Tagged with “cognitive ability”
October 5, 2021
Earlier this year the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) issued an open letter encouraging all individuals with brain injury to get a COVID vaccine. The letter cites evidence from the American Academy of Neurology that anyone with a neurologic disorder such a brain injury is particularly vulnerable to diseases like influenza and COVID:
“When one is infected with COVID-19, the virus attacks the “weakest link” it finds in the body, which is why individuals with longstanding chronic medical conditions are at the greatest risk for infection, complications and even death,” explained BIAA National Medical Director Brent E. Masel, M.D. “Studies have shown that traumatic brain injury triggers an inflammatory process in the brain that causes an individual to experience chronic issues. This process places those individuals at far greater risk of developing complications from COVID-19, which itself is well known to cause chronic neuroinflammatory issues.”
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June 10, 2021
A research report from the University of Texas Medical School, just published in Frontiers in Neurology, finds a correlation between Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) findings and cognitive assessments in patients with chronic complaints after concussion, providing evidence that DTI imaging may be a reliable biomarker predicting the severity of cognitive decline following concussion. (DTI is an MRI technique that detects microstructural changes in white matter such as the changes that can occur as a result of “diffuse axonal injury” in brain injuries including concussion.) Read More
April 8, 2021
Adding to a growing volume of literature on this topic, Montreal researchers published a study in January, 2021 demonstrating that a single mild traumatic brain injury involving late adulthood patients (ages 50-70) leads to subtle, long-term cognitive consequences.
The article, authored by Camille Larson-Dupuis et. al., entitled Subtle long-term cognitive effects of a single mild traumatic brain injury and the impact of a three-month aerobic exercise intervention, was published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness (2021 January: 61(1): 87-95). What makes these findings particularly significant is that all participants in the study were exempt from confounding factors sometimes associated with long-term consequences. All participants:
- had negative scans
- were symptom-free within three months of their accident (including depression and anxiety)
- did not present with chronic conditions known as risk factors for cognitive decline (uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease)
- were all well-educated
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January 10, 2018
A treatment protocol combining Ritalin, a stimulant commonly used for ADHD, and a form of Cognitive Behavioral Rehabilitation known as “Memory and Attention Adaptation Training” (MAAT) shows great promise for improving persistent traumatic brain injury (TBI) symptoms, including attention, episodic and working memory and executive function. The research supporting this finding, led by Thomas McAllister and Brenna McDonald at the Indiana School of Medicine, was published in 2017 in the journal of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. Read More
December 11, 2013
Using functional brain imaging (fMRI) a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Buffalo have documented metabolic and physiologic changes in the brains of patients experiencing post-concussion symptoms. They found improvements in both imaging findings and in patient symptoms following a controlled, progressive aerobic exercise program. The results have been published in both the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation and in Current Sports Medicine Reports and are summarized in UB news releases. Read More
