More than 3.5 million children and adults sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) each year, but the total incidence is unknown. 
An ABI is any injury to the brain that is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. 

• Typical causes of ABI include: Electric Shock 
• Infectious Disease 
• Lightning Strike 
• Near Drowning 
• Oxygen Deprivation (Hypoxia/Anoxia) 
• Seizure Disorders 
• Stroke 
• Substance Abuse 
• Toxic Exposure 
• Trauma 
• Tumor 

More than 12 million Americans live with the impact of ABI. 
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a subset of ABI and is caused by trauma to the brain from an external force. 
At least 2.5 million children and adults sustain TBIs in the U.S. each year: 2.2 million are treated in emergency departments for TBI each year. 
280,000 are hospitalized for TBI each year. 
50,000 die because of TBI each year. 
The number of people who sustain TBIs and do not seek treatment is unknown. 
Every 13 seconds, someone in the U.S. sustains a TBI. 
One of every 60 people in the U.S. lives with a TBI-related disability. 
Every day, 137 people in the U.S. die because of a TBI-related injury. 

There are many causes of TBI: Falls – 40.5% 
Struck by/against – 15.5% 
Motor vehicle – 14.3% 
Assaults – 10.7% 
Unknown – 19% 


At least 5.3 million Americans live with TBI-related disabilities. 
When someone sustains a brain injury, many people are affected: Survivors and their parents, spouses, siblings, extended families, and friends 
Healthcare providers, including surgeons, physicians, counselors, rehab therapists, social workers, and personal care attendants 
Insurance companies that issue auto accident, individual, and group health, disability, life and re-insurance policies 
Attorneys of all types, including those who handle personal injury, insurance and disability claims, civil rights/discrimination, domestic actions, wills, estates, and trusts 
Educators at every level, but especially special education teachers and those who prepare America’s future healthcare workforce 
Government agencies that administer health and social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), vocational rehab.

Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York discovered that traumatic brain injury can often precede the development of Parkinson’s disease.
The study “Association of Traumatic Brain Injury With Late-Life Neurodegenerative Conditions and Neuropathologic Findings,” published in JAMA Neurology, underscored that head injury did not seem to increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, contradicting findings in earlier studies.

​Read more here.

BRONX, New York, June 24, 2016 — Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) may be useful in determining early biomarkers of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that relate to patient outcomes one year following injury. DTI may also lead to a better understanding of the brain's mechanisms for repairing or compensating for concussion injuries—information that could speed the development of therapies. 

​Read more here.

A new, common test showed it can determine a comatose patient's awareness indication and even the person's chances of waking up. The new research gives hope to families of comatose patients who are going through a tough time.
This common test, FDG-PET (fluorodeoxyglucose-PET), is a form of positron emission tomography (PET) scan that determines sugar metabolism or how much sugar the brain cells are consuming.
Hospitals are already using PET scanning to classify the patients who are in total comatose and those in partial comatose - a vegetative state wherein some parts remain aware.

​Read more here.

TAMPA, FL (WFLA) – A brain injury suffered by many former NFL players would have a link to Alzheimer’s.
A University of South Florida professor is studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and its link to the debilitating brain disease.
​Read more here.

UCLA researchers have reported the first evidence that obstructive sleep apnea contributes to a breakdown of the blood–brain barrier, which plays an important role in protecting brain tissue.

The discovery, reported in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of Neuroimaging, could lead to new approaches for treating obstructive sleep apnea, which affects an estimated 22 million American adults. The disorder causes frequent interruptions in breathing during sleep because the airways narrow or become blocked.

Read more here.

The polymer-based material changes color based on the force of impact.

Red means stop. That may soon be the case when detecting traumatic brain injuries, thanks to an innovative material that changes color based on force of impact.

The polymer-based material, created by a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, may be an important development in the detection of traumatic brain injuries sustained duringathletic events and other scenarios, including combat. The team presented their findings at the 250th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Boston.


Read more here.

Fast Facts: - Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affect millions of Americans every year after car accidents, sporting collisions, assaults, falls and other incidents. They can cause symptoms ranging from headache, dizziness, memory problems and difficulty paying attention to seizures and coma.

• A CT scan can reveal whether a head injury has caused bleeding in the brain, but not whether brain cells themselves have been injured — the primary cause of many TBI symptoms.
• Researchers have discovered that a blood test measuring levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can gauge the severity of a patient’s TBI and predict how well he or she will recover, helping pinpoint which patients need further specialized treatment.

A new blood test could help emergency room doctors quickly diagnose traumatic brain injury and determine its severity. The findings, published July 10 in the Journal of Neurotrauma, could help identify patients who might benefit from extra therapy or experimental treatments.


Read more here.

Strategy-based cognitive training may help reduce symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and improve neural health for traumatic brain injury patients, according to a new study from the Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas. 

In the study, published recently in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, participants’ cognitive skills and psychological health improved after the training. 

Read more here.

A new MRI study has found distinct injury patterns in the brains of people with concussion-related depression and anxiety, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The findings may lead the way to improved treatment and understanding of these common disorders, researchers said.

Post-concussion psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety and irritability can be extremely disabling for those among the nearly 3.8 million people in the United States who suffer concussions every year. The mechanisms underlying these changes after concussion—also known as mild traumatic brain injury—are not sufficiently understood, and conventional MRI results in most of these patients are normal.


Read more here.