Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Study

Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, occurs when there is a sudden, direct injury to the head. This type of wound can result from a bump, blow, or jolt to the cranium. It may even result from the penetration of a foreign object into the brain tissue. Most TBI’s result from car accidents, sports injuries, blunt trauma, unintentional injuries and falls, with falls accounting for about 40% of all TBI injuries. Much like stroke patients, individuals suffering from traumatic brain injuries may have to live with a variety of detriments based on the location and extent of their injury. For example, patients can experience impaired sensation, vision, hearing, memory, processing skills or even emotional and behavioral functioning ("Injury Prevention & Control: Traumatic Brain Injury.”) The purpose of this paper is to provide information regarding the pathophysiology, treatment and medical management of traumatic brain injuries, as well as to educate health care providers of the additional ways in which support can be provided to both patients suffering from these types of injuries and their families. A case study will be supplied to facilitate discussion of the topic.

Concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) represents the most common type of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Even though this type of TBI is called “mild”, the effect on the family and the injured person can be devastating. Concussions can be tricky to diagnose and there is no specific cure for concussion. There is growing recognition and some evidence that mild mechanical trauma resulting from sports injuries, military combat, and other physically engaging pursuits may have cumulative and chronic neurological consequences [3, 4]. However there is still a poor understanding of concussions and their effects. Studying mild brain injury in humans is challenging since it is restricted to cognitive assessment and brain imaging evaluation. Animal models provide a means to study concussions in a rigorous, controlled, and efficient manner with the hope of further diagnosis and treatment of mTBI.

Your brain sits in your skull and is surrounded by cerebral fluid. When a head injury occurs, the brain may collide with the skull, then “bounce back” and collide with the opposite side of the skull. At the neuronal level, blow strong enough to create a concussion has the effect of twisting or stretching of the axons, which in turn creates swelling. In many cases, the swelling will subside and the neuron may return to normal. However, if the swelling of the axon is severe enough, the axon may break down and can cause permanent damage. Many athletes will experience multiple concussions over the course of their career. Recently the NFL has stated it expects 1 in 3 former players will develop long-term cognitive issues.

Extensive research offers hope for the growing numbers of people suffering from traumatic brain injuries that often leave victims unable to return to their previous lifestyle and sometimes require long-term care. Traumatic brain injuries are quite common from car accidents, a blow to the head, sports accidents, and in military veterans. These injuries have a long term effect that changes lives of many individuals. Some brain injuries, even have the power to change the way one speaks and complete simple everyday tasks which restrict one to be independent.

The awareness of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) has increased and the information available is better now than it was in the past. I believe many people are aware of concussions and traumatic brain injuries but not how it can affect their brain. Traumatic Brain injuries are a very complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. Many healthcare professionals in the field of brain injury often say, “If you’ve seen one concussion, you’ve seen one concussion.” Even a mild case of a concussion should not be taken lightly. People do not realize the impact it can have on a person and his/her family, it can be devastating. One of the leading causes of Brain Injuries is concussion as this has been brought to light by

Injuries associated with TBI are divided into two categories: primary injuries and secondary injuries. Primary injuries are the direct physical damage incurred at the moment the trauma occurs. Secondary brain injuries occur indirectly as a result of trauma and usually appear hours or days after the initial injury. Secondary injuries exist as result of or separate from the initial injury. They cause complications such as hemorrhaging, alterations in intracranial pressure (ICP), and neurological deficits. Deterioration can occur even after patients have been downgraded from critical status. Approximately 40% of all cases of TBI deteriorate after hospitalization. These complications are a major cause of death in people with a TBI (Narayan et al., 2002). The brain normally maintains a state of homeostasis, meaning the cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) stays within a normal range to adequately carry blood to the brain. The protective

