Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Concussive Syndrome Neurological Degeneration Dementia produces physical changes in the brain and some areas shrink and other widen. Dementia is a term used to describe symptoms of mental or communication impairment found in a variety of brain conditions including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In approximately 20% of the cases dementia can be reversed with the other 80% being irreversible. Dementia is generally marked by memory loss, forgetting appointments, forgetting the day of the week, which are all signs of cognitive impairment. Irritability and language difficulties are manifested in people with dementia. (Alzheimer’s Association, n.d.). The impact of TBI on the development of AD is a controversial topic that has caused spirted debate (Jellinger, Paulus, Wroklage, & Litvan, 2001). A study of World War II veterans showed that moderate and severe TBI in early adulthood, that was rated by the duration of the unconscious state or posttraumatic amnesia was associated with increased risk for AD. (Jellinger et al., 2001). Evidence is mounting that a correlation exists between TBI and the likelihood of the development of a neurodegenerative disease such as AD (Weiner et al, 2013). The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have produced countless cases of TBI. It is estimated that since 2003 more than 200,000 of the men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to concussive events that have resulted in a diagnosis of TBI (DOD,
Dementia is a loss of brain function. If affects memory, thinking, language, judgement and behaviour. Dementia is progressive, so the symptoms will gradually get worse. In a later stage of dementia people will find it hard to carry out daily tasks and will come dependant on other people.
Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of signs and symptoms that happen to the brain when it is affected by the progression of certain diseases such as vascular dementia (when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen) and Alzheimer’s disease (a specific brain disease). Some of the affects these diseases have are on a person’s memory, language and communication abilities, behaviour and ability to make rational judgements.
Dementia is a progressive illness that usually occurs over a period of time one of the earliest signs of dementia is problems with a persons memory, this can result in the individual behaving and communicating differently .
Perhaps one of the least understood injuries is a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), otherwise known as a concussion. Over 1,000,000 concussions occur the United States every year (Majerske et al., 2008), and can be caused by any blow to the head. It is likely that many concussions do not go diagnosed. 300,000 of these concussion have been contributed to sports related injury (Majerske et al., 2008), making the study of sports related concussions in athletes the most important and easiest subjects to study.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a worldwide health problem that can lead to death or long-term disability even in people with mild TBI, especially in young population (Menon et al., 2010). More than 1.3 million visits to emergency department in the United States report for TBI (Faul et al., 2010). TBI can lead to sundry impairments and disabilities in physical , functional, cognitive, emotional and social realms which remarkably reduce health-related quality of life(HRQL) (Scholten et al., 2015: Andelic et al., 2009). TBI can be classified according to it severity into mild-moderate and sever TBI. Mild TBI (MTBI) also termed concussion score for over 77% of the entire reported TBI cases in the United States. About 40% of these cases are frequently
Traumatic brain injuries have become an epidemic, affecting both children and adults. The effects of these brain injuries are severe however; they do differ in severity from youth to adult age in areas such as: cognitive and speech function, physical ability, fatigue, and headaches. America has been recognizing the severity of these injuries and sports and medicine have increased funding to prevent them. In order to properly decide what treatment is best for adults or youth suffering traumatic brain injuries one must conclude the differences between adult and youth symptoms, this proves challenging because the amount of adults suffering traumatic brain injuries is much fewer than adolescents. Another challenge faced when attempting to record and prevent these injuries is the lack of knowledge of symptoms; youth often misinterpret concussion symptoms and believe they have learning disabilities such as ADD and ADHD.
Traumatic brain injury is a serious harm to the brain which happens after a blow or jolt to the head. Also it causes wide-ranging spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. Suffering from TBI is not only an impact on the individual but it can also be devastating to the individual’s family. TBI can occur after experiencing a traumatic event or situation such as, accident, fall, violence, etc. There are three types of common symptoms for TBI for example, Physical, cognitive, and emotional. The symptoms for TBI and PTSD are really similar and because of similarities in both, it can be difficult to understand what the fundamental complication is. Furthermore, individuals with TBI are more likely to develop PTSD in the long run. Since there were many things the women was forgetting about while telling her story, it could have been due to TBI. When telling her story she couldn’t stay calm,” she cries
The severity of the TBI, history of loss of consciousness associated with the TBI, among others suggest that TBI may actually accelerate the onset of dementia. Many questions still are left unanswered such as do patients whom have suffered TBI develop dementia that is distinct from what is considered typical AD. Also to be considered is potential genetic predisposition as well as sex or age differences. It is very possible that some people can suffer TBI and not develop dementia. The reasons for this are still unknown at this
Will the Army Soldier be able to resume a normal life along with their military career?
