Brain Injury: Refinement and Restoration—The Light Is Coming On

Abstract

The scope and extent of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a regional, national, and international problem cannot be underestimated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that 1.7 million people sustain TBI annually and that 75%-85% of these injuries are mild [1]. Sports and bicycle accidents account for 26% of mild TBI, with approximately 300,000 persons with sports-related TBIs presenting to the emergency department yearly. The vast majority of those were due to concussions. No other health issue has received more media recognition than sports-related concussion. Recent findings describe the high incidence of TBIs among service members returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan [2]. Yet, for sportsor military-related injuries, little in the way of compelling evidence is available to guide therapy. These numbers are additive to the large number of individuals who experience lifelong disability related to severe TBI each day. Although numerous clinical trials for neuroprotection have failed to show efficacy, a bright light exists in the refinement and neurorestorative arenas for the near future [3].