Brain injury : [BI]
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
Review Historical ArticleChronic traumatic encephalopathy in professional sports: retrospective and prospective views.
The purposes of this paper are to review: (1) the history of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in sports, (2) the similarities and differences between historic and current definitions of CTE, (3) recent epidemiology and cohort studies of CTE and (4) controversies regarding the current CTE positions. ⋯ There are multiple causes of abnormal tau protein deposition in the human brain and the pathogenesis of CTE may not be related solely to concussion and/or sub-concussive injury. In all likelihood, the causes of CTE are a multivariate, as opposed to a univariate, phenomenon.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
ReviewChronic traumatic encephalopathy: contributions from the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive brain trauma (RBT). Initially described in boxers, CTE has now been found in other contact sport athletes with a history of RBT. In recent years, there has been tremendous media attention regarding CTE, primarily because of the deaths of high profile American football players who were found to have CTE upon neuropathological examination. However, the study of CTE remains in its infancy. This review focuses on research from the Centre for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University. ⋯ Current research at the BU CSTE is aimed at increasing understanding of the long-term consequences of repetitive head impacts and attempting to begin to answer several of the unanswered questions regarding CTE.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
Case ReportsA case study of magnetic resonance imaging of cerebrovascular reactivity: a powerful imaging marker for mild traumatic brain injury.
To use breath-hold functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to localize the brain regions with impaired cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) in a female patient diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The extent of impaired CVR was evaluated 2 months after concussion. Follow-up scan was performed 1 year post-mTBI using the same breath-hold fMRI technique. ⋯ CVR may serve as an imaging biomarker to detect subtle deficits in both grey and white matter for individual diagnosis of mTBI. The findings encourage further investigation of hypercapnic fMRI as a diagnostic tool for mTBI.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
ReviewTranscranial magnetic stimulation: A potential new treatment for depression associated with traumatic brain injury.
Each year, more than 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder following TBI is between 25-50%. There are no validated established strategies to treat TBI depression. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a novel putative treatment option for post-TBI depression, which, compared with standard pharmacological agents, may provide a more targeted treatment with fewer side-effects. However, TBI is associated with an increased risk of both early and late spontaneous seizures, a significant consideration in evaluating rTMS as a potential treatment for TBI depression. Whilst the risk of seizure from rTMS is low, underlying neuropathology may somewhat increase that risk. ⋯ It is concluded that pilot safety and tolerability studies should be first conducted in persons with TBI and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. These results could be used to help design larger randomized controlled trials.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
ReviewOutcomes from mild and moderate traumatic brain injuries among children and adolescents: A systematic review of studies from 2008-2013.
To systematically review existing empirical evidence concerning neuropsychological, psychosocial and academic outcomes following mild and moderate TBI during childhood and adolescence. ⋯ The results suggest that not all children with mild or moderate TBI recover without long-term problems. Few studies followed children and adolescents with mild TBIs for extended periods of time, although it is clinically important to monitor patients over time.