August 30, 2005, 3:01 pm

Mindfulness Matters in TBI Treatment

TBI survivor turned researcher Melissa Felteau has not only made personal strides in her own recovery, but has spearheaded initiatives aimed at drawing attention to alternative therapies in TBI treatment. As a recipient of the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation’s research grant, Felteau organized a study on the effects of mindfulness meditation on TBI survivors. Here’s a snippet from her findings:

“Decreasing depression was an intended outcome and most significantly this was achieved as measured by the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The Mental Health score of the intervention group increased from 37 at baseline to 52 after the intervention. Using a conservative analytical plan (pre-post changes with paired t-tests for the treatment group alone, two-way analyses of variance ANOVA with drop-outs as controls for all measures, and Pearson r coefficients to assess correlations) this finding was both statistically and clinically significant. Using the Beck Depression Index II (BDI-II) cognitive-affective domain scores in the treatment group mean dropped by almost 50% whereas the control group mean increased.”

If you’re not familiar with research-speak, allow me to translate: mindfulness makes a startling difference. As Felteau’s findings reach bigger audiences, we may soon find alternative therapies incorporated into traditional care.

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August 29, 2005, 3:16 pm

Synthetic Blood May Help in TBI Survivor Rate

As each year advances, more and more people survive increasingly severe trauma to the brain. Now there’s a new study that is exploring the use of synthetic blood as an oxygen-delivery mechanism during the first few hours following a brain injury:

“Approximately one third of severe head injury patients show reduced oxygen tension during the first six to 12 hours following injury, which can lead to post-traumatic brain damage. Oxycyte presents a particularly attractive candidate for increasing cerebral oxygen delivery as earlier studies have demonstrated its potential to perfuse and oxygenate tissues in brain contusions, where capillaries are so narrow that red blood cell transport is impeded, added Dr Bulloch.”

As we continue to develop more and more creative ways to sustain life, one should hope that we also put fair amounts of energy into increasing the quality of life, as well greater efforts towards safety prevention (read my earlier post about Florida seatbelt laws, for example).

Click here to read “Synthetic Blood May Substitute in Brain Injury”

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August 26, 2005, 6:41 am

Brain Injury and Depression Linked

UCLA researchers have released an important finding: it appears that many heart failure patients not only sustain brain injuries resulting from cardiac complications, but that this specific injury is linked to depression. Following is a brief excerpt from Ivanhoe News:

“The UCLA imaging study shows significant loss of tissue in areas in the brains of heart failure patients that regulate the autonomic nervous system. The damage interferes with the cardiovascular system’s ability to quickly adapt to changes in blood pressure and heart rate. The problem is in the same areas of the brain that show changes in people who have major depression. This may explain why many heart failure patients are often depressed.”

You can read the full text of the study HERE, but it requires registration.

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August 24, 2005, 5:34 pm

Iowa: Great People, Great Places

Iowa may get a bad rap for its endless cornfields and sparse population, but it’s really a marvelous state, and it’s all because of the people. As one of the most pro-active brain injury associations in the midwest, the Iowa BIA operates through the support of some incredibly capable and knowledgeable types–not least among them is Julie Fidler-Dixon, current president of the BIA and director of On With Life rehab in Ankeny. I had the pleasure of chatting with Julie today at her facility and learned all about their location in Glenwood, a center capable of treating minimally conscious TBI survivors.

Earlier this morning, I also enjoyed a visit with social worker Sherry Bowles at Woodward Resource Center and we discussed Brookhaven’s neurobehavioral and mental health programs. As you can see in the picture below, Woodward Resource Center has a stately campus–not an uncommon look for mental health facilities in Iowa.

