Researchers wanted to know whether service members become more susceptible to PTSD due to the emotional trauma of combat, or because a concussion physically alters the brain in a way that intensifies anxiety and fear. Potentially thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans may have developed PTSD after sustaining a concussion from a bomb blast on the battlefield.

Researchers assessed more than 1,600 Iraq and Afghanistan troops both prior to deployment and three months after their return. Service members who sustained brain trauma while deployed were twice as likely to develop PTSD in comparison to uninjured veterans.

According to the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concussions and other brain injuries can change the way the brain reacts to a frightening situation. The injury disturbs the electrical activity in parts of the brain that normally regulate emotional reactions such as tempering responses to fear.

“The result is like a car with no brake,” said biomedical physicist Mingxiong Huang, of the University of California, San Diego. Researchers plan to continue investigating the brain circuitry involved in both TBI and PTSD in order to gain a better understanding of their connection.

Reports of the Minneapolis and Amarillo VA hospitals’ misdiagnosis of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) for veteran patients are disturbing and unacceptable. Over 300 veterans at the Minneapolis VAMC and 70 at the Amarillo VAMC were screened for TBI by an unqualified doctor or by a nurse practitioner.  As a result, veterans were misdiagnosed and denied both TBI benefits and treatment.

Since TBI’s are so complex, it is VA policy for an evaluation to be conducted by one of four specialists: neurosurgeons, neurologists, psychiatrists, and physiatrists. Violations of this policy have already been confirmed at the Minneapolis and Amarillo VAMCs; but officials don’t know how widespread this is. Congressional leaders are now calling for the VA to conduct an internal nationwide review while the local news station who first broke the story has filed a Freedom of Information Act asking for information on every veteran who was diagnosed by an unqualified medical examiner.

It’s disappointing that a VA doctor would not have enough respect for the veteran patient, nor for the entire medical field to which he/she belongs, to ensure a proper TBI diagnosis is rendered. This is especially true today, where the concussion epidemic in the NFL has forced brain injuries into the limelight. Yet, certain VA hospitals took shortcuts for the sake of saving time and money.  Not only will veterans have been denied compensation and medical treatment, but also left to cope with the misdiagnosis that their issues are just a figment of their imagination. That is a heavy burden to bear alone in our society.

If both TBI’s and sports-related concussions are confirmed to be causes of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), shouldn’t this gross mistreatment of veterans be a bigger story?

See the news story here: http://www.kare11.com/news/investigations/kare-11-investigates-va-expands-investigation-of-unqualified-doctors/65062741

According to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, over 300,000 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the past 15 years. Concussions are among the least severe of such injuries, which are mostly caused by bombs.

Researchers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, performed MRI brain scans on 834 active service members with blast-related concussions between 2009 and 2014. The results found brain scarring in 52 percent of injured service members, signs of bleeding in 7 percent and pituitary gland irregularities in one third of patients.

Although MRIs have revealed a high occurrence of brain damage, the technology is too expensive to scan all veterans. Radiologist Dr. Gerard Riedy, the study’s lead author, hopes the findings can result in more accurate diagnoses and targeted treatment of brain injuries. Researchers said they aim to test existing imaging methods and find out which ones accurately identify TBI. A portable version of the exam will then be designed for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the military.

“The current diagnosis is based on subjective information. A diagnosis from an objective method like MRI would greatly enhance the possibility of treating veterans with the correct treatment paradigms,” said Riedy. “The TBI treatments and PTSD treatment paradigms can be vastly different. So in my book an accurate diagnosis is key to any hope at meaningful recovery.”

Distinguishing between TBI and post-traumatic stress (PTS) can be challenging as they are often identified by similar symptoms. However, both conditions require different treatments that can have adverse effects when interchanged. For example, the antidepressants used for treating PTS can prove harmful to people with TBI.

PTS and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are two of the biggest mental health issues facing veterans today. The organization estimates that over 400,000 veterans suffer from PTS while around 320,000 are dealing with TBI.

The Wounded Warrior Project’s survey of 23,000 veterans is described as “the largest collection of data on this generation of injured veterans ever collected.” The annual survey asked wounded veterans about their combat experiences, mental and physical health and challenges in transitioning to civilian life.

The survey also revealed some truths about the lack of adequate health care for former service members. Thirty-five percent of veterans reported facing problems in accessing the mental health care they needed. The same number of veterans also said they had difficulty scheduling appointments with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2014, the agency was involved in a scandal in which dozens of veterans died while waiting for treatment at the VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona.

“Our annual survey shows that this generation of injured veterans continues to struggle with the invisible wounds of war, including PTSD and TBI, and the challenges are not getting better with time,” said Wounded Warrior Project CEO Steve Nardizzi.

The organization is launching its $100-million Warrior Care Network in early 2016. The program seeks to provide improved mental health care for injured veterans by connecting four medical centers across the United States.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

During his opening remarks at the conference on Aug. 24, VA Secretary Robert McDonald said that investing in TBI research can help solve the many problems that veterans face, such as homelessness, suicide and unemployment.

The VA Traumatic Brain Injury State of the Art Research Summit brought together more than 300 leading TBI researchers from around the United States, representatives from various VA regional medical centers and members of nonprofit organizations. “We need your expertise and your experience. We need you to tell us what resources you need for the VA to be nationally and internationally acknowledged as the leader in TBI research, diagnoses and treatment,” said McDonald.

Since 2001, more than 327,000 service members have been diagnosed with head injuries, according to the Congressional Research Service. But that number could be higher since not all head injuries, such as mild concussions, are reported. According to researchers, many veterans may have a TBI despite not showing symptoms.

The summit addressed a range of TBI-related topics including head injury diagnosis, care and long-term rehabilitation for veterans with TBI, pain management, innovations in health care and the direction of future research. Experts also assessed past TBI research and discussed the current understanding of the injury.

McDonald emphasized that along with developing new, cutting-edge treatments for TBI, it is essential to be able to predict its long-term effects. He said that some of the health care problems the VA has faced over the past years are due to its inability to predict future needs or to secure resources to meet demands.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

During his opening remarks at the conference on Aug. 24, VA Secretary Robert McDonald said that investing in TBI research can help solve the many problems that veterans face, such as homelessness, suicide and unemployment.

The VA Traumatic Brain Injury State of the Art Research Summit brought together more than 300 leading TBI researchers from around the United States, representatives from various VA regional medical centers and members of nonprofit organizations. “We need your expertise and your experience. We need you to tell us what resources you need for the VA to be nationally and internationally acknowledged as the leader in TBI research, diagnoses and treatment,” said McDonald.

Since 2001, more than 327,000 service members have been diagnosed with head injuries, according to the Congressional Research Service. But that number could be higher since not all head injuries, such as mild concussions, are reported. According to researchers, many veterans may have a TBI despite not showing symptoms.

