Recent Blog Posts

    • Requesting Support for Increases in TBI Act Programs and NIDRR TBI Model Systems This year, 1.4 million people will sustain a traumatic brain injury. This number exceeds the number of breast cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries combined. Additionally, in recent years, traumatic brain injuries have emerged as the "signature injury" of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with as many as 20% of soldiers sustaining brain injuries. Brain injuries remain a leading cause of death and disability in both children and adults.   The TBI Act, which was originally passed in 1996 and reauthorized in 2008, is the only federal law that specifically addresses the needs of the growing population of brain injury survivors. The programs authorized under the TBI Act provide public awareness and education through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and State TBI care capacity-building and protection, legal, referral, and advocacy services at the Health Resources and Services Administration.  Furthermore, the TBI Model Systems of Care ....
    • Brain Injury Association of New Jersey Expands Family Support Program The Family Support Program at the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey has expanded its services due to additional funding from the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities.  This program provides free care coordination services for people who have sustained an acquired brain injury before the age of 22 and for their families.  If you would like to learn more about this program, please contact Judi Weinberger, Director of Family Support, at (732) 745-0200 or jweinberger@bianj.org. ....
    • 2010 International Brain Injury Association Board of Governors Announced I was very pleased to learn that I have been re-elected to serve on the Board of Governors of the International Brain Injury Association.  IBIA is an international organization of professionals dedicated to work to improve outcomes and opportunities for persons with brain injury. Below is a complete list of the 2010 Board of Governors: David Arciniegas, MD Lucia Braga, PhD Ross Bullock, MD, PhD Enrico Castelli, MD Chetwyn Chan, PhD Esteban Fridman, MD, PhD Tai Ryoon  Han, MD, PhD Steven Laureys, MD, PhD Jose Leon-Carrion, PhD Peter Patrick, PhD Claudio Perino, MD Jennie Ponsford, PhD Wai  Poon, MD Bruce Stern, Esq. Walter Videtta, MD Kevin Wang, MD Ross  Zafonte, DO Nathan Zasler, MD Mariusz  Ziejewski, PhD   From March 10 to 14, 2010, IBIA will be sponsoring the 8th World Congress on Brain Injury in Washington, DC.  You can access additional information online here.  I look forward to seeing everyone there. ....
    • Reminder: Brain Injury Association of New Jersey to Host 2010 Annual Gala Just a reminder that The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will host its 2010 Annual Gala on Tuesday March 9, 2010 at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey. The Gala will celebrate the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey’s 25 years of service and dedication to the brain injury community and will honor individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing the quality of life in New Jersey throughout the past 25 years. For additional information on the event and the honorees, please visit the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey’s website.   ....
    • Brain Injury Association of New Jersey to Hold Annual Brain Injury Awareness Day The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will hold its Annual Brain Injury Awareness Day Monday, March 8, 2010 at the State House in Trenton, New Jersey. A tentative schedule of events for the day is listed below: Visit the display at the elevator lobby on the 3rd floor (near Café NJ) between 10:00 – 12:00 and learn about our programs and services. At 1:00 visit the Welcome Center Multi-Purpose Room as the BIANJ recognizes Assemblywoman Mila Jasey for being prime sponsor of law creating the New Jersey Special Education and Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force.  At 2:00 the Assembly Education Committee is expected to hold a hearing on sports concussion. For additional information and/or to RSVP, please contact Tom Grady, Director Advocacy & Public Affairs,at 732-745-0200 or by email at tgrady@bianj.org. ....
    • Olympic Snowboarder, Kevin Pearce, Sustains Traumatic Brain Injury Though the Olympics bring years of hard work and dedication to fruition for many athletes, for some it brings serious injuries. Snowboarder, Kevin Pearce, a favorite to challenge gold medalist Shaun White in the halfpipe, sustained a traumatic brain injury during training December 31, 2009. Pearce struck his head on the lip of the halfpipe while attempting a double cork - a move he had performed several times before. Pearce continues to show improvement and currently resides at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado.  Pearce's story is just one more reminder of the serious and devastating effects brain injuries can have on athletes, no matter their skill level. You can watch a video of Pearce's story online here. ....
    • Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Neuropsychological Testing In the most current issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 31-42), Rakesh K. Gupta, M.D. and his colleagues in Locknow, India, studied the correlation and changes in diffusion tensor imaging with neuropsychometric tests ( NPT)in patients with moderate traumatic brain injury.   The objective of the study was to assess longitudinally the severity of DAI in the corpus callosum with patients with moderate traumatic brain injury through DTI and to correlate those changes with neuropsychometric tests at 6 and 24 months after injury.  Sixteen patients with traumatic brain injury were matched with 17 age/sex matched healthy controls.  The patients underwent MRI at 2 weeks, 6 months and 24 months after injury.  Neuropsychometric testing was performed at 6 and 24 months.   The authors found that fractional anisotropy in genu as well as insignificant decrease in radial diffusivity and mean diffusivity values in genu and splenium were ....
    • New Jersey's Traumatic Brain Injury Fund Losing Help from State Michael Jankowsky of Toms River, New Jersey sustained a brain injury over 25 years ago when he was stabbed in the heart and his brain was deprived of oxygen. Today, Jankowsky uses a wheelchair, slurs his speech, and struggles to concentrate. Though times have been tough, according to his mother, he has made progress over the past few years thanks to New Jersey’s Traumatic Brain Injury Fund, which paid for speech therapy and other treatments not covered by insurance. However, that could end soon. The Brain Injury Fund is going broke, and the state wants to limit whom it helps to people whose brain damage came from a direct blow to the head. If the recommendation is passed this spring, people who suffered strokes, tumors or other acquired brain injuries would be refused assistance, leaving 1,300 of the 2,200 people the fund has helped since 2004 — including Jankowsky — without help. You can read more on Jankowsky’s story online here. ....
