Post-traumatic amnesia was found to be prolonged in those who were alcohol dependents prior to the head injury. A comparison with controls who were matched for age and severity of head injury indicated that the PTA in the alcoholics was significantly longer. The pathophysiologic changes in the alcoholic brain that could explain such variations are discussed in the light of recent findings.

Our recent findings have demonstrated that rodent models of closed head traumatic brain injury exhibit comprehensive evidence of progressive and enduring orofacial allodynias, a hypersensitive pain response induced by non-painful stimulation. These allodynias, tested using thermal hyperalgesia, correlated with changes in several known pain signaling receptors and molecules along the trigeminal ...

Children with head injuries frequently present to emergency departments. Even though most of these children have minor injuries, head injury is the most common cause of traumatic deaths in pediatric patients. The pediatric GCS and decision rules for obtaining head CT imaging help the provider evaluate head-injured infants and children. The provider must be vigilant to diagnose those who have li...

The rising awareness of the long-term health problems associated with concussions re-emphasizes the need for understanding the mechanical etiology of concussions. This article reviews past studies defining the common mechanisms for mild traumatic brain injury and summarizes efforts to convert the external input to the head (force, acceleration, and velocity) into estimates of motions and deform...

In previous studies, the neuroprotective effect of progestrone in diffuse traumatic brain injury has been shown. This study used mifepristone (RU-486), a potent progesterone receptor antagonist, to evaluatethe hypothesis that the neuroprotective effect of progesterone in traumatic brain injury is mediated by the progesterone receptors. The ovariectomized rats were divided into 6 groups. Brain i...

Post-traumatic headaches are one of the most common and controversial secondary headache types. After mild head injury, up to 50% of people develop a post concussion syndrome, which has been controversial for over 135 years. Headache is estimated as present in 30% to 90% of patients after mild head injury. Most headaches are of the tension type, although migraines can increase in frequency or o...

BACKGROUND Acute neurogenic pulmonary edema, a common and underdiagnosed clinical entity, can occur after virtually any form of injury of the central nervous system and is a potential early contributor to pulmonary dysfunction in patients with head injuries. OBJECTIVE To explore myocardial function in patients with evident neurogenic pulmonary edema after traumatic head injury. METHODS Duri...

Trauma is a major health problem and is a leading cause of death in the age group 1 – 45 yrs. Head injuries caused or contributed to death in most trauma fatalities. The primary goal of imaging the trauma patient is to quickly and accurately identify treatable lesions before secondary injury to the brain occurs. CT scan is ideally suited to evaluate patients immediately after trauma. Head injur...

background: in previous studies, the neuroprotective effect of 17&beta-estradiol; in diffuse traumatic brain injury has been shown. this study used ici 182,780, a non-selective estrogen receptor antagonist, to test the hypothesis that the neuroprotective effect of 17&beta-estradiol; in traumatic brain injury is mediated by the estrogen receptors. methods: the ovariectomized rats were divided in...

We investigate how a nonlinear stress-strain relation (that leads to a stiffening of the brain matter under strain) influences the brain dynamics in traumatic situations. We numerically simulate rapid rotational accelerations and decelerations of a human head using our generalization of the viscoelastic Kelvin-Voigt brain injury model that includes an experimentally established dependency of st...