The summit addressed a range of TBI-related topics including head injury diagnosis, care and long-term rehabilitation for veterans with TBI, pain management, innovations in health care and the direction of future research. Experts also assessed past TBI research and discussed the current understanding of the injury.

McDonald emphasized that along with developing new, cutting-edge treatments for TBI, it is essential to be able to predict its long-term effects. He said that some of the health care problems the VA has faced over the past years are due to its inability to predict future needs or to secure resources to meet demands.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The erroneous exams resulted in some local veterans being denied TBI benefits. There were more than 300 veterans involved, although the exact number of veterans who may have been denied benefits because of the exams was not known. The affected veterans have been asked to return for new evaluations conducted by medical specialists.

After the TBI examination problems were reported, VA Public Affairs officer Ralph Heussner said in a written statement, “The Minneapolis VA Compensation and Pension Unit did conduct some initial TBI evaluations with providers who were not specialists in one of the four prescribed specialty areas.”

“We have contacted veterans affected by this issue to schedule and complete a repeat initial TBI examination by a medical specialist in neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery or physical medicine and rehabilitation,” Heussner said.

Since at least 2010, the Minneapolis VA has been violating VA rules about the types of specialists required to make an initial diagnosis for veterans who may have a TBI. A VA training manual and forms used by VA Compensation and Pension examiners state that only physiatrists, psychiatrists, neurosurgeons and neurologists can make an initial TBI diagnosis. Once a TBI is diagnosed, the veteran must undergo a neuropsychological assessment specific to TBI to determine the impact of the brain injury.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The erroneous exams resulted in some local veterans being denied TBI benefits. There were more than 300 veterans involved, although the exact number of veterans who may have been denied benefits because of the exams was not known. The affected veterans have been asked to return for new evaluations conducted by medical specialists.

After the TBI examination problems were reported, VA Public Affairs officer Ralph Heussner said in a written statement, “The Minneapolis VA Compensation and Pension Unit did conduct some initial TBI evaluations with providers who were not specialists in one of the four prescribed specialty areas.”

“We have contacted veterans affected by this issue to schedule and complete a repeat initial TBI examination by a medical specialist in neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery or physical medicine and rehabilitation,” Heussner said.

Since at least 2010, the Minneapolis VA has been violating VA rules about the types of specialists required to make an initial diagnosis for veterans who may have a TBI. A VA training manual and forms used by VA Compensation and Pension examiners state that only physiatrists, psychiatrists, neurosurgeons and neurologists can make an initial TBI diagnosis. Once a TBI is diagnosed, the veteran must undergo a neuropsychological assessment specific to TBI to determine the impact of the brain injury.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com or call 800.693.4800

Do I Have a Brain Injury Lawsuit?

Brain injuries are often called the “silent injury” because a person might look perfectly normal but their lives have been changed forever by their injury. The first step is to recognize that you have actually suffered a brain injury.  After more than thirty years of representing head injured clients, we have noticed that a person’s spouse or friends are the first to notice a brain injury.  If you experienced a blow to or a serious jolt of your head and you are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms, you should ask your doctor if you have a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

What Changes In My Thinking Indicate a Brain Injury?

• Do you more often forget names, numbers, appointments, or things you said you
  would do?
• Is it harder to follow a conversation among several people?
• Is it harder to follow the plot of a movie, or remember what a speaker said?
• Do you often re-read something you just read because you can not remember?
• Do you get lost more easily?
• Do people tell you they didn’t know what you meant by something? Or that you used
  a different word than you think you used?
• Is it more difficult to remember what you should be doing next?
• Is it harder to learn a new procedure or task?
• Is it harder to write notes while a speaker goes on to a new topic?
• Do you sometimes forget to plan for something important?

What Changes In My Emotions Indicate a Brain Injury?

• Do you laugh or cry more often, or at times that are not appropriate?
• Do you lose your temper or get impatient more easily?
• Have you recently had problems on a job, or serious arguments with others?
• Does your spouse, close friend, or child get angry at you more often, or seem
  afraid of you?
• Are you more sad or depressed than before?
• Do you get restless, irritated, or agitated more often?
• Do you have more trouble sleeping?

What Physical Changes Indicate a Brain Injury?

• Does noise bother you more than before?
• Do you lose your balance more often?
• Do you have blurred or double vision?
• Do you have headaches more often?
• Do you find that you can’t smell or taste things as well as before?
• Is speech more difficult, or do people find it difficult to understand your words?
• Have you had seizures?

These and symptoms like them are often signs of a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  If you have suffered a blow or a serious jolt to the head and have symptoms like these, we urge you to ask your doctor if these symptoms indicate you have a traumatic brain injury.  Your doctor will likely refer you to a neuropsychologist for testing to see if you have a TBI and to grade the seriousness of the TBI.

How Do I Find The Right Lawyer to Handle My Brain Injury Lawsuit?

Start by finding a lawyer who has had experience in handling many brain injury lawsuits in the past.  Because a person with a brain injury often looks perfectly healthy, it is difficult to prove the injury to a jury or a judge.  A lawyer who understands the symptoms of TBI and the details of neuropsychological testing can make all the difference in convincing the jury or judge that you have suffered a TBI.  For example, Houston attorney Richard LaGarde has over 30 years of experience in representing clients who have suffered brain injuries in both Texas and Louisiana.  He has presented testimony from numerous neuropsychologists and neurologists in both Texas and Louisiana to prove that his clients suffered brain injuries even in cases where there were no physical signs of injury.

Next, find a lawyer who is an expert in trial work and is respected by his fellow lawyers and by judges.  One of the best indicators of that experience and respect is board certification.  For example, attorney Richard LaGarde is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Personal Injury Trial Law and in Civil Trial Law, a distinction achieved by less than one-half of one percent of Texas attorneys.

If we can help you learn whether you have a brain injury lawsuit, call us, toll free, at 1 (866) 524-2733 for a free consultation or fill out the contact form on our Contact Us page.

By Mary Ellis LaGarde

The study used neuroimaging of the brain, which has been accepted as a method of estimating the age of healthy individuals. The researchers compared 99 patients with TBI and persistent neurological problems to 113 healthy people. Eighty-three percent of the TBI patients had moderate to severe brain injuries and 17 percent had mild injuries.

The study found that the neuroimaging model was able to predict the age of the healthy individuals with a high degree of accuracy. However, the model predicted TBI patients to be older than they actually were, and the degree of the discrepancy was correlated with the severity of their injuries.

The researchers concluded that TBI may trigger ongoing neurodegenerative processes that lead to progressive atrophy and hasten the brain’s aging process, though brain atrophy was only significant in TBI patients with moderate to severe brain injuries.

If you need to speak with a brain injury attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

And so more problems for our veterans continued to fester without proper oversight, leaving those who have served our country out to dry.

