![]() ![]() Rear Impact Collision and the Law of Inertia It is now thought that structural and neuropsychiatric factors may both be responsible for the effects of concussion. Cellular damage has reportedly been found in concussed brains, but it may have been due to artifacts from the studies. It is not known whether the brain in concussion is structurally damaged or whether there is mainly a loss of function with only physiological changes. ![]() In addition to a blow to the head, concussion may be caused by acceleration forces without a direct impact, and on the battlefield, MTBI is a potential consequence of nearby explosions. Common causes include sports injuries, bicycle accidents, car accidents, and falls, the latter two being the most frequent among adults. A 2010 Pediatrics review article focusing on children and adolescents noted that fewer than 10% of sports-related concussions had associated loss of consciousness.ĭue to varying definitions and possible underreporting, the rate at which concussion occurs annually is not accurately known, but is estimated to be more than 6 per 1,000 people. Repeated concussions may increase the risk in later life for dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and/or depression.Ī variety of signs accompany concussion including somatic (such as headache), cognitive (such as feeling in a fog), emotional (such as emotional changeability), physical signs (such as loss of consciousness or amnesia), behavioral changes (such as irritability), cognitive impairment (such as slowed reaction times), and/or sleep disturbances. There is also a negative progressive process in which smaller impacts cause the same symptom severity. Those who have had one concussion seem more susceptible to another, especially if the new injury occurs before symptoms from the previous concussion have completely resolved. Symptoms usually resolve within three weeks, though they may persist or complications may occur for month or years. Treatment involves monitoring as well as physical and cognitive rest (reduction of such activities as school work, playing video games and text messaging). With a temporary loss of brain function, concussion causes a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms, which may not be recognized if subtle. In this article, “concussion” and “MTBI” are used interchangeably. Although the term “concussion” is still used in sports literature as interchangeable with “MHI” or “MTBI”, the general clinical medical literature now uses “MTBI” instead. ![]() The terms mild brain injury, mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), mild head injury (MHI), minor head trauma, and concussion may be used interchangeably, although the last is often treated as a narrower category. Also, protein markers of brain pathology were identified after mTBI in the blood of mTBI patients.Ĭoncussion, from the Latin concutere (“to shake violently”) or concussus (“action of striking together”), is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. They have found distinct changes throughout the white matter in the brain. Smith and colleagues have begun to amass data from human and animal studies on mTBI at 2-4 days after injury using advanced neuroimaging techniques. However, this “mild” form of injury induces persisting neurological and cognitive problems in many of these patients, exacting an enormous emotional and financial toll on society.ĭespite the prevalence and impact of mTBI, little is known about how mTBI affects nerve cells and connections in the brain, and therefore clinical outcomes after injury. 22, 2010) - Douglas Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, presented findings on the molecular mechanism at play in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), commonly known as concussions, recently at the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in San Diego.Īlthough mTBI affects over 1.7 million people each year in the United States, it is generally ignored as a major health issue. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Not So Mild After All ![]()
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