Brain Injury Treatments
Many types of promising treatments for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and non-traumatic injuries to the brain (ABI — such as a stroke, aneurysm, tumor, cancer) exist today. “The benefits of these therapies can be enhanced by adding voluntary physical exercise and doing them in an enriched environment. Use this article and information and also more that is available with your doctor’s help, and you will find the best solution.”
This article was written and provided by: Tobin Injury Law firm.
Darren Tobin is a personal injury lawyer. He and his team help injured victims, as well as surviving family members who have lost a family member to wrongful death, recover from their losses.
Every 23 seconds, one person sustains a traumatic brain injury in the US. Severe brain injury is the leading cause of disability and mortality in adults.
According to this report, traumatic brain injuries cost Georgian citizens about $ 1.5 billion in medical costs and lost wages.
Every 40 seconds, on average, someone in the U.S. has a stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Severe brain injury of all types is one of the leading causes of death and disability in adults.
Causes of Brain Injury
Brain injuries occur due to a hit to the head or acceleration-deceleration injuries such as whiplash that interfere with regular brain functions.
Anything from a sports injury, a car accident, a beating or fight, an explosion, or a bump to the head can cause brain injury. The brain can also be injured from having such things as a stroke, an aneurysm, a brain tumor, brain cancer, lack of oxygen from drowning, or from a heart attack or collapsed lung.
Brain injuries range from mild to severe and can result in movement disorders, a lack of ability to learn and remember things, or even regulate emotions.
Trauma from a brain injury can also cause memory loss, anxiety, and sleep disturbances years after an injury.
Brain injuries also increase the chances of developing different forms of dementia, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Treatment for Brain Injury
Recovery from brain trauma requires continuous treatment over a significant period to prevent lasting problems. The severity of the brain injury determines the type of treatment used to help a person recover and how long it takes.
People who suffer injuries to the brain need to undergo rehabilitation as soon as possible after the injury. Functional recovery resulting from medical treatments and rehabilitation is greatest within the first six months.
Research on Innovative Brain Injury Treatments
Researchers are working on new treatments to help patients survive and recover from brain injury.
The goal of these therapies is to promote or improve functional outcomes.
They are also used to prevent or reduce secondary injuries and any damage caused by them to enhance the patient’s quality of life.
Therapeutic Hypothermia
The use of hypothermic therapy soon after a brain injury (immediately or within an hour) is beneficial in certain circumstances.
This involves reducing the body’s temperature to 33 degrees centigrade to help it recover from injury.
Therapeutic hypothermia protects the brain’s nerve cells from damage or death due to oxygen deprivation after an injury.
Favorable neurological outcomes have been seen if the treatment is done for more than 48 hrs.
Progesterone, Testosterone, and Estrogen Treatments
Administering progesterone and estrogen early on after a brain injury can limit brain damage and improve functional recovery.
The neuroprotective effect of these hormones in brain injury patients is due to their antioxidant effects. These hormonal treatments can also prevent neuronal death and stabilize neuronal functions.
There have been more studies on the effects of progesterone on brain injuries as compared to estrogen. However, both hormones are proven to have neuroprotective effects in the treatment of brain injury.
Testosterone is another hormone that has been shown to help men with severe brain injury.
According to information on neuroendocrine dysfunction, at least 80 percent of men with severe brain trauma have testosterone deficiency.
Therefore, undergoing therapy to improve testosterone levels can help male patients overcome functional challenges after a brain injury and prevent them from suffering degenerative diseases such as dementia in the future.
Antioxidant Therapy
The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high consumption of oxygen.
Oxidative stress caused by an imbalance between scavenging of free radicals and cellular production contributes to tissue damage after brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury also results in damaged mitochondria that release harmful reactive oxygen species. These harmful substances can damage the cells of an injured brain, causing inflammation and neuron dysfunction.
Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and the number of harmful reactive oxygen species in the brain, preventing them from damaging brain cells.
Antioxidants are especially beneficial for people dealing with sports-related injuries.
