Tag Archive | "tbi"

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improves spasticity after spinal cord injury.

Friday, August 6, 2010

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Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) involves a coil that is applied against the head in order to send weak electrical pulses to the brain. These electrical pulses can temporarily activate or disrupt brain activity. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) involves continuous electrical pulses to the brain and can create long-term changes in the brain. Recently, rTMS was used in [...]

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Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Update

Friday, August 6, 2010

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On Thursday, August, 5, 2010, the Senate approved a $26.1 billion state-aid package that will be considered in the House next week. The measure (HR 1586) would extend enhanced federal Medicaid funding to states. Without the extension, the elevated federal funding will expire on December 31, 2010, halfway through the fiscal year for states causing [...]

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Implicit and explicit memory in traumatic brain injury

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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Memory is a difficult concept to define. To remember something requires the complex processing of information such as time, place, emotions, or sensory input (sight, smell, sound, touch), in order have the ability to re-create that information at a later time. Scientists have long tried to define memory by using models to describe this process, [...]

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Factors in the delay of returning to work after spinal cord injury

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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There are various factors that influence how and when a spinal cord injury patient returns to work—such as type of pre-injury employment, amount of family support, or years of education. A recent study focused on the factors that influenced the length of delay between the time of injury and the first post-injury job. The results of [...]

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World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessment for spinal cord injury

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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A high level quality of life is considered the ultimate goal in rehabilitation efforts for spinal cord injury patients. But, quality of life can be difficult to determine because of its subjective nature. A recent review of quality of life assessment tools found that the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessment was the [...]

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Active versus passive coping after traumatic brain injury

Thursday, July 22, 2010

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Coping with the negative effects of traumatic brain injury is an important aspect of a person’s ability to rehabilitate, as well as adapt to a changed lifestyle. There are different coping strategies that a patient can use. One is to actively confront a challenge by gathering information, cultivating skills, or changing a situation in order [...]

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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for brain injury is beneficial, but only within small time frame

Thursday, July 22, 2010

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One of the more disturbing results of traumatic brain injury is that secondary damage can often occur after the initial trauma. Such secondary damage can lower oxygen levels in the brain—making tissue oxygenation through hyperbaric oxygen therapy a potentially promising therapy for traumatic brain injury. A recent animal study confirmed that a single treatment of hyperbaric [...]

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Growth hormone replacement therapy improves cognition

Thursday, July 22, 2010

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We are now beginning to understand that traumatic brain injury may often include damage to the pituitary gland—a small, pea-sized area of the brain that can easily be sheared or obstructed by the bony cradle it sits in. The result of pituitary gland damage can be hypopituitarism (a condition in which the pituitary gland doesn’t [...]

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Glasgow Coma Scale not affected by alcohol intoxication

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

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It is common perception that alcohol intoxication lowers the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) rating in cases of traumatic brain injury, and is therefore not a reliable rating for intoxicated patients. In a large study of nearly 500 TBI patients, however, no association was found between alcohol intoxication and GCS score. Only when controlling for injury severity [...]

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Social outcomes of preschoolers with TBI

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

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It is commonly thought that children show rapid improvement after a traumatic brain injury because of either increased neuroplasticity or the ability for young brains to re-organize after injury. However, research that supports this notion has often been limited to cognitive and motor skills. A recent study took a broader view of recovery after pediatric TBI. [...]

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