It is unknown how many of the investigations uncovered serious or dangerous problems as the reports have not been read or analyzed yet, but all of them concerned VA medical care provided to veterans or complaints of clinical misconduct.

The VA inspector general said they could not provide specifics for the apparent lack of transparency, as the inspector general has not analyzed the reports in full.

Catherine Gromek, the VA inspector general, advised requesting the reports under the Freedom of Information Act. USA Today submitted a request in January for 23 reports. Her office has maintained that officials are “working diligently” to fulfill the request.

The inspector general’s office noted that, in general, reports may not be released if allegations are unsubstantiated and disclosing them could damage someone’s reputation, when there is a pending lawsuit or when subjects of investigations are no longer working at the VA.

Officials from the inspector general’s office did review 26 reports withheld from the public since January 2014 and found less than half — 46% — involved unsubstantiated allegations. They said in 42% of the cases, inspectors determined VA officials had already addressed their concerns so a public report was unnecessary. One was the subject of a pending lawsuit.

However, these statistics and reasons for lack of transparency do not satisfy the many veterans and their families who continue to suffer through poor care, long waits, and a bevy of other issues at VA medical centers. And they should not satisfy the public either.

Read USA Today’s full report on the issue here:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/08/probes-of-veterans-health-care-often-not-released-to-public/24525109/

At Legal Help For Veterans, PLLC, we focus exclusively on veterans’ rights. If you are a veteran looking to get the benefits that you deserve, call us today at 1-800-693-4800. We handle a variety of claims, including PTSD, TBI, and other service-connected injuries. www.LegalHelpForVeterans.com

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans attorney, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Unfortunately, treatment does not ensure that veterans are feeling any better. A new study, commissioned by the American Legion, suggests that nearly two-thirds of veterans report no improvement or worse symptoms after treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The organization is calling for a larger, multi-step research program to confirm these findings and develop effective long-term solutions.  

But the study also found that 30 percent of veterans stopped treatment before the end of their treatment plan. 

The consequences of dropping out of treatment can be dire. A recent House Veterans Affairs Committee heard the testimony of parents whose sons, struggling with PTSD and TBI treatment, had committed suicide.

The American Legion has argued that more professionals must be trained specifically to treat PTSD and TBI. A new federal bill will provide loans for those pursuing a career in mental health with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Many veterans affected by PTSD and TBI do not even seek treatment. But getting more veterans into treatment may not matter if the quality of care cannot be improved. As veteran Army sergeant Josh Rensler testified before the House Committee, “[The VA] must dramatically improve its mental health care delivery. Access is an issue, but we have to ask ourselves, “Access to what?””

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

In the first official public health report, county officials have indicated that injuries were more severe than previously known. The report also suggests that many injuries may have been missed in the initial chaos following the explosion.

This new report, issued by the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, finds that more than one in five of those injured by the explosion experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion.

The report also states “some injuries, particularly ear injuries as well as traumatic brain injury, may not have been identified at the time of medical treatment immediately after the explosion,” indicating that many of the injured may have left the hospital without proper treatment or instructions.

Ear injuries affected more than 10 percent of the injured.

Reese Dunklin of the Dallas Morning News has been reporting on a second issue: the latest moves by the Texas Department of State Health Services to keep basic information about chemical storage facilities away from the public.

In early July, the office of the Texas Attorney General informed reporters at the Dallas Morning News that the Department of State Health Services would no longer release information about chemical inventories to the public.

In a letter, the Attorney General stated that the decision was based on Texas Homeland Security statutes. Several federal agencies have spoken out against the withholding of information about potential chemical hazards.

In April of 2014, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded that a lack of community awareness of the chemical hazard at the West facility contributed to the disaster. No emergency response plan was in place at the time of the explosion. 

In the last few weeks, a new federal task force has publicly called for increased release of information about large chemical inventories. Such information would make it possible for local citizens and businesses to make effective emergency response plans based on real knowledge of the risks that surround them.

At The Hale Law Firm, we have helped thousands of clients successfully prosecute their personal injury claims including auto accidents, wrongful death, dangerous products, brain injuries, burn injuries, and defective medical devices. Clients depend on their personal injury lawyers for guidance and legal advice across a broad range of personal injury accidents. To learn more, visit http://www.hale911.com/ or call 972.351.0000.

Jim Fausone
Veteran Disability Attorney

VA Healthcare does a tremendous amount of research and works to get that information out into the public.

As part of an effort to inform Veterans and others about their risk for developing the disease, Timothy, of VA’s Office of Research and Development, appeared on The National Defense, a syndicated radio program provided to radio stations nationwide by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

According to Dr. O’Leary, type 2 (adult onset) diabetes affects nearly 20 percent of Veterans who use VA health care, compared to about 8 percent of the general public.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney, disease, and amputation in the United States, and that up to 80 percent of patients with diabetes will face a heart attack or stroke. Dr. O’Leary said that VA is finding that group therapy is proving to be a successful method to help people control their blood sugar levels; that using pedometers encourages physical activities to help keep diabetes under control; and that coaching and counseling is an important aspect of managing the disease.

If you are a veteran and have diabetes you should get treatment.  The VA may be able to help and you may be entitled to disability compensation.  Do not ignore this condition.

Veterans exposed to blasts may still have brain damage even if they have no symptoms, according to a study led by researchers at VA’s Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) in Durham, N.C., and Duke University. The results of the study were reported on in U.S. News and World Report and a number of other publications.

The research suggested that a lack of symptoms of traumatic brain injury after a blast may not indicate the extent of brain damage caused by the blast.

In the study, researchers divided 45 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans into three groups: those who had been exposed to blasts and had symptoms of TBI; those who’d been exposed to blasts and had no TBI symptoms; and those with no blast exposure. The participants underwent scans to look for damage in the brain’s white matter, as well as tests to assess their mental abilities. Veterans who were exposed to blasts but had no symptoms had brain damage similar to that seen in those with symptoms of TBI.  So this contradicts a position taken by VA Benefits that a lack of symptoms in service means no injury.

http://www.research.va.gov/pubs/varqu/spring2014/spr14-11.cfm#3

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation recently featured a study arguing that the homeless who suffer TBI have a strong, negative impact on public expenses. Homeless and unsafely housed individuals who have suffered damaging blows to the head are more likely to frequent ER departments for health care, to fall victim to assaults, to have done jail time and to have been arrested.

The Canadian article argued that traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, are approximately seven times more common among the homeless. TBIs may manifest themselves in mental health issues, in alcohol or drug abuse and in physical symptoms, including seizures.

The study stretched over four years, and 61 percent of its participants reported having sustained a TBI in survey. The figures were roughly consistent across Canada. Homeless individuals with a history of TBI were 1.5 times more likely to attend an ER due to the long-term side effects of their brain injury.