Some examples of antioxidants used in brain injury treatment are MitoQ and Coenzyme Q10.
Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Therapy
After brain injury, neuronal tissues have a limited ability to repair themselves.
Therefore, treatments using stem cells are ideal for cell replacement therapy in brain injury patients.
Since stem cells have the ability to become another cell in the body, they are used to heal damaged cells and tissue in the brain.
Where some patients are against using embryonic stem cells for brain injury, mesoderm-derived cells from the bone marrow can be used as an alternative.
Bone marrow stromal cells improve neurological functions and neural restorative functions after a brain injury, thereby aiding in brain remodeling.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Lack of oxygen causes cell death in an injured brain. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, encouraging healing mechanisms such as reducing intracranial pressure and inflammation.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can improve the symptoms of brain trauma even six months after a head injury, a time during which most experts believe the damage to the brain cannot be reversed.
It is done by administering 100 % oxygen in a large monoplace or multiplace chamber that is pressurized at 1.3 – 1.5 ATM for short sessions of between 90 and 120 minutes.
Patients can use Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at home as long as they have the necessary equipment and training. There are cases of patients improving from hyperbaric therapy years after their injury, making it a promising treatment for brain trauma.
Watch these YouTube videos (Part 1, Part 2) showing several injured soldiers with TBI being treated using a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Brain injury can cause dysfunction of the pituitary gland, which reduces growth hormone secretion.
Such dysfunction can lead to memory impairment, fatigue, unexplained weight changes, and reduced physical performance in patients.
Changes caused by a hormonal deficiency in brain injury patients lead to poor quality of life and health issues such as obesity and hypertension.
Growth hormone replacement therapy helps patients recover from these problems by improving communication between parts of the brain affected by hormonal deficiency.
Laws that Protect You from Brain Injuries and Their Consequences
Many brain trauma victims suffer lifelong effects. These can be compounded by institutionalization and inadequate access to quality care.
Due to the nature of their injuries and difficulties arising from them, many cannot speak up for themselves.
Therefore, there are laws to help people suffering from brain injuries access all the help they need and protect their rights.
A good example is the Traumatic Brain Injury Act which was enacted to reduce brain injuries and support any research towards treatment and efforts to improve access to them.
There are also state policies such as Georgia’s concussion management and to play protocol that protects young people from brain injuries and any challenges resulting from them.
Standards such as the mTBI guidelines for children recently approved by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ensure kids who suffer brain injuries access appropriate care and treatment to help them reintegrate into the community.
How to Finance your Brain Injury Treatments
Although there are excellent treatments for brain injuries, it often takes months or years to recover.
The longer you have to undergo rehabilitation or treatment, the higher the cost in terms of wages lost or money spent on medical bills.
How do you finance your brain injury treatments? Here are some options.
- Seek help from organizations such as the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund commission that provide financial assistance to people rehabilitating from traumatic brain injuries.
- If your injuries happened because of another person’s actions or negligence, consider seeking compensation for them. There are state laws that entitle you to get worker’s compensation if your brain injury occurred during an accident at work.
Information on worker’s compensation in Georgia is available in the Worker’s Compensation Handbook.
- If your brain injury resulted from a crime such as an assault, you could pursue punitive damages in a criminal trial. A personal injury lawyer can help you determine if you deserve compensation and help you file such a claim.
These are ways of getting financial assistance or compensation for a brain injury which can help you pay for treatments and any other needs arising from it.
Are You Looking for Treatment for Your Brain Injury?
These are promising treatments for brain injury that can benefit you. The benefits of these therapies can be enhanced by adding voluntary physical exercise and doing them in an enriched environment.
We have also informed you of laws for brain injury victims as well as ways to access finances for your treatments and any challenges arising from your brain injury.
Remember, as you look for the right treatments and therapy for your brain injury, focus on those that provide a long window of opportunity for you to reduce neuronal damage. Also, ensure they target more than one aspect of your brain injury for better results.
Use this information and more that is available with your doctor’s help, and you will find the best solution.