Category Archives: News
Brain Injury, Depression & Microglia
The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) estimates that 14.8 American adults are affected by a major depressive disorder in any given year; that’s about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population of individuals over the age of 18. Despite the overwhelming statistics, depression is a complicated disease. It affects individuals of all ages and can occur at any time and for any reason; depression is much more than just “being sad.” A recent study suggests that depression may occur when the microglia in the brain changes. The best way to describe microglia is simply as the “brain’s immune cells”. Microglia makes up 10% of all cells within the brain and …
TBI Resource Roundup
We were recently contacted with a request through our TBI Awareness Facebook page, to guest post a round-up of Traumatic Brain Injury resources. We loved this request and gladly accepted. A traumatic brain injury is life-changing, debilitating, scary, and often times not understood. However, through it all, we’ve learned that the community that surrounds traumatic brain injury is one of inclusion, support and most importantly hope. The following are resources that our team has found or been introduced to since the beginning of our journey in 2012. We highly recommend that you check these out if you are looking for inspiration, hope, data, friends, understanding or anything else TBI-related. TBI …
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month
5.3 million people in the USA are living with some level of brain injury, and 2.5 people suffer a traumatic brain injury each year. These individuals want the same things we all do – a productive life, affection, and to enjoy life. Many people that have diminished cognitive function struggle to reintegrate into the community, and are left feeling isolated and alone. Even close friends may disappear. The injured person may be aware of his or her impairments, and is dealing with personal struggles. Reaching out to these people, understanding their challenges, and helping them to become active participants in the wider community is a duty we can all share. …
Formula 1 Crash Highlights Risk of TBI in Car Accidents
Whenever a driver gets into a race car, he or she is fully aware of the risks of severe injury or death. But when a horrible crash occurs, it is still a shock. That is what the family members, friends and fans of Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi are experiencing after an Oct. 5 crash in the Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi suffered a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) known as a diffuse axonal injury (DAI) after his car hydroplaned on a wet track and hit the rear of a vehicle that was being used to remove the wreckage of another driver’s car. Doctors classified Bianchi’s condition as critical but …
Don’t Become a Statistic: Reduce Brain Injuries by Stopping Texting and Driving
Five seconds. That’s about how long a driver takes his or her eyes off the road when reading or responding to a text. It doesn’t seem like a very long period of time until you realize that, at 55 mph, 5 seconds is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field while blindfolded. Texting while driving is hands down the most dangerous form of distracted driving because it requires the use of manual, visual, and cognitive skills. The driver’s eyes, hands and focus are off the road, leaving him or her vulnerable, as well as anyone else who’s in the car or unlucky enough to be on the …
Danger at Sea: Silent Cancer - Asbestos at Large
For well over a century, courageous men and women, enlisted in the Navy, have braved the seas to protect the United States; a country they are proud to fight for. Decades later, these same war heroes are fighting for their own lives as they struggle with life threatening diseases as a result to years of asbestos exposure. Navy veterans, who struggle with asbestos-related diseases, are diagnosed too late and often given a bleak prognosis, leaving many veterans feeling abandoned by the country they fought for. Long-term Asbestos Exposure Leads to Fatal Diseases Asbestos, a natural mineral which was mined in the U.S. between the late 1880’s through the late 1970’s, …
Music and Your Brain: A Deadly Lullaby of Distracted Driving
Once the first car radio was rolled out by Gavin Corporation (Motorola) in 1930, there was no turning back. Since then, we’ve been accompanied on our drives by music from retractable record players, 8-track and cassette players, satellite radio, MP3 players, and iPODs. Technology doesn’t come without its downside, though. Auto accidents caused by distracted drivers injured an estimated 421,000 people in 2012, and listening to music while driving was a factor in many of those accidents. It’s estimated that 9 people die every day as a result of distracted driving, which can include anything from changing the song on the radio to talking to a passenger, or placing a …
Texting While Driving Vs. Drunk Driving: Which Is More Dangerous?
For decades, drunk driving has been at the forefront of debate. Stricter laws have been passed across the nation leading to a decrease in drunk driving accidents. However, a new driving threat is quickly taking its place. That threat is texting while driving – and many say that it is actually more dangerous than drunk driving. Comparing The Two: Texting While Driving Is Like Drinking 4 Beers The impairments associated with drunk driving and texting while driving are similar, according to the National Highway & Transportation Administration (NHTSA) website, distraction.org. Both cause distraction and impaired driving that can result in following too closely, not being able to brake on time …
Traumatic Brain Injury Linked to Homelessness
Who Are the Homeless? It sounds just as tragic as it is, with hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of Americans falling into the ever-widening, recession-driven cracks in the protective services webs. Those who fall are most commonly between the ages of 17 and 75. The cohort, comprised of 900 homeless men and women, shows that the odds of ending up on the street are fully 58 percent. For women, the figures are lower, at 42 percent. This could be related to the preponderance of males living at the fringes of society, or it might correlate to the fact that men are most often involved in the sorts of activities …
Social Security Disability and Drug Addiction
Drug and alcohol addiction is a debilitating condition that decreases the ability of the addict to successfully function at home and work. Those under the influence of drugs or alcohol exhibit symptoms such as drowsiness, slurred speech, poor judgment, paranoia, confusion, and the inability to concentrate. For many addicts these symptoms result in a reduction in productivity in the workplace to the point where the addict is unable to sustain meaningful employment. Some believe that this incapacitating result of addiction is comparable to the debilitating effects of health conditions unrelated to drug addiction in that the end result is the inability to effectively function in the workplace. However, the Social …