Emerging Diagnosis Improvements and Treatments of Mild to Traumatic Brain Injuries

Abstract

This review paper evaluates the current clinical and research practices for diagonising and treating TBI and mTBI. It provides an overview of the new emerging treatments for mTBI and TBI that are in varying stages of research. The paper analyzes the shortcomings and practices of diagnosing mTBI and TBI and also evaluates new and potentially break-through mTBI and TBI treatments such as Iron Chelators, Cellular Therapy, Cannabinoid Receptor Treatment, Electroaccupuncture, and Transcanial Magnetic Stimulation. While the current method of diagnosis for severe TBI is sound, mTBIs remain largely undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This paper identifies the limitations of current neuroimaging and diagnostic techniques for mTBI and TBI. There are many current treatments for the primary symptoms/damage of TBI and mTBI (severe swelling, trauma, neuroinflammation, edema, diffuse axonal damage, and loss of consciousness). However, there is little or no treatment for secondary injuries (personality shifts, free iron collection, cognitive deficits in short-term memory, abstract reasoning, and many unique deficits dependent on the site of injury). This review paper seeeks to evaluate emerging research and diagnostic methods and explores possible new directions for diagnosis and conceivable conjunction therapies to treat multiple aspects and deficits of mTBI and TBI.