Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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The purpose of this research was to examine the predictive validity of a brief, outpatient neuropsychological battery relative to concurrent functional outcomes 1-25 years post traumatic brain injury. ⋯ These findings demonstrate the utility of a brief, outpatient battery in prediction of concurrent outcomes up to 25 years post injury. Given the difficulty in receiving full reimbursement for neuropsychological assessment services, the data provide needed empirical support for use of more economical and efficient testing.
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Posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) accounts for 20% of acquired epilepsies. Experimental models are important for studying epileptogenesis. We previously reported that repetitive high-frequency oscillations with spikes (rHFOSs) occur early after lateral fluid percussion injury (FPI) and may be a biomarker for PTE. The objective of this study was to use multiple electrodes in rat hippocampal and neocortical regions to describe the long-term electroencephalographic and behavioral evolution of rHFOSs and epileptic seizures after traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ FPI results in early rHFOSs and later spontaneous focal seizures arising from peri-lesional neocortex, supporting its use as a model for PTE. Epilepsy severity increased over time and was related to injury severity. The association between early rHFOSs and later focal seizures suggests that rHFOSs may be a potential noninvasive biomarker of PTE.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Oct 2016
Serum Neurofilament Light in American Football Athletes Over the Course of a Season.
Despite being underreported, American football boasts the highest incidence of concussion among all team sports, likely due to exposure to head impacts that vary in number and magnitude over the season. This study compared a biological marker of head trauma in American football athletes with non-contact sport athletes and examined changes over the course of a season. Baseline serum neurofilament light polypeptide (NFL) was measured after 9 weeks of no contact and compared with a non-contact sport. ⋯ Over the course of the season, an increase (effect size [ES] = 1.8; p < 0.001) was observed post-camp relative to baseline (1.52 ± 1.18 pg•mL-1), which remained elevated until conference play, when a second increase was observed (ES = 2.6; p = 0.008) over baseline (4.82 ± 2.64 pg•mL-1). A lack of change in non-starters resulted in substantial differences between starters and non-starters over the course of the season. These data suggest that a season of collegiate American football is associated with elevations in serum NFL, which is indicative of axonal injury, as a result of head impacts.
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Meta Analysis
A meta-analysis of working memory impairments in survivors of moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.
To establish the magnitude of deficits in working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in those with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) relative to age-matched, healthy controls and to explore the moderating effects of time since injury and age at injury on these impairments. ⋯ Evidence for WM impairments following TBI is consistent with previous research. Larger verbal STM and verbal WM deficits were related to a longer time postinjury, suggesting that these aspects of memory do not "recover" over time and instead, individuals might show increased rates of cognitive decline. Age at injury was associated with the severity of verbal WM impairments, with larger deficits evident for injuries that occurred later in life. Further research needs to chart the long-term effects of TBI on WM and to compare the effects of injury on verbal relative to visuospatial memory. (PsycINFO Database Record