These individuals were also almost twice as likely to have spent time in jail or to have been arrested by police within the previous year — usually as a result of personality disturbances or impaired mental abilities as a result of a TBI. The homeless with brain injuries were almost three times more likely to be assaulted than other, similarly situated individuals.

Increased screening and condition-management assistance could help control the higher level of health care required for homeless TBI victims. Unfortunately, prospects for this kind of action remain weak in the face of more dominant health care priorities.

Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP is one of the premier trial firms in Austin Texas. Contact a personal injury attorney by calling 512-476-4944 or learn more at http://www.civtrial.com/.

The study included nearly 5,000 public school students from 11 to 20 years old in Ontario, Canada. The students were asked whether they had ever suffered TBI (defined as a head injury that resulted in at least five minutes of unconsciousness or at least one overnight stay at a hospital). Their mental and emotional health was then assessed with a questionnaire on symptoms of anxiety, depression and social dysfunction. They were asked whether they had ever considered or attempted suicide, contacted a crisis hotline or been prescribed medication for anxiety or depression.

Twenty percent of students reported TBI to the researchers. Compared to those who did not report TBI, those who did were more than three times as likely to have attempted suicide, nearly twice as likely to have thought about suicide and 2.45 times as likely to have been prescribed psychotropic medication.

Currently, modern medicine has very little ability to treat concussions directly and only moderate ability to treat the lasting debilitating symptoms. Our best weapon is prevention. Make sure your children wear helmets while riding bicycles. If they engage in high-impact sports, make sure they wear helmets when appropriate. Consider speaking with athletic officials about their policy concerning TBI prevention and response.

If you need to speak with a brain injury attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

Not many think about the consequences of head injuries on the field. Many are more interested in who was tackled and what the score is, even if there was headbutting along the way. Unfortunately, this lack of concern extends to current equipment design: football helmets are not sufficiently constructed to prevent traumatic brain injuries.

Currently, TBI occurs 1.7 million times per year in the U.S., and roughly 20 percent of cases are the direct result of athletic activity. Many of these head injuries also include concussions, a precursor to long-term brain damage. Thankfully, researchers are now examining standards for a better, safer helmet — one that can withstand both linear and rotational force, the two types of dynamic forces players experience during a football game.

Existing football helmets are designed to withstand linear force, but they neglect the impact rotational force can have. Linear hits are direct, centered, frontal hits that push the head straight backwards. Helmets can blunt linear force effects to a certain extent, but they do not accommodate for rotational hits, known to cause about 40 percent of today’s sporting head injuries.

Rotational hits happen because of the round shape of a helmet. Some frontal hits bounce off the helmet’s crown. Typically, those hits slide to the side with a shearing motion, shaking the brain in the process. This phenomenon may even occur after low-impact hits. A combination of these two types of hits can cause serious head injuries and long-term cognitive problems.

Researchers in Florida are hoping to create a helmet that offers two kinds of protective chambers to cushion the skull and help the brain remain stable when hit. The proposed design layers non-Newtonian and Newtonian fluids. Non-Newtonian fluids are typically gels. Newtonian fluids include air and water. Ideally, the two layers would work together to offer protective padding and to reduce impacts to the head by absorbing the energy of a hit and distributing it evenly across the helmet’s surface.

It’s a unique concept. One layer receives the force of a hit, which compresses the fluid in that layer. Because of that layer’s compression, the fluid expands through a tube to the next layer, which acts to neutralize the force. Once pressure is removed, the protective chambers rebound to their original states (meaning, among other things, that the helmets could be used repeatedly). The new design is effective in the lab, but wider testing needs to be performed in partnership with companies interested in producing the helmets.

These helmets may also have applications for athletes in other sports, firefighters, construction workers, motorcyclists, cyclists, skateboarders and soldiers. They should be as effective for children as for adults. The protective layers are designed to be inexpensive, and they may be produced to retrofit existing helmets.

These safety developments are exciting, especially when one considers that in 2013, NFL penalty statistics reveal that each football player sustained at least one illegal hit to the neck or head in virtually every game.

Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP is one of the premier trial firms in Austin Texas. Contact a personal injury lawyer by calling 512-476-4944 or learn more at http://www.civtrial.com/.

The NFL has partnered with GE to provide $20 million in grants to researchers working to advance the diagnosis and treatment of mild TBI. They recently announced 16 winners in the first stage of the “Head Health Challenge.” Each winner will receive a $300,000 research grant, and up to six more will receive a further $500,000 in 2015.

Over 400 entries from 27 countries were received in the contest. Its stated goal is to improve safety for athletes, military troops and the general public.

Banyan Biomarkers, Inc. of Alachua, Florida is one winner. The company is developing a blood test to rapidly detect mild and moderate brain trauma. Banyan researchers will work with University of Florida athletes to study biomarkers, cognitive testing and neuroimaging on athletes with concussions.

Another winner is the University of California, Santa Barbara. The UCSB Brain Imaging Center is developing computer software to identify individual damaged brain connections using MRI scans.

Accurate diagnosis of TBI remains difficult, treatment even more so. TBI is very common among auto accident victims, and its debilitating effects can last for years.

If you need to speak with a brain injury attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

The innovative battery-powered microprocessor records electrical impulses in one part of the brain and relays them to another part. So far, it has only been tested on rodents.
The rodents used in the study had damaged brains and, at their best, were able to retrieve a food pellet once out of every five tries. With the new device turned on, the rodent’s food-retrieval skills returned to a near-normal level.

So many members of the armed services have suffered a traumatic brain injury — as many as 320,000 — that it is perhaps unsurprising that the joint research project was funded by the Department of Defense. Researchers involved in the development of the device are hopeful that the device will ultimately have a broader application to help humans.

Veterans who have sustained a traumatic brain injury also face an array of potentially complicating conditions, including chronic headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, fatigue, behavioral or mood changes, convulsions, confusion, sleep disruptions, slurred speech, physical weakness or numbness of extremities, loss of coordination and nausea.

Hopefully, the new device will one day help veterans suffering from TBI to cope. In the meantime, the attorneys at Legal Help for Veterans stand ready to help TBI-affected service members to develop their claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs should their claim be denied.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact a veterans lawyer, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Statistics estimate that tinnitus, which strikes young and old alike, affects 10 percent to 15 percent of the U.S. population. But rates among combat veterans are much higher. A recent U.S. Army study concluded that 25 percent of all soldiers return from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with the compromised hearing that results in tinnitus.

There are multiple causes of tinnitus, including noise-induced hearing loss, obstruction of the ear canal, damage to the inner ear and even tumors. Some theories posit that the brain creates the ringing associated with tinnitus as a means of replacing the sounds the ear once heard.

Imagine the environment in which soldiers work. Sudden, loud noises and explosions are a routine occupational hazard to both hearing and life. Unfortunately, the use of hearing protection is rarely practical in combat circumstances.

