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For all its flaws, class-action litigation sometimes works. Yes, yes, already-wealthy plaintiffs’ lawyers are going to reap an as-yet unspecified windfall, probably tens of millions of dollars. And down the line there will be ugly disputes over which brain-damaged victims get precisely how much money. Still, the proposed settlement shows how grouping hundreds of lawsuits can force a deep-pocketed corporate defendant to realize that doing the right thing is the financially smart thing, as well.

Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at theUniversity of Oregon, […]

The pea-sized structures reached the same level of development as in a nine-week-old foetus, but are incapable of thought.

The study, published in the journal Nature, has already been used to gain insight into rare diseases.

Neuroscientists have described the findings as astounding and fascinating.

The human brain is one of the most complicated structures in the universe.

Scientists at Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have now reproduced some of the earliest stages of the organ’s development in the laboratory.

Brain bath

They used either embryonic stem cells or adult skin cells to produce the part of an […]

New research suggests concussion effects may linger weeks after symptoms of dizziness and headaches have disappeared. School-safety experts are focusing attention on the impact of concussions on classroom performance. A small study of 28 patients by New York University researchers published earlier this year in the journal Radiology found that brain changes could be detected up to a year after even one mild concussion.

Brain-injury specialists say the mental exertion of normal classwork could even worsen the effects of a concussion. The harder students recovering from a concussion […]

“It’s not a piece of patronising cuddly, disability art.”

That’s how artistic director Richard Bladel describes the Angels of Our Better Nature art project.

Look through the eyes of a two-metre tall stainless steel head and you’ll see an expression in video of artists’ lives since acquiring a brain injury.

“It’s the voice and the imagination and life experience of a whole lot of extraordinary human beings who’ve been through great trauma and suffering in their lives, and through that trauma and suffering, they’ve learnt an extraordinary amount about what it is to be human” Mr Bladel said.

It is the second collaboration […]

Speaking to the annual conference of Disabled American Veterans, which represents 1.2 million people nationwide, Obama announced a $100 million grant to research centers, led by the University of Texas at San Antonio and Virginia Commonwealth University, dedicated to treating brain injuries and mental-health issues, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder.

He also said his administration would launch an effort to share research among the numerous federal agencies studying and providing treatment to veterans with neurological problems.

Brain injury and disease are among the enduring […]

Brain injury specialist Dr Willie Stewart told BBC Radio Scotland on Sunday the brains of head-injury victims looked similar through a microscope to people with dementia.

The neuropathologist examined the brain tissue of a former rugby player for abnormal proteins associated with head injuries and dementia, confirming what he believed to be the first confirmed case of early-onset dementia caused by playing rugby.

Dr Stewart said sports such as rugby and American football were beginning to lead to problems later in life normally suffered by former boxers.

Dementia pugilistica, also known as […]

Using the Canadian Light Source located at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and the Synchrotron Radiation Centre in Wisconsin, scientists have uncovered a new method for better understanding how stroke damages the brain.

“I am fascinated by the chemical reasons behind how we think and how that information could be applied to help stroke victims,” said Dr. Mark Hackett, who led the team conducting the research.

Hackett said a stroke is like lighting the fuse on a bomb as it activates pathways in the brain that may later cause severe damage.

The research validated the use of a new imaging approach to study the chemical pathways in […]

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 1.7 million Americans suffer brain injuries every year, many caused by bicycle accidents, bringing billions in unnecessary medical bills and unquantifiable emotional pain. I am one of the victims of this oversight by our municipal governments. My mother spent […]

Such simultaneous sense experiences are an everyday reality for people born with synesthesia. But for a Toronto man, the intriguing neurological condition developed months after he suffered a stroke — and it has changed the way he sees the world.

George, who asked that his real name not be used, is believed to be only the second person worldwide to have acquired synesthesia as a result of brain damage, say neurologists at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital involved in his […]

The non-invasive technique was used to temporarily shut down properly functioning parts of the brain so that the side which had been damaged by the stroke could relearn language.

Brain stimulation should be offered within five weeks of a patient suffering a stroke because genes which allow the brain to recover are most active early on, researchers said.

The therapy is aimed at patients with aphasia, a disorder which affects two or three in every 10 stroke sufferers and lowers their ability to understand and use language.

Until now speech and language therapy has been the only form […]

Reading aloud a simple children’s book is another story.

“Five little ducks went out one day. Over the hills and far away. The woman duck said quack, quack, quack,” he says.

Read it again, his instructor prompts. “The mother duck said quack, quack, quack,” he reads this time.

TC’s wife, Abby, beams. “Your quacking sound is awesome!”

He reads another sentence with no mistakes. “Oh my goodness,” he exclaims, laughing.

TC’s aphasia — his struggle to speak — resulted from a brutal assault on Capitol Hill last August. His intellect is largely intact. But his brain labors to command his mouth to say what he wants […]

The study, conducted by researchers from the Virginia Tech-Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, comes amid a debate over how much practice is needed to prepare young players to protect themselves during games and to block and tackle in a safe way.

The study’s conclusion — that the amount of practice does not influence the number of head hits absorbed during games — may bolster calls to reduce the frequency of contact drills in youth football leagues. N.F.L., college and high school […]

Major neurological deficits and even death can occur to people who sustain repeated concussions, particularly if they develop so-called “second-impact syndrome,” reported the article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Following a simple six-point return-to-play protocol for people who have sustained a concussion can reduce the risk of further injuries, wrote Charles Tator, MD, PhD, a professor in the department of surgery at the University of Toronto.

Read […]

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Close to 2 million people are affected by traumatic brain injury, or TBI, every year. After an injury, the goal is to preserve as much of the brain function as possible. Researchers are hoping a hormone our bodies produce naturally can help bring the first ever TBI treatment to those who need it.

“As I was driving, I blacked out behind the wheel, and the car went into the back of a parked 18 wheeler,” said Lester Talley.

Health issues led to Talley’s near-fatal accident. The husband and father of two suffered a serious traumatic brain injury.

“My brain had started swelling,” said Talley.

“There really is no definitive therapy for the treatment of acute brain injury,” said Dr. Daniel Laskowitz, […]

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Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers, references a growing list of research studies suggesting a link between the head-impact injuries football players routinely endure during practice and games, and debilitating neurological disorders.  The most troubling of these studies show evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of former college and professional football players, a disease with similarities to Alzheimer’s. CTE is only diagnosable post-brain death during an autopsy and has also […]

So what causes anosmia, and how does it change the way you eat and drink?

Read More and Listen to Interview>>

She’s right. Using advanced tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are finding that writing by hand is more than just a way to communicate. The practice helps with learning letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may aid fine motor-skill development.

It’s not just children who benefit. Adults studying new symbols, such as Chinese characters, might enhance recognition by writing the characters by hand, researchers say. Some physicians say handwriting […]

The 16-year-old softball catcher at Maret School hopes to be fully recovered in time to play volleyball in the fall.

More than 38 million children and teens play sports in the United States each year, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, and it’s taking a toll. About one in three kids playing team sports is injured seriously enough to miss practice or a game. Those who, like Ally, play multiple sports that put pressure on the same body part are at an increased risk for injury.

Ally’s […]

Bike helmets were designed to protect against catastrophic head injuries like skull fractures, lacerations or contusions on the brain, which they do.

However, as the understanding of concussions has advanced significantly in recent years, basic helmet design has not, and the standard that North American helmet manufacturers follow has not changed since 1999.

If a cyclist falls and his head hits the pavement or an automobile, the brain could undergo what scientists call linear acceleration – moving in the direction of the impact. […]