Brain Injury Law Blog : Head Injury : Coma : Personal Injury : Las Vegas Nevada Lawyer & Attorney Tim Titolo

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries. Funded by a $5.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers will use three types of imaging equipment together, producing better data and a more complete taxonomy of brain injuries, information that investigators hope may lead to better treatment for blast injuries and car accidents.

Scientists once believed that an injured brain was irreversibly damaged and that its function could not be recovered after being lost. It now appears, however, that the brain has the remarkable ability to rewire itself - if one pathway is damaged, another may be able to take over. Researchers anticipate that this study may aid them in identifying specific areas of the brain that can be rewired, as opposed to those which, once damaged, cannot be redirected.

The study will use Tesla 3 MRI, CT (structural imaging) and PET and MEG (magnetoencephalography) (functional imaging).

The results will help science and medicine advance to properly care for traumatic brain injury and PTSD survivors.

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Wikipedia defines Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) as

one of the most common and devastating types of traumatic brain injury, , meaning that damage occurs over a more widespread area than in focal brain injury. DAI, which refers to extensive lesions in white matter tracts, is one of the major causes of unconsciousness and persistent vegetative state after head trauma. It occurs in about half of all cases of severe head trauma and also occurs in moderate and mild brain injury.

The outcome is frequently coma, with over 90% of patients with severe DAI never regaining consciousness. Those who do wake up often remain significantly impaired.

Nowadays, other authors state that DAI can occur in every degree of severity from (very) mild or moderate to (very) severe. Concussion may be a milder type of diffuse axonal injury.

DAI is not easily detected by physicians in mild and moderate cases. Imaging studies and neuropsychological evaluations in addition to observations of relatives, friends and co-workers are some of the devices used when diagnosing DAI. Cases involving mild to moderate brain injuries are harder to tackle than cases in which there is objectively discernible injury such as loss of consciousness, skull fracture, or intracranial bleeding on imaging studies. Often such cases involve allegations of diffuse axonal injury (DAI), an injury to the brain that can occur at the microscopic level and not be detectable even by computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.

Nonetheless, DAI can cause significant changes in personality or cognition which can create significant life change.
 

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This information was derived from Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007:

Brain Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), introduced in the early 1980s, beams high-frequency radio waves into the brain in a highly magnetized field that causes the protons that form the nuclei of hydrogen atoms in the brain to reemit the radio waves. The reemitted radio waves are analyzed by computer to create thin cross-sectional images of the brain. MRI provides the most detailed images of the brain and is safer than imaging methods that use X rays. However, MRI is a lengthy process and also cannot be used with people who have pacemakers or metal implants, both of which are adversely affected by the magnetic field.

Computed Tomography or CT

Computed tomography, also known as CT scans, developed in the early 1970s. This imaging method X-rays the brain from many different angles, feeding the information into a computer that produces a series of cross-sectional images. CT is particularly useful for diagnosing blood clots and brain tumors. It is a much quicker process than magnetic resonance imaging and is therefore advantageous in certain situations—for example, with people who are extremely ill.

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of fMRI

Changes in brain function due to brain disorders can be visualized in several ways. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy measures the concentration of specific chemical compounds in the brain that may change during specific behaviors. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) maps changes in oxygen concentration that correspond to nerve cell activity.

Positron Emission Tomography or PET

Positron emission tomography (PET), developed in the mid-1970s, uses computed tomography to visualize radioactive tracers (see Isotopic Tracer), radioactive substances introduced into the brain intravenously or by inhalation. PET can measure such brain functions as cerebral metabolism, blood flow and volume, oxygen use, and the formation of neurotransmitters. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), developed in the 1950s and 1960s, uses radioactive tracers to visualize the circulation and volume of blood in the brain.

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