Tinnitus has also been associated with psychological factors, including fear and memory. Veterans face the possible dimension of this complicating factor both on the battlefield and after the return home, especially in cases involved post-traumatic stress disorder.

When a veteran seeks disability compensation for hearing loss and/or tinnitus, it is important that the claim provide as much information as possible on the likely source of the hearing damage, the duration of exposure and any hearing protection that was employed. A medical opinion from an ear specialist will also help expedite such a claim through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

 The five conditions linked to moderate to severe TBI were: Parkinson’s disease, certain types of dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures, and certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.

 Those secondary illnesses will be considered service-connected and won’t require medical opinions to establish whether there is correlation to TBI. However, the findings come with some caveats to receiving benefits.

The severity of a TBI must be “moderate to severe” and three of the five illnesses need to manifest themselves within a certain length of time from the TBI. Dementia must manifest within 15 years of a TBI. For depression, it’s three years (or 12 months for a mild TBI). For hormone deficiencies of the hypothalamus or pituitary glands it’s 12 months.

Still, the VA encourages veterans to file claims even if they don’t meet the severity of TBI or length of time between TBI and the secondary illness.

Read more here: http://www.sentinelsource.com/life_and_style/lifestyles/va-links-five-more-illnesses-to-traumatic-brain-injuries/article_ac7eb8fb-17ea-5ec4-b4dc-608069279501.html#.UtcpDp9BXsk.gmail

For more information on veteran benefits and answers to FAQs, visit www.legalhelpforveterans.com and be sure to check out our e-books as well.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Why? Even if they attempt to break the fall with their arms, seniors still hit their heads, this video study found. In fact, over 60 percent of hospital admissions for TBI are for seniors over the age of 65. That percentage increases for those over 80 years old.

For their 39-month, in-depth look at one particular nursing home, researchers set up cameras in common areas, such as lounges and hallways. They set out to determine how residents fell and which body part took the brunt of the impact. Cameras recorded 227 falls among an average of 133 residents.

In 37 percent of those falls, seniors hit their heads, often on the ground. Extending their arms did not help minimize the impact, since their arm muscles were too weak to offer any kind of support. Many residents also made contact with furniture on the way down or hit the wall. Thirty-three percent who hit their head sustained a range of injuries, including abrasions, bruises, cuts and fractures.

Researchers study mobility biomechanics with the hope that, with enough information, nursing homes can improve the way seniors navigate their environment by changing the layout of a room or by instituting exercise programs that improve seniors’ stability and balance.

So, you may wonder, can nursing homes and hospices be held liable for negligence in a traumatic brain injury lawsuit if they fail to provide a safer environment for residents? After all, the Centers for Disease Control has reported that falls account for approximately 95 percent of serious hip fractures. Learntofall.com has reported that “falls are the leading cause of death due to injury among the elderly,” and American Family Physician has reported that “falls account for 70 percent of accidental deaths in persons 75 years of age and older.”

“These studies and statistics highlight the need for nursing homes to take better precautions and be more vigilant,” says Christopher Mellino, a nursing home negligence attorney in Cleveland. “Making the decision to move a loved one into a home is heartwrenching enough. Filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit on that person’s behalf should never have to happen.”

The new regulation takes effect on January 15, 2014. It will affect some veterans with TBI who are also diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, depression, certain diseases of the pituitary and hypothalamus glands, certain types of dementia or unprovoked seizures.

For certain veterans with service-related TBI who also suffer from one of the named illnesses, the second illness will also be considered as service-related for purposes of disability compensation.

The rule change was prompted by a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences linking moderate to severe TBI with the listed ailments.

Eligibility for additional compensation will depend on the severity of the brain injury and the length of time between the injury and the onset of the second illness. Veterans who do not meet eligibility requirements may still file a claim to establish the ailment as service-related.

“We decide veterans’ disability claims based on the best science available,” Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, said in the announcement. “As scientific knowledge advances, VA will expand its programs to ensure veterans receive the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.”

Current treatment for TBI is usually limited to mitigating the damage it causes in the short term following the injury. Extensive further study is needed to better understand TBI and its connection with various neurological disorders. In the meantime, the VA is helping many deserving veterans by compensating for TBI-related illnesses.

The attorneys at Hook Law Center assist Virginia families with will preparation, trust & estate administration, guardianships and conservatorships, long-term care planning, special needs planning, veterans benefits, and more. To learn more, visit http://www.hooklawcenter.com/ or call 757-399-7506.

For example, in California, 43 current assistant coaches and front office workers, along with more than six T.V. game analysts have also filed claims. Virtually 90 percent of the claims are alleging serious brain trauma. This is a setback for the NFL, but not one that should be unexpected. It most definitely starkly points out how deep the issue of traumatic brain injury (TBI) runs in all major sports leagues.

To date, officials from 23 various teams have filed brain injury claims and those officials include a running backs coach, a wide receivers coach, an assistant head coach and a director of pro personnel, as well as NFL Network on-air personalities suffering the same type of serious injuries. The brush stroke of traumatic brain injury has painted far and wide. The true, life-altering impact of TBI is coming home in spades and taking no prisoners.

Most of the claims are filed against a player’s former team and not their current team. This scenario has not yet been fully rolled out into play, but by the looks of things it has the potential to grow even bigger. Traumatic brain injury sustained due to the negligence of another person, or organization, is cause for filing a personal injury lawsuit to obtain compensation.

Lee, Gober and Reyna – If you need a personal injury lawyer or help with an auto accident, motorcycle accident, wrongful death, or burn injury case, contact Lee, Gober and Reyna by visiting http://www.lgrlawfirm.com or calling 512.478.8080

The NFL was mostly known for the caliber of its players. Now, it is known for hiding the risks of athletes sustaining multiple head injuries while scrimmaging on the field, head injuries that resulted in traumatic brain injury (TBI), also referred to as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

It was a large settlement, and one that was hailed as progress for those who sued the NFL for negligently withholding information about the risks of multiple head traumas. However, this is not the end of the issue. While the out-of-court settlement did pay out a large sum, it also managed to keep exculpatory documentation out of court. It also meant no one heard what witnesses had to say.

Down the line, every sport that involves full-body contact of some kind, will, without a doubt, face the same or similar concussion litigation. It is not beyond reason to anticipate that the NHL, NBA, MLB, and the NCAA may face such lawsuits. In fact, the NCAA is already facing down a massive TBI lawsuit.

TBI litigation began with the NFL. It is now making its presence felt with lawsuits filed by survivors of hockey players who took their own lives as a result of CTE. A case in point is that of 28-year-old Derek Boogaard’s family launching a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the NHL is responsible for his brain trauma and addiction to pain drugs. The defendants in that suit are the NHL, its Board of Governors and well-known league commissioner, Gary Bettman.
If the attorney handling that case is able to prove that the NHL was negligent in the way they treated Boogaard in relation to handing out painkillers and encouraging him to fight, sustaining multiple head injuries, the case stands a chance of opening the floodgates of litigation for other similar lawsuits. There is also the possibility of an extremely large award for damages.

