Until recently, there was very little evidence-based research into how people cope with a spouse’s brain injury. In fact, for far too long, doctors counseling spouses of persons with a brain injury advised them that the marriage was probably worth giving up on, and would definitely collapse under the strain of the injury and the changes in the person. Those concerns may not be 100% true, as evidenced by the divorce rate among persons with a brain injury, which is lower than the national divorce rate. However, there is no denying the fact that the injury takes a very heavy emotional toll not only on the person with the brain injury, but also the uninjured spouse who is now forced into the role of caregiver.

California brain injury lawyers find that for many spouses who are now caregivers for their injured partners, coping with life after a brain injury can be almost as devastating and traumatic as it is for the person with the injury. In fact, the incidence of mental and anxiety-related disorders among spouses who are caregivers is quite high. Many caregivers tend to collapse under the strain of dealing with the now seemingly-changed person in their home, and may even exhibit symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

According to a New York Times report, it's not just the financial struggle and the months of rehabilitation and therapy that can put strain on a marriage. It's also the change in the personality of the person that you loved and married. Behavioral changes in persons who have suffered a brain injury can range from mild to severe. It is not unusual for caregivers to fantasize about escaping from the marriage, and then going into cycles of depression and guilt over those fantasies.

Fortunately, psychologists at VCU are trying to develop special marriage counseling for persons who suffer from brain injuries and their spouses. But these special services are still fairly limited in accessibility.

Patients who have suffered a brain injury may suffer from severe immunosuppression, or a reduced ability to fight infections. These patients may also be at a high risk for hyper inflammation, because the brain releases glucocorticoids in response to the brain injury. Reducing infection rates in patients with traumatic brain injury is therefore a primary concern for health care providers. A new study finds that patients with traumatic brain injury, who are given infusions of probiotics, may be able to fight infections better.

The small-scale study was conducted at the North Sichuan Medical College and Hospital in China. The trial consisted of a total of 52 patients who had suffered traumatic brain injury, and were being treated in an intensive care unit. Approximately half of these patients were in the control group, and were given conventional brain injury treatments. The other half were given conventional brain injury therapies and an additional dose of probiotics every day over a period of 21 days.

At the end of the 21 days, the researchers found that the patients who were given the probiotics infusions had a lower chance of contracting infections after a brain injury. This improvement in patients who were given the probiotics was seen not soon after receiving the probiotics, but around the 15th day after the injury.

Overall, the researchers have concluded from the study that the use of probiotics reduced the number of infections suffered about 7 days after the brain injury. These patients needed fewer antibiotics to treat infections, and also required shorter stays in the hospital ICU.

This was a small-scale study, and therefore was not as conclusive as California brain injury lawyers may have hoped. For instance, the study did not indicate any major differences in the number of infections suffered by patients in the control group and patients who were given the probiotics. However, the fact that there was an improvement in the persons who were given probiotics a few days after beginning the treatment is an encouraging sign that could be investigated further.

A Marin County family narrowly escaped death last week after a bout of carbon monoxide poisoning. When symptoms began to show, the couple and their children thought they had the flu. However, they soon called 911, and were ordered to leave the house immediately. They were taken to the hospital, and have now recovered from the symptoms.

According to Marin County Fire Department personnel, the carbon monoxide fumes escaped from a defective wall heater inside the house. The house also did not have carbon monoxide detectors.

California homeowners must be aware of a new rule that requires all owners of single-family units with gas burning appliances to install carbon monoxide detectors. The rule went into effect on July 1. By January 1 next year, owners of all residential units will be required to install carbon monoxide alarms.

The family members in this case, were alert enough to call 911 when their symptoms got worse. In many of the cases that California carbon monoxide poisoning lawyers come across, people aren't so lucky. By the time, they become aware that their symptoms are dangerous, it may be too late.

According to estimates in California, approximately 700 people fall ill with carbon monoxide poisoning every year, and require treatment. Forty people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide fumes are so dangerous because they cannot be seen, tasted or smelled. These are colorless, odorless and tasteless gases, and as a result, many times, people may not be aware that they are being poisoned by carbon monoxide until it is too late. This is why it's important to have carbon monoxide alarms and detectors installed in your home.

If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, evacuate everyone from your home into an open-air environment. Call 911 immediately. In many cases, carbon monoxide poisoning is a result of defective appliances or devices, shoddy installation of appliances or heating units, and poor maintenance and repairs of furnaces, heating appliances and other devices.

California brain injury lawyers are aware of the link between traumatic brain injury and the development of a number of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. However, a new study also links brain injury to an increased chance of stroke. Persons with a traumatic brain injury are at a much higher chance of suffering a stroke within three months after the injury. A stroke occurs when blood flow to a portion of the brain is interrupted or severely reduced. The lack of blood flow deprives brain cells of oxygen causing the cells to die.