In between my two meetings, I grabbed a quick, delicious lunch near the Des Moines Art Center (thanks, La Mie!) and snapped a couple of shots. Here’s a picture of a tremendous Andy Goldsworthy egg:

And here’s a small glimpse of the marvelous early work of architect I.M. Pei, who designed a wing of the Des Moines Art Center, then went on to fame as the architect of the Louvre:

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, 6:55 am

Travelling in Iowa this Week

I’m in Iowa this week, conducting a few evaluations and touring a few facilities. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting Phil Grove, a veteran of the brain injury industry. He works for Village Northwest (VNW), a truly wonderful community environment for brain injury survivors and people with developmental disabilities. VNW is located in Sheldon, Iowa and is the largest employer in town. In the picture below, you can catch a glimpse of the beautiful marigolds that line the entire campus of VNW, as well as many roads in Sheldon.

While VNW has much to offer its clients, it usually runs at capacity, underscoring the critical shortage of beds for TBI survivors at all levels of care.

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August 23, 2005, 4:59 am

Advancing Ideas about How People Get TBIs

Nothing is simple when it comes to brain injuries. This article from the from timesleader.com of Pennsylvania shows a new understanding of contra-coup injuries:

“Data so far indicate standard models of brain movement during trauma may need revision. Leuthardt explained the classic view of head trauma by imagining someone slipping and hitting the back of his head on a table. What people classically think happens is the skull hits first, and then the back part of your brain hits the skull, (and) bounces off of it,” causing it to smack the front of the skull. This is known as a coup-contra-coup brain injury. It’s how a ball would act in a fluid-filled container. But the brain doesn’t bounce backwards and forwards — what actually happens is we found some tether points there, said Leuthardt.”

Click here to read “Studying Brain Injury Mystery“

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August 19, 2005, 6:51 am

Great TBI Survivor Story & Photos

Chris “Trooper” Lynch is a TBI survivor who has documented his remarkable and inspiring recovery. His website details his entire journey through a gripping struggle with a traumatic brain injury. Here is an excerpt from the dramatic start of his story:

“I knew this was going to be the experience of a lifetime. Jumping out of perfectly shitty airplanes. Trust me more jumps get scratched because of the airplanes than any other reason. Now I’m an AIRBORNE Combat Engineer. My orders come in and I have found out that I am going to the most elite Airborne Unit in the Army, The 82nd Airborne, in Ft Bragg, North Carolina.”

Click here to read “Chris’ Story.”

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August 18, 2005, 7:57 am

Vocational Websites for TBI Survivors

One of the great struggles TBI survivors face is finding employment following an injury. Fortunately, there are some resources online that can help make that search easier. Here are a few of those sites:

America’s Job Bank

Connect Job Seeker Center

Janet Pomeroy Center

The Job Network

The Monster Board

Project Hired

Services for Brain Injury

TransAccess

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August 16, 2005, 3:22 pm

TBI Survivor and Poet

TBI survivor Dan Windheim writes to let us know:

“I am a TBI survivor with a web site dedicated to survival, and living a valued life. I have also written a book of poems on TBI and my life, perhaps you would be interested in sharing with those you work with. My site is www.tbilife.com.I work toward helping others, as I believe we help ourselves by helping others.

If you’re a survivor and you’d like to share your story or work with us, please email us!

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August 15, 2005, 7:04 am

TeleRehab: One Option for Ongoing TBI Rehab

It’s important for TBI survivors to continue their rehab once they’ve re-entered the community, but what about the many situations where there simply aren’t many supports in place? Here’s a brief article that sums up tele-rehabilitation, a technology driven service meant to increase the availability of rehab services when distance is an obstacle for home-based services.

“One way to help provide TBI treatment services is tele-rehabilitation, a strategy described in this paper by Forducey and her colleagues. Telerehabilitation is a versatile interdisciplinary service modality that demonstrates promising signs of facilitation the transition for specialized TBI follow-up care and neuro-restorative services in the home and community-based settings. It is defined as the remote delivery of a variety of rehabilitative services for persons with disabilities through telecommunication technology [6]. Several applications of Telerehabilitation have been identified by the INTEGRIS team: TeleMentoring, TeleMonitoring, TeleConsultation, TeleEducation, TeleSupervision, and TeleTherapy.”

Click here to read “Using telerehabilitation to promote TBI recovery and transfer of Knowledge”

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