What may tell the tale of success is the evidence in the complaint that includes, but is not limited to, the fact that NHL staff and doctors allegedly wrote him prescriptions for 432 pills of hydrocodone in one month, injected him 13 times with a pain masking drug, wrote him further prescriptions for 1,021 pain pills and encouraged him, in his role of enforcer, to instigate 66 fights over 277 games, sustaining multiple head injuries. His autopsy showed he had Stage II CTE.

The CTE revelation and Boogaard’s treatment are strikingly similar to how many of the NFL players were treated. Should Boogaard’s wrongful death lawsuit be successful, watch for more lawsuits of a similar nature filed against other leagues.

Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP is one of the premier trial firms in Austin Texas. Contact a personal injury lawyer by calling 512-476-4944 or learn more at http://www.civtrial.com/.

In most cases, dementia is typically linked to a degenerative brain disease. That presumption may be about to be challenged by a U.S. psychiatrist who has discovered a connection between dementia, TBI and PTSD. All signs point to war veterans having twice the normal chances of developing dementia, largely due to their exposure to head pounding sound waves from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The latest research is pointing to serious brain injury as being the link to an increased risk of dementia and, by extrapolation, hastening the onset of Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is usually associated with the build-up of tau protein in the brain. Speculation has it that brain injuries are also precursors to tau build-up, or that the TBI is a precipitating factor in opening the door for Alzheimer’s. This observation would then be applicable to those who play contact sports and suffer a large number of serious concussions.

The group, led by Dr. Kristine Yaffe, was the first to prove that there is a connection between PTSD and a risk of developing dementia. However, they are not the only group to have come to the same conclusion.

While researchers are not certain about the precise mechanism of the detected linkages, they believe that chronic stress, such as that experienced in a battle zone, or changes within the brain, are the potential precursors to dementia/Alzheimer’s. This raises an interesting question. If PTSD were to be successfully treated, would that lower the risk of dementia?

This isn’t a question that can be answered any time soon, and most of the men and women who have TBI and/or PTSD would need to be cognitively monitored as they age. Are there solutions for coping with these diseases? Currently, while there is some progress in treating vets and sports victims with brain injuries, not much can help mitigate the ongoing battle they face every day to regain what was once a normal life.

While research is ongoing and funding is in place to address these issues, only time will weigh in with answers. Recently, there was a $60 million project, funded by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD), to track down the links between neurological degeneration and TBI. It’s a can of worms that once opened may lead to some form of assistance for those who have sustained head injuries that have robbed them of the ability to be, think and act they way they used to.

What is the connection between TBI and the law? In the sports arena, if players are not adequately informed of the risks of playing, even with a good helmet, and are repeatedly sent on to the playing field despite having sustained a concussion, and they develop dementia, the negligence of the coach and team owners come under scrutiny. Should their case win in court, they may be awarded compensation for their injuries.

Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP is one of the premier trial firms in Austin Texas. Contact a personal injury lawyer by calling 512-476-4944 or learn more at http://www.civtrial.com/.

If Rhode Island researchers are right, and can prove what they are seeing on a larger scale, there may be even more hope for someone with a brain injury. The ProTECT study is being carried on in a small room in the Rhode Island Hospital, led by an E.R. doctor. The “Pro” part stands for progesterone.
The rationale behind this exercise is that progesterone exists, naturally, in women and men. The difference here is that the particular progesterone the team is working with is not derived from humans. It comes from a yam.

Kind of gives one a slightly different take on Thanksgiving sweet potatoes.
So far, tests are demonstrating that the yam-based progesterone used on animals is decreasing brain swelling. The benefits were deemed so great, it was then tried on humans. The results have been extremely encouraging. There were two human trials, one a world away, in China and another in Atlanta, Georgia. They all demonstrated a decreased morbidity, which refers to having a disease, or being unhealthy, and a lower death rate.

It’s an innovative idea, one that could well be considered to be on the cutting edge of science and medicine. It may also be thought to be off-the-wall, but when attempting to find treatment or therapies for dealing with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), any and all routes are worth taking a look at. At least that is what a team of Rhode Island researchers are thinking.

TBI is more prevalent than we think. Every 60 seconds, four Americans sustain a brain injury. Every five minutes, one person is permanently disabled due to a TBI. Research that assists in dealing with the results of this type of injury is ongoing, and some inroads have been made. However, for the most part, medical personnel still have their hands tied when it comes to managing the symptoms of a swollen brain and neuron damage. It clearly becomes a case of holding down the fort and hoping for the best.

Rhode Island is not the only U.S. location doing this study. It is underway nationally in at least 40 other sites, with the intention of determining if the progesterone, combined with the usual method of caring for head traumas, which is largely supportive, works better than just the usual treatment protocol. There are at least 800 patients currently in the trial, and even though there are some side-effects, such as infusion site inflammation, clotting and possible pulmonary embolism, the future is beginning to look a bit brighter for TBI patients. All hope is welcome.

If Rhode Island researchers are right, and can prove what they are seeing on a larger scale, there may be even more hope for someone with a brain injury. The ProTECT study is being carried on in a small room in the Rhode Island Hospital, led by an E.R. doctor. The “Pro” part stands for progesterone, which, according to the American Fertility Association, “is a hormone that is released by the ovaries and is important for menstrual function and pregnancy.”

The rationale behind this exercise is that progesterone exists, naturally, in women and men. The difference here is that the particular progesterone the team is working with is not derived from humans. It comes from a yam.

Tests on animals have demonstrated that the yam-based progesterone decreased brain swelling. The benefits were deemed so great that it was then tried on humans — one trial a world away in China and another in Atlanta, Georgia. The results have been extremely encouraging. They all demonstrated a decreased morbidity, which refers to having a disease, or being unhealthy, and a lower death rate.

Rhode Island is not the only U.S. location performing this study. It is underway nationally in at least 40 other sites, with the intention of determining whether the progesterone, combined with the usual method of caring for head traumas, works better than just the usual treatment protocol. At least 800 patients are enrolled in the trial, and even though there are some side effects, such as infusion site inflammation, clotting, and possible pulmonary embolism, the future is beginning to look a bit brighter for TBI patients. 

TBI is more prevalent than you may think. Every 60 seconds, four Americans sustain a brain injury. Every five minutes, one person is permanently disabled due to a TBI. Research that assists in dealing with the results of this type of injury is ongoing, and some inroads have been made. However, for the most part, medical personnel still have their hands tied when it comes to managing the symptoms of a swollen brain and neuron damage. All help is welcome.

