BRAIN AND SPINAL TRAUMAS

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), traumatic injuries to the brain, also called intracranial injury, or simply head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes brain damage. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury and is one of two subsets of acquired brain injury (ABI). The other subset is non-traumatic brain injury (e.g. stroke, meningitis, anoxia). Parts of the brain that can be damaged include the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, and brain stem. The damage from TBI can be focal, confined to one area of the brain, or diffuse, involving more than one area of the brain. Diffuse trauma to the brain is frequently associated with concussion (a shaking of the brain in response to sudden motion of the head), diffuse axonal injury, or coma. Localized injuries may be associated with neurobehavioral manifestations, hemiparesis or other focal neurologic deficits. TBI can cause a host of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social effects. Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. Generally, there are six abnormal states of consciousness that can result from a TBI: stupor, coma, persistent vegetative state, minimally conscious state, locked-in syndrome, and brain death. Outcome can be anything from complete recovery to permanent disability or death.

Spinal cord injury causes myelopathy or damage to white matter or myelinated fiber tracts that carry sensation and motor signals to and from the brain. It also damages gray matter in the central part of the spinal, causing segmental losses of interneurons and motorneurons. Spinal cord injury can occur from many causes, including trauma.