Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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At the time of the Boer War in 1899 penetrating head injuries, which formed a large proportion of the battlefield casualties, resulted in almost 100% mortality. Since that time up to the present day, significant improvements in technique, equipment and organisation have reduced the mortality to about 10%.
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Psychological medicine · Apr 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialEfficacy of motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression symptoms following traumatic brain injury.
Anxiety and depression are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI), often co-occurring. This study evaluated the efficacy of a 9-week cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program in reducing anxiety and depression and whether a three-session motivational interviewing (MI) preparatory intervention increased treatment response. ⋯ Findings suggest that modified CBT with booster sessions over extended periods may alleviate anxiety and depression following TBI.
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OBJECTIVE Arachnoid cysts (ACs) are congenital lesions bordered by an arachnoid membrane. Researchers have postulated that individuals with an AC demonstrate a higher rate of structural brain injury after trauma. Given the potential neurological consequences of a structural brain injury requiring neurosurgical intervention, the authors sought to perform a systematic review of sport-related structural-brain injury associated with ACs with a corresponding quantitative analysis. ⋯ The majority of patients presented with chronic symptoms, and recovery was reported generally to be good. Although the review is subject to publication bias, the authors do not find at present that there is contraindication for patients with an AC to participate in sports, although parents and children should be counseled appropriately. Further studies are necessary to better evaluate AC characteristics that could pose a higher risk of adverse events after trauma.
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Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci · Apr 2016
Theory of mind mediates the prospective relationship between abnormal social brain network morphology and chronic behavior problems after pediatric traumatic brain injury.
Childhood and adolescence coincide with rapid maturation and synaptic reorganization of distributed neural networks that underlie complex cognitive-affective behaviors. These regions, referred to collectively as the 'social brain network' (SBN) are commonly vulnerable to disruption from pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, the mechanisms that link morphological changes in the SBN to behavior problems in this population remain unclear. In 98 children and adolescents with mild to severe TBI, we acquired 3D T1-weighted MRIs at 2-8 weeks post-injury. ⋯ Mediation analysis indicated that impaired theory of mind mediated the prospective relationship between abnormal SBN morphology and more frequent chronic behavior problems. Our findings suggest that sub-acute alterations in SBN morphology indirectly contribute to long-term behavior problems via their influence on ToM. Volumetric change in the SBN and its putative hub regions may represent useful imaging biomarkers for prediction of post-acute social cognitive impairment, which may in turn elevate risk for chronic behavior problems.
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OBJECTIVE Sport-related concussion (SRC) has emerged as a public health problem, especially among student-athletes. Whereas most concussions resolve by 2 weeks, a minority of patients experience postconcussion syndrome (PCS), in which symptoms persist for months. The objective of this study was to elucidate factors predictive of PCS among a sample of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes in the academic years 2009-2010 to 2014-2015. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Postconcussion syndrome represents one of the most impactful sequelae of SRC. In this study of exclusively collegiate student-athletes, the authors found that recurrent concussions and various concussion-related symptoms were associated with PCS. The identification of initial risk factors for the development of PCS may assist sports medicine clinicians in providing timely interventions and treatments to prevent morbidity and shorten recovery time after SRC.