Concussions have always been a part of contact sports. However, it is not until recently that people began to realize just how multiple concussions could affect people. From football to soccer players and from military veterans to car crash victims, traumatic brain injury is a nasty reality.

Sport competitions are entertaining, or at least, they are supposed to be. However, with the ever-increasing emphasis on winning at all costs, the encouragement of violence, bench brawls, skirmishes on and off a playing field, and the sickening trend to encourage our children to fight like adult athletes, traumatic brain injury is becoming more frequent. Knowing the enemy seemingly does nothing to prevent it from encroaching on adults and children playing sports. Even the reality of what multiple head injuries may cause is still not enough to deter people from playing, or at least playing with the proper protective gear.

People live with the attitude that nothing bad could happen to them. While that may be the case that they never experience a tackle, body check, a ball or puck to the head or a header into the boards of a rink, in reality, concussions are quite common in sports. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 4 million concussions are reported every year, sustained while playing sports. That figure does not include boxing, workplace accidents, slip and fall accidents or car crashes.

Concussions are the result of the brain smashing into the skull, causing the brain tissues to swell in tandem with blood vessels going to the brain. Nerves may also be injured and head trauma may lead to a variety of symptoms, such as ringing in the ears, balance issues, nausea, fatigue, visual problems, memory and difficulty concentrating.

There are three grades that doctors use to classify concussions. Grade I is a mild concussion which lasts for less than 15 minutes, and the person does not lose consciousness. In Grade II, there is no loss of consciousness, but the concussion lasts longer than 15 minutes, and in Grade III, someone loses consciousness, even for a few seconds.

In the presence of a suspected head trauma, team doctors, trainers and coaches should, ideally, do an immediate evaluation of short- and long-term recall, a check of reflexes and overall coordination. Does this usually happen? No, it does not. Many players are put back on the field and continue to play, which has the potential to lead to a cumulative, damaging effect on the brain.

For those who have suffered brain injuries, whether sports related or not, and you suspect there was negligence in how you were treated, or not treated when you should have been, it’s imperative you discuss your situation with a skilled Cleveland brain injury lawyer. You have legal rights. Find out what they are.

While the question of informed consent is a huge one when being admitted to hospital and having procedures, tests and diagnostics run, being enrolled in a medical study without consent may cross a legal line. If negligence is involved, being co-opted into a medical study could spell serious issues for the hospitals.

Boston Medical Center and the Massachusetts General Hospital have launched tests to see if giving traumatic brain injury patients progesterone as soon as possible after a head injury limits brain damage. Evidently, there are current studies that show the hormone may slow the secondary cascade of injuries that come on the heels of the initial trauma. The trial was approved by review boards at both facilities.

According to federal law, researchers in this study must obtain an okay for the patient or patient surrogate prior to giving an experimental drug. This particular trial is one of the first that relies on a 1996 exemption to study emergency treatments. Legally speaking, if something went wrong during the course of the study involving a patient that had not provided an informed consent, the exemption could face successful challenges in a lawsuit.

This study is not solely taking place in Boston. There are over 40 other hospitals in the nation also focusing on whether or not progesterone helps limit brain trauma if administered early. Researchers attempt to get consent from a victim if they are able to communicate their wishes or if their family consents. The reality is that TBI patients often come in needing immediate treatment and medical personnel cannot wait for the family to be found and may not be able to talk to the victim. This means that in an emergency, the drug would be given and an option offered to opt out of the trial later.

The fact that the researchers have provided a phone line for those wishing to opt out of the study is encouraging and a step in the right direction to address anyone’s concerns about being given an experimental drug. Again, the reality of an emergency situation may mean the drug is given anyway.

The main question in situations like this becomes whether or not the patient, or their family, would object to the possibility of a life enhancing treatment, even if it were experimental. Many may feel that any chance at all is preferable to going without treatment and facing the life altering consequences of TBI. This is not to say that treated TBI may not still change someone’s lifestyle, but the progesterone may reduce the severity of the changes.

If you find yourself in a situation like this and have objections to being given drugs without your consent, it is wise to seek the counsel of an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer. This is groundbreaking medicine that may save lives, but there are still those who would prefer not to be test subjects without knowing how a drug or procedure may affect them.

Perlmutter & Schuelke, LLP is one of the premier trial firms in Austin Texas. Contact a personal injury lawyer by calling 512-476-4944 or learn more at http://www.civtrial.com/.

The unusual number of sports players who experienced TBI (traumatic brain injury) and later committed suicide, and the number of military vets who experienced TBI while in combat and later committed suicide may not be a coincidence, say researchers.

“Research on traumatic brain injury is of utmost concern right now for veteran disability advocates,” commented veterans disability lawyer James Fausone.

A new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry has proposed a link between multiple concussions or traumatic brain injuries and suicidal actions later. In addition, the researchers found that a significant number of the men who experienced military-related TBI had a sports-playing history, which indicates that they may have experienced TBI on the playing field years earlier, as well.

The study, conducted by an Air Force psychologist, looked at 161 individuals sent to his clinic for suspected concussions. Those interviewed were asked about any history of head trauma, any battles with depression, PTSD or struggling with suicidal thoughts. The study concluded that many of the head injuries referenced by the study participants, in some cases as many as 6 injuries by one individual, were sustained prior to military service. Approximately 20 percent of the study participants reported that they experience concussion during their basic training, and some reports that they had sustained as many as 15 different head injuries during their tour of duty.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and depression are both high-risk factors for suicide, and combat experience typically would only increase their severity, said the researchers. Individuals who already experience one or both of these conditions and then join the service would explain why there are such high levels of suicide in the Armed Forces.

The researchers suggest that head trauma may set up a pre-existing disposition towards suicidal idealization or action which is then exacerbated by additional head trauma during combat. Exposure to an IED (improvised explosive device) buffets the brain within the skull by concussive shock waves, which can cause bleeding in the brain at numerous, hard-to-detect sites, causing damage. Subtle traumatic brain injury can be impossible to detect by an average physical; it is possible that many military personnel entered the service well enough to serve, and then subsequent damage further made them more susceptible to suicidal thoughts than someone who had not sustained sports-related concussions or other head injuries.

Source

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/a-new-link-between-traumatic-brain-injury-and-suicide/

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Online learning can be a flexible, affordable way to earn a college degree, which may be why more vets than ever are looking at online education.

Vets are attending college as never before, in large part perhaps due to the unemployment numbers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment for vets between 18 and 24 was 30 percent in 2011, while unemployment was just 18 percent for ages 18 to 24 in the general population.

U.S. News & World Report released its premiere listing of online education programs for military vets. Almost fifty percent of vets return from service looking to further their education by enrolling in post-secondary schools. A large percentage of those vets, according to Student Veterans of America, attend online programs as a way to meet family and work obligations.