Traumatic brain injuries are usually sustained when an individual sustains a brain injury due to an external force or accident. The key characteristics of traumatic brain injuries are varied, can range from mild to severe, and depend on many factors. The most common key characteristics of traumatic brain injuries are “physical impairment, sensory impairment, emotional disturbance, disruption of cognition, and language problems” (Raymond, 2000). The result of the traumatic brain injury can be temporary or permanent. Students however may very well retain some of their previous abilities and will need help to make the transition back to school with whatever adjustments may

When a brain artery is blocked, an ischemic stroke occurs and electrical activity is compromised. The areas of injury in the brain are the core ischemic zone (the main area that blood flow is at its lowest) and the ischemic penumbra (surrounding area). Neurons carry necessary oxygen and glucose to the brain. When the brain is deprived of oxygen and glucose, brain cells, glial cells, and vascular cells are affected depending on the amount of blood supply and duration of blocked blood supply to the area. Cells in the penumbra have a chance of restoration if blood flow from surrounding arteries compensate. For areas absent of blood flow, hypoxic injury occurs and cells go through necrosis while surviving cells may

The characteristics of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Jesse displays are inattention, memory and speech. Jesse is also demonstrating his desire for isolation from his friends. He prefers to be alone most of the time, which is out of character for Jesse.

parindent{ }Traumatic brain injury is a significant health problem in the United States that is estimated to occur in 1.6-1.8 million persons annually (citealt{faul2010}). Diffuse axonal injury is %the most frequently occurring

parindent{ }Traumatic brain injury is a significant health problem in the United States that is estimated to occur in 1.6-1.8 million persons annually (citealt{faul2010}). Diffuse axonal injury is a common type of traumatic brain injury primarily characterized by damage to the axons (citealt{smith2000, Gennarelli1982}). An enhanced knowledge of the pathophysiology of diffuse axonal injury is required to develop improved diagnostic tools, protective measures and rehabilitation treatments(citealt{Giordano2014}). Many techniques have been developed to help elucidate the injury mechanism associated with diffuse axonal injury over the years. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is one such technique where the mesoscale structural information is studied to investigate the diffuse axonal injury. Finite element models have also provided a means to investigate diffuse axonal injury.

parindent{ }Traumatic brain injury is a significant health problem in the United States that is estimated to occur in 1.6-1.8 million persons annually (citealt{faul2010}). Diffuse axonal injury is %the most frequently occurring

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as an external force caused changes in brain function or other evidence of brain pathology (Menon, Schwab, Wright, & Maas, 2010, p. 1638). Assessed with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, TBI is categorised into four injuries, namely minor (GCS=15), mild (GCS≥13), moderate (GCS 9-12), and severe (GCS ≤8) (Parsons & Hammeke, 2014, p. 211). Chronologically, TBI is divided into primary and secondary injuries (Gean & Fischbein 2010, p. 527). Primary injury occurs at the moment of injury with immediate brain tissue shearing and compression; whereas secondary injuries occur as a consequential physiologic response to primary injury that happens in the next hours and days. Increased intracranial pressure (ICP),

Ischemic brain stroke represents the most common cause of serious morbidity and the second most common cause of mortality worldwide. Along with that traumatic brain injury also contributes a significant number of mortality and morbidity. While spontaneous recovery of lost functions to a certain degree takes place in some patients, the majority never regain full functional independence and ultimately suffer from a reduced quality of life. Clearly these health burden seeks detailed exploration of clinical and pathological aspects to modify the present treatment strategies. Glial scar formation which constitutes reactive astrocytes, microglia, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and extracellular components is the response of CNS after external assault.

This research utilized calcium channel blockers to measure the contribution of calcium uptake in relation to the vesicular glutamate released into the extracellular space. After the calcium channels were blocked glutamate was applied directly to the extracellular space and the animals ability to remove the glutamate was measured. The results showed that animals with traumatic brain injuries had significantly higher levels of extracellular glutamate evidenced by a nearly 80% increase when compared to the healthy mice (Hinzman et. Al., 2012). This showed that calcium mediated neuronal glutamate release may contribute to the cytotoxicity experienced by patients affected by traumatic brain injury.