Brain due to concussions to the head in humans (chronic traumatic encephalopathy):
--What is the cause (mechanism of injury in the brain) of the brain injury in concussions in humans?
Dennis
Dennis Mazur
There are several mechanisms that cause concussions. These include, 1) Blunt Trauma, 2) Blast-Related TBI, 3) missile or penetrating TBI, 4) Shearing forces related TBI and 5) Torsion or Torque related TBI. These different mechanisms cause different types of brain injury. The #1 causes injury to the pre-frontal, temporal pole and occipital pole injury. The neurons disintegrate due to the force, they can "balloon" up, called cytotoxic edema and programmed cell death called apoptosis. With the other mechanisms, there is damage to the white matter which consists of axons and myelin. The axons can get stretched to the point that they break apart, they can be squeezed causing the myelin sheath around them to disintegrate. This is called Diffuse Axonal Injury. In all this we have the blood vessels which get stretched and torn allowing the immune system cells to invade the brain tissue. these immune cells produce cytokines and chemokines that result in inflammation, which in turn break apart the intact neurons and axons. The debris is then "eaten up" by macrophages. Thanks.
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to either the head or the body that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull. A concussion changes how the brain normally functions.
Concussions are a major component of what the Brain Injury Research Institute studies. Concussions can have serious and long-term health effects, and even a seemingly mild 'ding' or a bump on the head can be serious.
Signs and symptoms of concussion include headache, nausea, fatigue, confusion or memory problems, sleep disturbances, or mood changes; symptoms are typically noticed right after the injury, but some might not be recognized until days or weeks later.
- According to CDC estimates, 1.6-3.8 m sports and recreation related concussions occur each year in the U.S.
- 10% of all contact sport athletes sustain concussions yearly.
- Brain injuries cause more deaths than any other sports injury. In football, brain injuries account for 65% to 95% of all fatalities. Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every 5.5 games. In any given season, 10% of all college players and 20% of all high school players sustain brain injuries.
- 87% of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury.
- 5% of soccer players sustain brain injuries as a result of their sport.
- The head is involved in more baseball injuries than any other body part. Almost half of the injuries involve a child's head, face, mouth or eyes.
- An athlete who sustains concussion is 4-6 times more likely to sustain a second concussion.
- Effects of concussion are cumulative in athletes who return to play prior to complete recovery.
- Up to 86% of athletes that suffer a concussion will experience Post-Traumatic Migraine or some other type of headache pain. In fact, recent evidence indicates that presence and severity of headache symptoms may be a very significant indicator of severity of head injury and help guide return to play decisions.
- 1.5 million Americans suffer from traumatic brain injuries
- A traumatic brain injury occurs every 15 seconds
- It's the number one cause of death in children and young adults
- Fewer than 1 in 20 will get the facts they need
- It causes 1.5 times more deaths than AIDS
Concussion and mTBI are not equivalent. Concussion is defined as a change in the brain function as a result of head injury. it can be mild consisting of temporary disorientation or severe consisting of becoming comatose. Also, it can be short, lasting for a few seconds, to being very prolonged, lasting for weeks, months and years. the most common and frequent concussion is due to mTBI but concussion is a spectrum and the degree of it depends on the severity of the TBI. thanks.
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