New research about brain injuries have been published recently that show a great deal of promise for head injury patients in Homestead and other communities. One of the recent research studies that has been published in the journal Pediatrics examined concussions in young people between the ages of 8 and 23. The researchers concluded that patients with a concussion could improve recovery by avoiding taxing brain activities. According to the study, patients who kept their brains busier with cognitive activity took approximately 100 days to recover from a concussion while peers who took part in less cognitive activity took about 20 to 50 days to recover from similar injuries. Patients who experienced mild and moderate levels of cognitive activity also took 20 to 50 days to recover from their brain injuries, leading researchers to conclude that young athletes with concussions should give their brains a rest but do not have to completely avoid cognitive activities such as reading, video games, text messaging, and other activity.
A new research breakthrough from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is also providing hope to traumatic brain injury patients who have sustained a serious brain injury as a result of a car accident in Homestead or another community. Recently, professor James D. Lechleiter was granted a patent for his discovery of a class of compounds that could help prevent and treat neuron damage in some brain injury patients.
Dr. Lechleiter has studied the class of compounds on cell models and animal models, although no human testing has yet been done. According to his research, two compounds, known as MRS2365 and 2-methylthio-ADP, help stimulate cells called astrocytes, which are the caretaker cells of the brain. These cells control swelling in the brain, so stimulating them could potentially help address the problem or edema, or growing pressure in the skull caused by swelling after a traumatic head injury. In mice, when astrocytes cells were stimulated using 2-methylthio-ADP and MRS2365, swelling of the brain was rapidly reduced and astrocytes cells and neurons lived longer. It is hoped that this discovery could eventually help to produce a new type of drug that could be used to treat brain injury patients.
While many studies such as these focus on traumatic brain injury – such as those that patients might suffer after an attack or a truck accident in Homestead – a study published in the journal Sleep examined non-traumatic damage to the brain. Specifically, researchers from Sweden looked at the injuries that could be caused to the brain when patients do not get enough sleep. The study’s authors examined 15 young men and found that even losing one night of sleep could harm the brain. Researchers looked at the proteins that can be found in people who have concussions and discovered that men who didn’t sleep at all during one night had 20% higher levels of these proteins than men who slept eight hours during the night. Patients with concussions have even higher levels of the proteins, but the researchers still concluded that while sleep loss is not as harmful to the brain as traumatic injury, even one night without sleep can do measurable short-term damage.
Have you suffered a brain injury? If your injury was caused by someone’s negligence or recklessness, you may be eligible to seek compensation that can help you pay for new medical treatments and medical options. To find out whether you have a case, contact Flaxman Law Group today to discuss your options in a free case review.