Archive for July, 2012

Titans O.J. Murdock Today Makes It A Half-Dozen NFL Suicides

Posted on July 30th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

Another NFL player has committed suicide, raising the same question as the other deaths: Did brain damage from concussions drive them to pull the trigger? The latest suicide is Tennessee Titans receiver O.J. Murdock. Only 25, he shot himself in the head while sitting in a car in front of..
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Death And Violence: Not A Movie, It’s A Brain-Injured Rehab Center

Posted on July 30th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

As medical care becomes more adept at saving people after car crashes and shootings, the nation’s population of the brain-damaged is growing. And it’s not easy to find rehab and care for all of them. And not all the facilities are up to snuff. That leads to the case of..
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Angela-Finding the Right Doctor after Brain Injury

Posted on July 30th, 2012 · Posted in TBI Voices

Part Nine tells how Angela found right doctor http://tbivoices.com/blog/uncategorized/no-tbi-diagnosis-until-referral-to-neuropsychiatrist/   The pending catastrophe that was Angela’s return to work was averted when Angela found her way to a neuropsychiatrist who took her off work and began to address the myriad of changes in her caused by her brain injury. “Miraculously..
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Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson Strike Out In One Alzheimer’s Drug Trial

Posted on July 29th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

Pfizer Inc. and Johnson & Johnson had bad news to report last week on one of four clinical trials of their Alzheimer’s disease drug bapineuzumab. In a press release Pfizer announced that the drug didn’t improve cognition or function in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease who carry the ApoE4 (apolipoprotein..
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Aggressive, Lethal Brain Cancer Tied To Gene Mutation, Study Finds

Posted on July 28th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

Some cases of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer, are caused by a genetic mutation, the fusion of two adjacent genes, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) . http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/news-room/2012/07/26/research-may-lead-to-new-treatment-for-type-of-brain-cancer/#.UBLnAhVCoQg This type of brain tumor took the lives of Sen. Edward Kennedy in..
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Ex-Atlanta Falcons Ray Easterling Had Brain Disease, Autopsy Finds

Posted on July 28th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

This is no surprise: Former Atlanta Falcons player Ray Easterling, who committed suicide earlier this year, had the brain disease that’s been linked to repeated concussions in athletes. Easterling’s widow, Mary Ann Easterling, released the results of a medical examiner’s report on her husband to the Associated Press on Friday,..
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NFL Debuts Confidential Mental Health Hot Line For Players

Posted on July 28th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

Facing concussion lawsuits on behalf of about 3,000 defendants, the National Football League Thursday launched a confidential mental health hot line that was developed by suicide prevention experts. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the NFL Life Line as one of the foundations of the new NFL Total Wellness initiative,..
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Single Brain Trauma May Result In Alzheimer’s, Research Finds

Posted on July 26th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

New research indicates that just one traumatic injury to the brain can lead to Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme, BACE1, in the brain. And these results, perhaps, will lead..
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Angela-Vocational Issues after TBI

Posted on July 26th, 2012 · Posted in TBI Voices

Part Eight Deals with Vocational Issues http://tbivoices.com/blog/uncategorized/return-to-work-from-tbi-without-treatment-or-rehabilitation/   As the severity of Angela’s brain injury was poorly understood in the first month after her injury, Angela returned to work, before, not after she got rehabilitation.  While sometimes that can work, as it did with out story of Gina, it requires..
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New Drug May Target Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS And TBI

Posted on July 25th, 2012 · Posted in Brain Injury

There is so much research being done on potential drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease that I can’t even keep track of it all, but my alma mater Northwestern University is doing what could be breakthrough. Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine is doing trials of a potential new class of drugs..
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