The Dangers of Concussions Howell MI
The Dangers of Concussions
Every year about one million people are rushed to the emergency room with head injuries, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Head injuries are also referred to as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The most common TBIs are concussions, which are the most minor as well.
A concussion results from a blow to the head, and may be accompanied by a loss of consciousness, or not. While you can suffer one from playing a sport, the most likely causes are car accidents and falls. In the past, scientists weren't certain how much damage concussions caused. But new research from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University indicates that they result in structural damage to brain tissue and alter mental processes.
In the study, which was published in the journal Radiology, researchers revealed that a brain scanning technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) could diagnose concussions and assess the effectiveness of treatments.
"DTI has been used to look at other brain disorders, but this is the first study to focus on concussions," said Michael Lipton, M.D., associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center (MRRC) at Einstein and lead author of the study. "It proved to be a powerful tool for detecting the subtle brain damage that we found to be associated with concussions."
In many cases a concussion doesn't cause long-term damage, but up to 30 percent of people can develop a permanent impairment, usually evident in a personality change or cognitive problems such as being unable to plan an event...