The results of the study have been published in the journal, Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. The researchers analyzed records of 23,199 patients with a traumatic brain injury, and compared the records with 69,597 persons who had not suffered a traumatic injury. These persons were then monitored for a period of five years to gauge their risk of stroke.

Researchers found that over a period of three months, 2.91% of the patients who had suffered a traumatic brain injury suffered a stroke, compared to just .30% of the persons who had not suffered a brain injury. That makes it a tenfold difference in the risk of stroke between the two groups.

The risk of suffering a stroke seemed to decline three months after the injury, but people who had suffered a brain injury continued to be at a higher risk of suffering stroke compared to those without a brain injury. The risk at one year was about 4.6 times higher. After five years, the stroke risk had declined even further, but even then, it was still about 2.3 times higher than for those who had not suffered a brain injury. The stroke risk was seen to increase if the person had suffered a traumatic brain injury that included a skull fracture.

The researchers are not sure why a brain injury increases the risk of a stroke, but believe that head trauma possibly damages the brain blood cells, interfering with blood supply and increasing the risk of a stroke.

The U.S. military is conducting experimental research on the use of pressurized chambers in order to treat traumatic brain injuries. The concept is based on exposing victims of traumatic brain injury to increased levels of oxygen, which can help the brain heal.

The pressurized chambers are the same as those used to treat scuba divers who suffer from decompression sickness. Patients inside the pressurized chamber are exposed to the same amount of pressure as being under 20 feet of water. The military has been tightlipped about the details of these experiments. Not much is known about the success of these treatments, or whether there will be any success at all.

While it is too early for California brain injury lawyers to determine if there will be any major developments from this research that might treat brain injury, there is reason to be hopeful. Some of the most promising research in brain injury treatment in recent years has come from the Department of Defense. The U.S. military is investing heavily in the treatment of traumatic brain injury, in order to cope with the large numbers of combat veterans suffering from these injuries. According to statistics, since 2003, more than 134,000 service members have come back from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan with brain injuries.

There is little that can be done to completely reverse a serious brain injury once it occurs, but emergency medical treatment can help limit the extent or severity of the injury. Additionally, over a period of time, a person may be able to regain some of his abilities through extensive rehabilitation and therapy.

A new study out of Australia indicates that brain injury patients who are put into a medically induced coma at the scene of the injury had a much better recovery rate than those who were put into a coma after they arrived at the hospital.

The study involved an analysis of more than 300 patients, and the findings have been published in the Annals of Surgery. As part of the study, approximately 200 intensive care paramedics were trained to administer anesthetics to induce a coma.  According to the researchers, patients who suffered brain injuries were either put through a medically induced coma by paramedics at the scene of the accident, or at the hospital after they arrived. The researchers found that in cases where paramedics induced a medical coma, the patient had a much more successful recovery and a favorable outcome.

Specifically, 51% of the patients who went into a medically induced coma at the scene of the accident were able to ultimately recover sufficiently enough to live independently. In comparison, just 39% of the cases where emergency doctors induced a coma after the patient arrived at the hospital showed a favorable outcome.

It's been no surprise to California brain injury attorneys that time is of the essence in such cases. This study seems to confirm this. It shows that when brain injury patients are put into a medically induced coma with the use of anesthetics, it eases pressure on the brain, and limits the extent of the injury. To maximize the effect of such treatments however, it is necessary that the procedure to induce a coma begins right at the scene of the accident.

Determining the presence of concussions in high school athletes just became much more complicated. A new study finds that there is a difference in concussion symptoms among boys and girls. The differences in symptoms are strong enough to require that schools, coaches and parents be aware of the findings of the study.

The findings of the study were presented recently at the National Athletic Trainers Association Youth Sports Safety Summit in Washington DC.  According to the study, boys are much more likely to report symptoms like confusion and disorientation, and girls are much more likely to report other symptoms like drowsiness. Girls are also more likely to report higher sensitivity to noise.

These differences could mean that high school girls who suffer concussions during sports, could be at risk of having their concussions misdiagnosed because of the differences in the symptoms. The researchers found that girls who suffer concussions are at a higher chance of having their injury go undiagnosed, because symptoms like excessive sensitivity to noise or drowsiness may be considered less urgent and immediate. Besides, these symptoms may also be mistaken for those of other conditions. On the other hand, boys who suffer a concussion and report confusion, disorientation and amnesia are much more likely to have their injury taken seriously.

The researchers studied concussions in high school athletes playing nine different sports including boys’ soccer, football, basketball, baseball, wrestling and girls’ soccer, basketball, volleyball and softball. The data involved a total of 812 concussions. Out of these, 602 involved boys and 202 involved girls.