The online schools listed by U.S. News include a number of educational programs that award college credit for eligible students who have military experience. There were also schools listed that focus on flexibility for students who are taking courses with more than one school or program. U.S. News also ranked programs based on their graduation rates and the amount of debt students faced after graduation. Their ranking, said a U.S. News spokesperson, was not just based on the benefits of each program, but also based on overall quality of the program offerings.

The ten top online programs offering bachelor degrees in terms of quality, affordability and program selection, according to U.S. News, are offered by: Pace University; Charter Oak State College; Brandman University; Bellevue University; Regent University; University of Nebraska – Omaha; California Baptist University; Post University; Ball State University, and Fort Hays State University.

The ten top online Master of Business Administration programs, according to U.S. News,  are offered by: Central Michigan University; West Virginia University; Washington State University; Temple University; University of Nebraska – Lincoln; University of Mississippi; University of Colorado – Denver; University of Memphis (Fogelman);  Ball State University (Miller); and Columbia College.

The revised G.I. Bill covers college tuition of $280 per unit and three years of full-time school, and includes a book allowance of $500 as well as a basic housing allowance of up to $1,500 per month. The housing allowance is based on the cost of living in the nearest military installation. Vets with extended years of service can often transfer their own education benefits to be used by their immediate family members.

Sources

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/education/theres-huge-market-online-education-veterans
http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_23230440/returning-military-veterans-choosing-college-record-numbers

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

“Soccer players are repeatedly hitting their head [or, using the top of their head to redirect the ball], and we know that multiple head injuries tend to be worse than just one,” Lipton stated. “My area [of expertise] is mild traumatic brain injury, so I look at how much does it take (to have a lasting effect).”

To study those cumulative effects, Lipton asked 37 amateur soccer players, nearly three-quarters of whom were male, to approximate how often he or she headed a ball per year, so he could group them into three categories: low heading, medium heading, and high heading. He then scanned their brains with a special MRI test called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and tested the players’ memory skills.

Bearing in mind that participants’ age averaged 31 and that they’d played soccer for an average of 22 years and for about 10 months in the last year, Lipton determined that players who headed a ball about or more than 1,800 times per year scored lower on memory tests.

Why?

“Overall, the imaging showed that players who reported heading the ball more frequently had areas of the brain with lower FA [fractional anisotropy] values,” Fox News reported. Or, as Lipton stated, “The more heading people did, the more likely they were to have abnormalities of brain microstructure and worse cognitive performance.”

Given the small scale of this study, Lipton isn’t yet urging soccer moms to buy helmets for their children, but that may come. The National Institutes of Health has awarded him a $3 million grant to continue his research.

“I think that what people should take away from this at this point is that there may be risk involved in heading; that’s about all we can say … The biggest message here is we need to do the research and confirm what the risks are, and if they’re confirmed, develop ways to address them,” he said.

Below, Cleveland traumatic brain injury attorney Chris Mellino enumerates TBI symptoms and discusses the difference between a head injury and a brain injury.

The project, called the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN), may pave the way for important advances in understanding and treating traumatic brain injury (TBI). Treatment options for TBI are currently quite limited. Also, doctors’ understanding of what makes for effective rehabilitation is undergoing rapid change.

In a press conference on April 2, 2013, President Obama proposed that the government’s fiscal year 2014 budget contain an initial expenditure toward the project of $100 million. BRAIN is projected to cost as much as $3 billion and take ten years or longer.

The goal of the initiative is to map the activity of every neuron in the human brain. Researchers hope the information will help not only brain injury patients but also Alzheimer’s, autism, and epilepsy patients.

The White House press release said the $100 million to pay for the project will come from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

“The BRAIN Initiative will accelerate the development and application of new technologies that will enable researchers to produce dynamic pictures of the brain that show how individual brain cells and complex neural circuits interact at the speed of thought,” the White House statement said. “These technologies will open new doors to explore how the brain records, processes, uses, stores, and retrieves vast quantities of information, and shed light on the complex links between brain function and behavior.”

If you need to speak with a brain injury attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.

A number of groups representing military associations and vet service organizations had lobbied the White House to instruct the Defense Department to lower the ranking of the new drone medal. They would like the Distinguished Warfare Medal to be ranked below the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal had been announced by former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The new Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, then asked the Pentagon to review the metal’s ranking after public outcry. The 19 organizations banded together as part of the request stated in their letter to president Obama that they would like the Distinguished Warfare metal to be demoted to below the Purple Heart, and were soliciting the president’s “personal involvement.”

The groups included The American Legion, The Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and other associations representing both active duty and reserve duty members of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal was to be awarded to recognize the actions of the drone pilots and cyber warfare specialists when they have “a direct impact” on operations of combat. But critics said they were concerned that decorating a service member who may be hundreds or even thousands of miles from active action would be given precedence over those who risk their lives and are not fighting from remote, secure locations.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal was to rank just below the valor award that is the Distinguished Flying Cross, and above the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Drone operators and cyber warriors can contribute tremendously to any combat operation in which they are involved, critics agreed, but they argued that the proposed new medal awarded to individuals who do not physically serve in a war zone and yet would be ranked above injury and valor medals from physical combat seemed unjust.

President Obama could, as Commander-In-Chief, order the medal’s ranking be changed or direct the Defense Secretary to do so, said former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Lawrence Korb. But with the Department of Defense withdrawing the plan, neither Obama nor Hagel needed to do so.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your PTSD, TBI, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, TDIU, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The wars in Iraqa and Afghanistan have dragged on for over a decade now. Since 2001, the U.S. has sent more than 2.2 million troops to battle, more than 6,600 were killed, and 50,000 were injured. This is a dismal reality of war.

However, the strides that have been made in medicine as a result of the war are astounding. The signature wounds of both conflicts, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), have led the Department of Defense to apportion hundreds of millions of dollars for research studies and treatment.

In the past six years, the Department of Defense has invested a minimum of $2.7 billion in understanding psychological and neurological injuries. $700 million has been apportioned for TBI research which has included an effort to develop a portable diagnostic tool for TBIs. Additional funding has gone towards researching combat wounds that failed to heal, partly attributable to unique bacteria present in Afghanistan.

The VA has its own set of priorities when it comes to researching. The VA is currently faced with rehabilitating veterans who have suffered complex wounds and are considered “polytrauma”, those who have sustained injuries to more than one organ system, or have severe brain injuries, or are amputees, or were severely burned. VA has worked on improving how it coordinates care to this group of veterans. It’s also worked on developing hearing and vision implants as well as robotic prosthetic devices. It even has pioneered its own TBI program which explores different treatment modalities like personalized medicine and nerve regeneration.

There are challenges in coordinating massive research programs and implementing them for our troops and veterans. A January 2012 report by the Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Defense’s mental health and TBI research needed better quality control mechanisms to report financial data. However, despite these limitations, some of the world’s best researchers and massive amounts of money are being utilized in an attempt to assist our nation’s troops and veterans.