On this week's episode, written by guest author Christy Kestner, PhD, we discuss traumatic brain injury; when the brain gets banged around enough to cause damage. We explore the causes, problems, some ways to protect yourself, and what to do if you or someone you know experiences a traumatic brain injury; along with signs and symptoms to help identify one.

References: 

Taylor, C. A., Bell, J. M., Breiding, M. J., & Xu, L. (2017). Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths - United States, 2007 and 2013. Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Surveillance summaries (Washington, D.C. : 2002), 66(9), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss6609a1 

Bener, A., Omar, A. O., Ahmad, A. E., Al-Mulla, F. H., & Abdul Rahman, Y. S. (2010). The pattern of traumatic brain injuries: a country undergoing rapid development. Brain injury, 24(2), 74–80. https://doi.org/10.3109/02699050903508192 

McKee, A. C., & Robinson, M. E. (2014). Military-related traumatic brain injury and neurodegeneration. Alzheimer's & dementia, 10(3 Suppl), S242–S253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2014.04.003 

Shenton, M. E., Hamoda, H. M., Schneiderman, J. S., Bouix, S., Pasternak, O., Rathi, Y., Vu, M. A., Purohit, M. P., Helmer, K., Koerte, I., Lin, A. P., Westin, C. F., Kikinis, R., Kubicki, M., Stern, R. A., & Zafonte, R. (2012). A review of magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging findings in mild traumatic brain injury. Brain imaging and behavior, 6(2), 137–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-012-9156-5 

Cheng, Y. S., Tseng, P. T., Wu, Y. C., Tu, Y. K., Wu, C. K., Hsu, C. W., Lei, W. T., Li, D. J., Chen, T. Y., Stubbs, B., Carvalho, A. F., Liang, C. S., Yeh, T. C., Chu, C. S., Chen, Y. W., Lin, P. Y., Wu, M. K., & Sun, C. K. (2021). Therapeutic benefits of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments for depressive symptoms after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN, 46(1), E196–E207. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.190122 

Komoltsev, I. G., Frankevich, S. O., Shirobokova, N. I., Volkova, A. A., Onufriev, M. V., Moiseeva, J. V., Novikova, M. R., & Gulyaeva, N. V. (2021). Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Loss in the Hippocampus Are Associated with Immediate Posttraumatic Seizures and Corticosterone Elevation in Rats. International journal of molecular sciences, 22(11), 5883. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22115883 

Baracaldo-Santamaría, D., Ariza-Salamanca, D. F., Corrales-Hernández, M. G., Pachón-Londoño, M. J., Hernandez-Duarte, I., & Calderon-Ospina, C.-A. (2022). Revisiting Excitotoxicity in Traumatic Brain Injury: From Bench to Bedside. Pharmaceutics, 14(1), 152. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14010152 

Li, L., Zhou, J., Han, L., Guo, C., Ma, S., Ge, S., & Qu, Y. (2024). Intervention of CXCL5 attenuated neuroinflammation and promoted neurological recovery after traumatic brain injury. Neuroreport, 35(9), 549–557. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNR.0000000000002032