As some Pennsylvania residents may know, traumatic brain injuries can have significant and long-lasting effects. The results of TBI in the brain has been studied extensively, and a new study looks at the role brain inflammation plays.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have reported that neuropsychiatric issues and brain damage after traumatic brain injuries might be due to chronic brain inflammation, which the researchers believe is more common than chronic traumatic encephalopathy. While CTE does exist in some patients, repeated blows causing concussion and less intense trauma might result in chronic inflammation. The inflammation may persist and lead to damage that is not reversible.
Mild or repeat trauma may result in cognitive problems that might last for months or even years. The researchers added that such inflammation may respond to therapy. In fact, some research points to the possibility that experimental drugs or specific programs may be able to target brain inflammation.
In animal models, research demonstrated that brain injuries that were mild might result in psychiatric and cognitive issues. One study emphasized that repeated smaller injuries were capable of resulting in a similar inflammatory pattern found in moderate or intense brain injuries. The cumulative effects of multiple injuries resulted in similar symptoms. Since mild trauma may result in persistent inflammation, a similar loss of neuronal cells occurs. This happens alongside an increased phagocytic immune process, microalgia, causing decreased hippocampal function.
Traumatic brain injuries are frequently associated with contact sports, but they often result from motor vehicle accidents as well. A person whose brain trauma was caused by the negligence of another motorist may want to meet with a personal injury attorney to discuss how best to seek compensation for the losses that have been sustained.