Over the years, there have been multiple studies done concerning the effects of physical activity on patients post TBI, but they are limited. Of the studies that have been done on the population who has experienced a TBI, research is limited in regarding the effects that physical activity has on reducing the symptoms that have effects on areas such as cognitive performance, and behavioral symptoms (Lee, Ashman, Shang, & Suzuki, 2014; Goldshtrom, Knorr, & Goldshtrom,
Examining the long-term effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are one of the many areas of brain behavior relationships neuropsychologists focus on. Consequently, studies review the effects obstacles have when attempting to remediate coping following TBI (Krpan, K. M., Anderson, N. D., & Stuss, D. T., 2013) while other studies have looked at the relationships between development in children who have suffered from TBI (Ganesalingam, K., Yeates, K. O., Sanson, A. and Anderson, V., 2007). In a highly specialized study, researchers discussed the sex differences in orbitofrontal connectivity in male and female veterans with TBI (McGlade, E., Rogowska, J. & Yurgelun-Todd, D., 2015). Nevertheless, while these studies are examining different ways TBI are influencing different behavioral changes in all ranges of people, they all focus on specific brain behavior relationships. The further purpose of these studies is to determine the best rehabilitation methods to achieve the highest possibility of cognitive functioning. Through the examination of how TBI effect certain areas of the brain, this will allow neuropsychologists to focus rehabilitation efforts specifically on the areas with the most concentrated brain damage.
Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) are amongst the most common injuries affecting approximately 42 million individuals annually (Gardner & Yaffe, 2015). This incidence rate is inaccurate as many mTBI are not reported (Gardner & Yaffe, 2015). Such injuries are thought to increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Gardner & Yaffe, 2015). AD accounts for up to 80% of all senile dementia and is characterized by cognitive deficits that progressively manifest into severe cognitive and behavioral impairment (Elder et al., 2010). Such symptoms are causally associated with amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles
Katherine Krpan, Nicole Anderson and Donald Stuss examined the obstacles patients encountered when trying to cope with a traumatic brain injury. Coping with a TBI is the last outcome after the injury has occurred. Results showed that there were three factors which limit the individual’s ability to effectively cope with TBI. There is limited understanding of what is going on in the patient’s mind after diagnosis has been made. Often, those with TBI are incapable of performing complex actions or verbal processes and cannot explain how they are feeling about the injury. In addition, patients are unable to understand exactly why they cannot do their normal daily routines easily or without help. Finally, individuals with TBI’s often have other psychological factors which inhibit their inability to effectively cope with the injury; such as, depression, anxiety or PTSD. The area of the brain primarily concentrated on within this study was the frontal lobe and how different areas of damage within the frontal lobe effect the ability to cope with a TBI (Krpan, K. M., Anderson, N. D., & Stuss, D. T., 2013) .
While age is, statistically speaking, by far and away the predominant factor associated with developing AD, there is compelling research that asserts a correlation between AD and traumatic-brain injuries (TBI). The foundation for this specific research was introduced by J.A. Mortimer. In 1991, Mortimer provided evidence from 11 case-controlled studies to show a positive link between head injuries and AD. Particularly, “the findings of the meta-analysis provide support for an
When we hear the term TBI, we tend to think in the abstract since we do not see the brain as an appendage. We have trouble understanding or even confuse mental and behavioral disorders, as being the consequence. When people say “he’s not the same as he used to be, he’s changed,” they don’t realize this is who he is now. When discussing with the family TBI, it is important to share with them that result in disabilities depend on the location of the injury, general health of the patient, age, and severity of the injury (Grant and Adams,