Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2024
The Impact of Non-Pain Factors on Pain Interference Among U.S. Service Members and Veterans with Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
U. S. Service members and Veterans (SM/V) experience elevated rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain, and other non-pain symptoms. ⋯ Non-pain factors are associated with functional limitations and disability experience among SM/V with an mTBI history. The functional effects of pain may be mediated through multiple other factors. Pain is a multi-dimensional experience that may benefit most from holistic treatment approaches that target comorbidities and build supports that promote recovery.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2024
Association of Psychological Resilience, Cognitive Reserve, and Brain Reserve with Post-Concussive Symptoms in Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Orthopedic Injury: An A-CAP Study.
Protective factors, including psychological resilience, cognitive reserve, and brain reserve, may be positively associated with recovery after pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) but are yet to be studied concurrently. We sought to examine these factors as moderators of post-concussive symptoms (PCS) in pediatric mTBI compared with mild orthopedic injury (OI). Participants included 967 children (633 mTBI, 334 OI) aged 8-16.99 years, recruited from 5 Canadian pediatric emergency departments as part of a prospective longitudinal cohort study. ⋯ IQ did not moderate PCS in either group but had a significant non-linear association in both groups with child-reported somatic PCS (p = 0.018) and parent-reported PCS (p < 0.001), with higher PCS scores at both lower and higher IQs. These findings suggest that higher resilience predicts fewer PCS, but less strongly after mTBI than OI; greater brain reserve may reduce the effect of mTBI on somatic PCS; and cognitive reserve has an unexpected curvilinear association with PCS across injury types. The results highlight the importance of protective factors as predictors of recovery and potential targets for intervention following pediatric mTBI.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2024
ReviewMild Traumatic Brain Injury and the Auditory System: An Overview of the Mechanisms, Clinical Presentations and Current Diagnostic Modalities.
The acute and long-term consequences of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are far reaching. Though it may often be overlooked due to the now expansive field of research dedicated to understanding the consequences of mTBI on the brain, recent work has revealed that substantial changes in the vestibulo-auditory system can also occur due to mTBI. ⋯ Although the effects of indirect trauma (e.g., noise and blast trauma) have been well-investigated, there exists a profound need to improve our understanding of the effects of direct head injury (such as mTBI) on the auditory and vestibular systems. Our aim is to summarize the current evidentiary foundation upon which labyrinthine and/or cochlear concussion are based to shed light on the ways in which clinicians can refine the existing modalities used to diagnose and treat patients experiencing mTBI as it relates to hearing and balance.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2024
ReviewEffectiveness of non-pharmacological therapy on physical symptoms in patients with persistent concussion symptoms: A Systematic Review.
This systematic review provides a comprehensive overview on the effectiveness of rehabilitation on physical symptoms in patients of all ages with persistent concussion symptoms. PubMed, MEDLINE®, Cochrane library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Embase were searched from January 1, 2012 to September 1, 2023 using terms related to physical post-concussion symptoms. Eligible articles were critically appraised using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Quality Assessment Tool. ⋯ Finally, in a pediatric population, the use of melatonin did not produce any changes in physical persistent concussion symptoms as compared with placebo. Preliminary evidence suggests that various forms of rehabilitative therapies can improve persistent physical concussive symptoms. However, given the methodological limitations in the majority of trials, the results need to be interpreted with caution.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 2024
ReviewTranscranial Doppler ultrasound and concussion: Supplemental symptoms with physiology - A systematic review.
Sport-related concussion (SRC) can impair the cerebrovasculature both acutely and chronically. Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound assessment has the potential to illuminate the mechanisms of impairment and provide an objective evaluation of SRC. The current systematic review investigated studies employing TCD ultrasound assessment of intracranial arteries across three broad categories of cerebrovascular regulation: neurovascular coupling (NVC), cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), and dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA). ⋯ There was evidence that clinical symptom resolution occurred before cerebrovascular function, indicating that physiological deficits may persist despite clinical recovery and return to play. Collectively, this emphasizes an opportunity for the use of TCD to illuminate the cerebrovascular deficits caused by SRC. It also highlights that there is need for consistent methodological rigor when employing TCD in a SRC population.