Latest Head injury Stories

Cheerleading is still the top cause of catastrophic injury in young female athletes, a U.S. physician says. Dr. Amy Miller Bohn, a physician at the University of Michigan Health System, says data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission shows cheerleading injuries have gone from nearly 5,000 in 1980 to nearly 26,000 to 28,000 in the past few years. The latest figures mirror those from last year.If participants want to be one of the better teams, compete at high levels and be invited to...

Too much alcohol often causes trauma, complicates assessment of injury, and interferes with inpatient care. Even though 20 to 37 percent of accident cases in trauma centers are alcohol-related, some trauma patients are reluctant to self report their drinking. A new study has found that testing for alcohol biomarkers "“ particularly blood alcohol levels (BALs) "“ can identify high-risk patients admitted to trauma centers who had denied excessive drinking.Results will be published in the...

A new study has revealed an increased risk of computer-related injuries among U.S. households. The 13-year study showed that the injury rate of 732 percent more than doubled the rate of computer ownership among households.Researchers analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System between 1994 and 2006. The data revealed more than 78,000 "acute computer-related injuries" during the observational period.Injuries included large numbers of head injuries from falling...

A new research review shows a blow to the head can affect a child's mental functioning for years afterward, depending on how severely the brain is affected.Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) found in a review of 28 studies published in the last 20 years that children with mild brain injuries typically showed subtle effects that resolved with time.  Researchers Talin Babikian and Robert Asarnow reported in the journal Neuropsychology that with more severe...

 When Chicago Blackhawk's leading scorer Martin Havlat returned to the ice for game four of the Western Conference Final after sustaining a concussion only two days earlier, questions were raised surrounding his swift return. According to a new study by St. Michael's Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Cusimano, similar questions were raised by 25% of minor league hockey players who did not know if an athlete with symptoms of a concussion should continue to play hockey. Nearly a majority of...

Children hospitalized with concussions should wait until they are seen by a clinician in a follow-up exam before returning to regular sports or playtime activities, according to researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.Rather than only consulting a doctor when there are obvious trouble signs after the initial treatment, the Children's Hospital researchers recommend that a qualified healthcare provider perform a formal assessment after hospital discharge but before child resumes...

PHILADELPHIA, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Children hospitalized with concussions should wait until they are seen by a clinician in a follow-up exam before returning to regular sports or playtime activities, according to researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Rather than only consulting a doctor when there are obvious trouble signs after the initial treatment, the Children's Hospital researchers recommend that a qualified healthcare provider perform a formal...

The American Academy of Pediatrics is encouraging doctors to adopt a more scientifically descriptive term for shaken baby syndrome. The group suggests a term - such as "abusive head trauma" - which communicates diagnosis of brain, skull and spinal injuries associated with shaking as well as other head injuries experienced, to be issued in a policy statement being published in the May issue of its journal, Pediatrics. The academy says that the use of the new diagnostic term in medical records...

Army officials say the military is over diagnosing mild brain injuries because it is failing to use hard medical evidence and instead relying on soft criteria. Mild brain injuries were once considered an under-recognized problem in returning military troops, but an Army doctor and two other officials are taking aim at Department of Veterans Affairs' rule for treating such veterans and determining disability pay. The study is published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.The authors...

A blood test that can help predict the seriousness of a head injury and detect the status of the blood-brain barrier is a step closer to reality, according to two recently published studies involving University of Rochester Medical Center researchers.News stories about tragic head injuries "“ from the death of actress Natasha Richardson to brain-injured Iraq war soldiers and young athletes "“ certainly underscore the need for a simpler, faster, accurate screening tool, said brain injury...