    • Brain Injury Awareness Day To celebrate March as Brain Injury Awareness Month, the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force is hosting a Brain Injury Awareness Day, on Wednesday, March 17, 2010, on Capitol Hill.  The Brain Injury Association of America encourages advocates across the country to participate in the Brain Injury Awareness Day. Below is a schedule of the day’s events: Brain Injury Awareness Fair 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM - First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building Brain Injury Briefing 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM     “From the Playground to the Pros: A Heads-Up on Concussion” Capitol Visitors Center - Congressional Meeting Room South Reception Celebrating Brain Injury Awareness Month 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM -First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building   You can access additional information online here, or contact Mandy Spears in Congressman Pascrell’s office at mandy.spears@mail.house.gov. ....
    • Congress Holds Third Hearing on Brain Injuries, Focuses on Youth in Football Last week during a committee hearing in Houston on head injuries in college and youth football, Representative Steve Cohen, (D-TN), questioned leagues like the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 for not putting tougher rules in place. Much of the hearing focused on the safety of youth in sports. Dr. Bennet Omalu, a founder of the Brain Injury Research Institute at West Virginia University, testified that anyone younger than 18 should be held out for three months after a concussion to lower the risk of irreversible brain damage. Last week’s hearing was the committee’s third - the first two focused on head injuries in the National Football League. You can read more on this story online here.   ....
    • Sesame Street Actress Struck By Car, Suffers Head Injury and Broken Bone Loretta Long, who played Susan Robinson on the PBS children’s show Sesame Street since it’s debut in 1969, is in fair condition at Capital Health-Fuld Hospital in Trenton after being struck by a car Tuesday night. Ms. Long was crossing Route 130 at Dutch Neck Road around 6:45 PM Tuesday evening when she was struck by a vehicle making a left at the intersection. Ms. Long was hit and thrown on to the hood of the vehicle. The car traveled nearly 70 feet before she fell off and struck her head on the pavement.  Ms. Long was taken to the hospital and underwent CAT scans and additional testing. She suffered a broken tibia and will spend a few additional days in the hospital for observation. Ms. Long, a resident of Cranbury, was reported to be in good spirits Wednesday despite being in a lot of pain. ....
    • Sarah Jane Brain Foundation Founder Speaks to Congress The United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary hosted a forum entitled, "Head and Other Injuries in Youth, High School, College and Professional Football" Monday, February 1, 2010, in Houston, Texas. Patrick Donohue, founder of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, participated as a panelist at this forum. Mr. Donohue described the Super Bowl week announcement in Miami which launched the Zackery Lystedt Brain Project (ZLBP). The mission of ZLBP is to advance the core principles established in the Zackery Lystedt Law through public awareness, education and training, legislation and advancing research in the field of sports concussion evaluation and management. This will be a joint effort with the American College of Sports Medicine which is the world’s largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. The three core principles of the Zackery Lystedt Brain Project are: educate and verify that every youth athlete, their parents, ....
    • The International Brain Research Foundation To Host 5th Annual Anniversary Celebration of Excellence in Brain Research and Treatment The International Brain Research Foundation will host The Fifth Year Anniversary Celebration of Excellence in Brain Research and Treatment Thursday February 25, 2010 at 7:00 PM. This year’s celebration is held in honor of The Honorable Joseph Crowley, United States Representative, Seventh District, New York - in recognition of his valuable works and outstanding support for wounded warriors. Additionally, this year’s honorary chair is The Honorable Bill Pascrell Jr., United States Representative, Eighth District, New Jersey. The event will be held at The Penn Club, 30 W. 44th Street, New York, New York. For additional information, please contact Megan Johnson at 732-494-7600, or visit the IBRF’s website at  www.ibrfinc.org. ....
    • HBO Special Highlights Concussions in the NFL Last week, HBO presented a 30-minute special on concussions featuring Chris Nowinski's concussion research program. The program, part of HBO's ongoing series Real Sports, details controversial aspects of professional sports few of us every get to learn about. The special showed the National Football League's denial of the severe effects sports related concussions have on players. Additionally, the story mentioned that the NFL was selectively using defense-based findings to support their view, which HBO documented in 2007 with the NFL physician saying there was no evidence of damage in any study. ....
    • New Study Confirms that "Head Injury" Viewed by Public as Being Less Serious Than "Traumatic Brain Injury" A number of years ago, the Brain Injury Association of America retained the Gallop Group to conduct a poll to gather information regarding the public’s awareness of traumatic brain injury.  One of the things learned from the polling results was that the public viewed the term “head injury” as being less serious than the term “traumatic brain injury.”   A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics confirmed that perception. Carol A. DeMatteo, M.S.c and her colleagues at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, conducted a study, the goal of which was to examine the clinical correlation of the concussion diagnosis and to identify the factors that lead to the use of this term in a regional pediatric center.   According to the abstract, the researchers collected data respectively from 434 children with traumatic brain injury who were admitted to a Canadian childrens hospital.  The researchers found that children with mild traumatic ....
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