Brain Injury

The Signs & Symptoms of Brain Injury Brain injury is damage to any area of the brain regardless of when or how it occurs. A brain injury can result in minor to substantial damage and can cause different types of cognitive impairments with differing levels of severity. Types and Potential Causes of Brain injury Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is an injury to the brain that occurs after birth, on a cellular level. Different factors can cause an ABI: Every 21 seconds. one person in the U.S. sustains a brain injury. Traumatic Brain Injury (including concussion) Anoxic injuries (a prolonged lack of oxygen) Hypoxia (decreased Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is caused by an external force. Different factors can cause a TBI: oxygen flow) Infections, such as encephalitis or meningitis Neurotoxic Cerebral Ischemia Vehicle-related Falls (restricted blood flow) events (exposure collisions to toxic chemicals or Battery or personal violence Sports injuries Epilepsy or other seizure Hydrocephalus (buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain) Strokes disorders Explosive blasts and other combat injuries Brain tumors About 10% of traumatic brain injuries are caused by violence, such as a gunshot wound or domestic violence. An estimated 5.3 million In the U.S. about Americans are living with a 1.5 million disability related to a traumatic people suffer some brain injury. type of brain injury every year. About 50,000 die ttt annually as a result of brain injury. Annual medical costs and lost Statistics indicate that men are productivity are estimated to be between $48 billion and $60 billion. 2 times more likely to suffer a brain injury than women. Symptoms of Brain Injury to the... Frontal Lobe Parietal Lobe Occipital Lobe O Paralysis OInability to plan a sequence of movements to complete a task O Difficulty with hand-eye coordination Difficulty identifying colors O Defects in vision Inability to name an object O Problems with reading and writing Hallucinations O Persistence of a single thought O Inability to focus on a task O Behavior and personality changes O Difficulty with problem solving O Inability to recognize words and objects O Difficulty reading and writing O Right-left confusion O Difficulty doing mathematics O Inability to express language O Mood swings Temporal Lobe O Difficulty understanding spoken words Cerebellum O Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements Brain Stem O Difficulty recognizing faces O Difficulty with identification of and verbalization of objects O Loss of ability to walk O Difficulty swallowing O Inability to grab objects Sleep apnea O Short-term and long-term memory loss Tremors, dizziness and slurred speech O Problems with balance and movement Inability to make rapid O Aggression O Dizziness and nausea movements The highest rate of injury occurs among people ages 15-24. Children under age 5 and seniors over age 75 are also at a higher than average risk. Sources: www.allenandallen.com www.who.int www.mayoclinic.com www.wikipedia.org www.internationalbrain.org After one brain injury, the risk for a second is 3 times greater. www.thefreedictionary.com RISK www.brainandspinalcord.org After the second injury, the risk for www.webmd.com a third is 8 times greater. ALLEN ALLEN ALLENCALLEN 100 Attorneys for Injured Persons since 1910 2010 1910 YEARS %24