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
ReviewIn search of evidence-based treatment for concussion: characteristics of current clinical trials.
Abstract Objective: To assess the characteristics of current clinical trials investigating the treatment of concussion. ⋯ Diverse, potentially promising therapeutics are currently being studied for the treatment of concussion. However, several deficiencies were identified including a paucity of trials addressing return-to-activity principles. Also, small sample size and trial heterogeneity may threaten scientific evaluation and subsequent clinical application.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialImpact of soft splints on upper limb spasticity in chronic patients with disorders of consciousness: A randomized, single-blind, controlled trial.
To assess the effectiveness of soft splints on spasticity and hand opening in chronic patients with upper limb spasticity and disorders of consciousness (vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome-VS/UWS and minimally conscious state-MCS). ⋯ Thirty minutes of soft splint application reduces spasticity and improves hand opening of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness. Soft splinting is well tolerated and does not require supervision.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyAcute predictors for mortality after severe TBI in Spain: Gender differences and clinical data.
The main objective of this study is to determine whether gender affects global mortality and functional outcome after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ In this study, gender was not found to be an independent predictor for poorer outcome after severe TBI.
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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.