I have discussed research on the important role of sleep in TBI recovery in prior posts. Accordingly, I have encouraged clients to get help with sleep issues as soon as they become apparent after an injury. Studies have shown...more
In a recent review the literature, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research identified the establishment of a protective gut microbiota as a “compelling therapeutic avenue” for the treatment of traumatic...more
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have been often been viewed as two distinct conditions, one with an “emotional” cause and the other with a “physical” cause. It has been recognized for...more
As discussed in prior posts, the most common symptom of post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is post-traumatic headache accompanied by photophobia (heightened sensitivity to light.) These symptoms can interfere with both work and...more
In prior posts I have discussed the growing understanding in the scientific community that vision is often disrupted in subtle ways following a concussion (both the ability of the eyes to track and higher level visual...more
In 2003 CDC sent a report to Congress on “mild” traumatic brain injuries. (MTBI, also sometimes called “concussion.”) The report cautioned that, contrary to past understanding, “mild” brain injuries can cause serious,...more
Does it ever make sense to negotiate on my own and avoid attorney fees?
Insurance companies typically will try hard to settle personal injury claims quickly, before the injured person contacts a lawyer....more
What is my personal injury case worth?
This is the ultimate question for both sides in a lawsuit. It drives almost every important decision...more
What are the pros and cons of suing for personal injury?
Even when your case looks strong, where there is evidence of negligence and evidence that the negligence caused the injury, where there are assets available to pay...more
In the 35 years I have been practicing personal injury law in Vermont, the questions I hear most frequently are:
Is my injury case worth pursuing?...more
Researchers from Berkeley, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill and University of Arizona used a new type of MRI called “diffusion kurtosis imaging” (“DKI”) to take brain scans of 16 high school football players, ages 15 to 17, before and...more
In the 35 years I have been practicing personal injury law in Vermont, the questions I hear most frequently are:
Is my injury case worth pursuing?...more
There’s promising research on the use of melatonin for acute treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and for treatment of sleep disturbance following TBI coming from two recent peer-reviewed papers. One, published in the...more
In our May, 2014 post, we reported on research showing that traumatic brain injury, including mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), can damage and cause dysfunction in the pituitary gland resulting in deficiencies in key...more
Research scientists at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas have just published a study, funded by the US Department of Defense, supporting the effectiveness of “strategy-based” cognitive training...more
In a propensity-matched cohort study of more than 350,000 veterans with and without traumatic brain injuries (TBI), mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) without loss of consciousness was associated with more than a twofold...more
Although males represent a majority of emergency department visits for sports and recreation-related concussion, researchers have recently found that female athletes have a higher rate of concussion and appear to have worse...more
A new study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma highlights the importance of monitoring TBI patients for the presence of depression symptoms and providing clinical support to prevent minor depression from converting into...more
As discussed in prior posts on this blog, sleep alterations are commonly found after a concussion or other traumatic brain injury, both short term and in some cases long term. One of the most well documented impacts of...more
Several of my traumatic brain injury (TBI) clients have been treated for gut issues – issues that were not present prior to their TBI. Insurers, of course, insist that this treatment cannot be related to the brain injury. The...more
A treatment protocol combining Ritalin, a stimulant commonly used for ADHD, and a form of Cognitive Behavioral Rehabilitation known as “Memory and Attention Adaptation Training” (MAAT) shows great promise for improving...more
Although the primary focus of this blog is on “traumatic” brain injury, the literature increasingly demonstrates that the physiological causes of cognitive impairment overlap between a range of conditions having...more
A review published in the September 2017 issue of Frontiers in Neurology proposes use of “systems science” to better understand concussion diagnosis and prognosis. This is a discipline that analyzes complex problems as whole...more
The open source journal Brain Science has just published a survey of literature demonstrating that a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) , otherwise known as concussion, is a complex pathophysiological process that can have a...more
One of the most common symptoms following TBI is photophobia, an intense intolerance to light that can cause significant discomfort, interfere with activities of daily living, and contribute to post traumatic headaches. It...more