Some symptoms were common to both sexes. For instance, headache was the most frequently reported symptom for both boys and girls.

One particular aspect of these injuries that researchers did not consider is that the types of injuries that boys suffer may be different from the types of injuries that girls suffer, and that this could explain the difference in symptoms. California brain injury lawyers hope for more studies into this phenomenon.

After Menlo Park-based Geron Corporation, it's the turn of yet another California company to move forward with plans to conduct stem cell research into the treatment of spinal cord injury.

The company, StemCells Inc., has now filed for approval to conduct trials. The trials will involve the use of nerve stem cells in patients who have suffered a spinal cord injury. The main difference between these trials and the clinical trials that Geron Corporation has just begun, is that the StemCells Inc.’s trials will include spinal cord injuries that are up to one year old.  The clinical trials at Geron will only involve spinal cord injuries that are very new.

According to the researchers at StemCells Inc., there has been too much focus on treatment at the acute spinal cord injury phase. These new trials will focus on persons who have passed the acute injury phase, but still lack movement. According to the Palo Alto-based company, it has received approval from the relevant ethics committees. The trials are likely to be conducted in Switzerland.  The researchers say Switzerland provides a much more conducive environment for such trials because of the expertise of the investigators and the institutions there, as well as a well-developed network of patients and references.

Earlier this year, a study showed that mice with spinal cord injury which were treated with nerve stem cells were actually able to walk better than mice that were treated with human skin cells or a placebo. StemCells Inc. expects to enroll at least a dozen patients. Patients, whose injuries are about three months to 12 months old, can enlist for the trial.

In spite of a federal judge's ruling earlier this year blocking federal funding for embryonic stem cells research, private companies are going ahead with their research into stem cell therapy for the treatment of a variety of conditions, including spinal cord injury. No California spinal cord injury lawyer would deny that there is great momentum in research into spinal cord injury right now, raising hopes for a cure.

With no complete cure for brain or spine injury in sight, it is important to keep research efforts going, and focused on the possibilities of stem cell therapy in brain injury treatment.  Last week, researchers at the University of California Irvine received $9.35 million in grants to develop treatments using stem cell therapy. 

The grants came from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and will be used to study the effectiveness of stem cell therapy in treating eye diseases, Huntington's disease and traumatic brain injury.  So far, UC Irvine has received more than $71 million in funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Researchers at UCI will use their share of the funds, amounting to $1.7 million, to study stem cell therapy to treat traumatic brain injury.  They're hoping that the stem cells lines that they develop may also one day prove effective in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke and spinal cord injury. 

A big portion of the research will be on the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease that can result in blindness.  This research will be funded by $3.85 million dollars from the grant.  According to the researchers, they have had success in animal testing, and hope to move closer to human clinical trials.  The rest of the funds will be used to develop stem cell therapies to treat Huntington's disease.

Over the past year, there have been dramatic breakthroughs in embryonic stem cell therapies, especially in the treatment of eye injuries.  A California-based company has already begun the world's first human clinical trials in the treatment of spinal cord injuries using embryonic stem cells.  There is great activity in this area, and California brain injury lawyers would support any efforts to keep the momentum going.

A patient with a spinal cord injury has become the first person to receive an experimental stem cell treatment that holds great promise for California spine injury lawyers.

California-based Geron Corporation announced this week that a patient who suffers from a spinal cord injury has received human embryonic stem cell therapy at an Atlanta center.  Geron Corporation is the only company in the country with approval by the Food and Drug Administration to conduct such clinical human embryonic stem cell therapies.  Geron Corporation's research into stem cell therapy is funded by private groups, which means that the company is not hindered by a recent ruling by a federal judge prohibiting the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell therapy research.  That ruling had severely disappointed California brain injury lawyers and researchers who had pinned much hope on such clinical trials.  But the federal ruling will not apply to the Geron trial. 

For now, this is a phase 1 trial, which means that researchers will not be looking so much at the benefits of the therapy, as much as at whether the therapy is safe to use.  The patient who is now being treated with the therapy has been admitted into Shepherd Center, which is a brain injury and spinal cord injury treatment facility in Atlanta.  The Atlanta site is one of seven potential facilities across the country where patients may be enrolled during the clinical trial. 

According to Geron, it has spent more than $130 million in developing stem cell therapies for the treatment of spinal cord injury.  Simply put, the therapy involves injecting stem cells, which have been coaxed into becoming nerve cells, directly into the injured spinal cord.  The stem cells used in the therapy are leftovers from fertility treatments.  Doctors are hoping that the stem cells will allow the nerves in the damaged spinal cord area to regenerate, ultimately to allow the patient to restore movement of injured legs and arms.