Have you or a loved one suffered from a traumatic brain injury? Join us here at TryMunity and receive the love and support you need from other families going through the same thing. Our non-profit organization is here to provide support and awareness for people who suffer from head injuries. You can join the community and share your story, be inspired by survivors, and get more information on dealing with a head injury.

Stems Cells Could Help Repair Brain Damage

Recently, researchers at the University of South Florida have found that stems cells may be able to help repair the brain after an injury. During their experiment, director Cesar Borlongan and his team used two groups of rats to test their theory. One group of rats, who had a traumatic brain injury, was given stem cells that were derived from bone marrow. The other group did not receive stem cell implants. After three months, the rats with the stem cell implants showed great improvement in their motor and neurological function. There was very little change in the control group. Researchers concluded that the stem cells created a “biobridge,” which brought the new cells to the place in the brain that needed repair. The bone marrow stem cells had been differentiated into neuron-like cells to start the healing process of the injured brain.

Get Community Support With TryMunity

Here at TryMunity, we are here for you. If you or a family member has suffered a traumatic brain injury, get the support and inspiration you need to get through this life-changing experience. Contact us today at (214) 310-1356 or go online to join our community. There is hope!

Source: USF Health, “Stem cells help repair traumatic brain injury by building a ‘biobridge,’ USF researchers report,” Anne DeLotto Baier, Oct. 2, 2013

Concussions happen every day; they are caused when someone hits their head. This type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be a mild, isolated incident or severe and have long term implications. A football player may sustain numerous minor hits over the course of his career that could result in long term brain damage. Trymunity is dedicated to helping people with TBIs, no matter how their injury was sustained.

Symptoms

Some concussion symptoms are obvious, while others are more subtle. They can include loss of consciousness and confusion. Nausea or vomiting may also occur. The injured individual may get headaches and experience drowsiness.  They may not be able to recall the injury. Some other symptoms include insomnia, blurred vision and speech impediments.

TBIs and Football

Football players and other athletes who play contact sports are very prone to receiving a concussion throughout their sports career. They can occur as the result of a big hit during a game or a series of mild ones may take place over time, which can be just as dangerous. A brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) may be the ultimate outcome. Its symptoms are similar to those of dementia and also include depression. Former NFL players, Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, both had CTE and both committed suicide. In August the NFL agreed to pay a settlement of $765 million in concussion-related compensation to former players and their families. The money will also help to fund medical research.

A concussion is an often misunderstood traumatic brain injury. Connect with those who understand what you are going through by visiting community.trymunity.com to join the TryMunity community for resources and help in dealing with traumatic brain injuries.

Recovering from a traumatic brain injury can often be a long, slow, and frustrating journey. The people around you are no doubt sympathetic, but very few of them can truly understand exactly what it is that you are going through. At TryMunity, we realized that an online brain injury survivors networking and support group was sorely lacking.In response, our non-profit organization is now dedicated to providing help, understanding, and guidance to those who have suffered from a traumatic brain injury, in hopes of improving their lives.

For the families of the victim, we offer advice, stories of hope, education, medical resources, and more. We also strive to increase awareness in our community about the risks and statistics associated with a head injury.

Why join Trymunity?

Our online community allows you to meet others just like you, who are going through many of the same problems at the exact same time you are. Our members are as varied as any other online group might be, but we all share one thing in common—a brain injury. If you like, you can choose to share your story with others; many will no doubt strongly relate. You can learn from others as they progress in their recovery, sharing stories and updates.

Join one of the many discussions to learn how to come to terms with your traumatic brain injury, and what to strive for in the future. You can even post a blog, or upload photos to share with the world. Trymunity can help you: please join us! Visit community.trymunity.com and start making connections today.

The brain is perhaps the most complex part of the human body, an organ that scientists and medical professionals continue to learn more and more about every year. Over the last 100 years the study of the brain and injuries to the brain has evolved from using bare hands and magnets to the cutting edge medical technology that is used today. Here at TryMunity we are committed to creating a community to increase support and awareness for traumatic brain injuries.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over a 1.5 million people in the U.S. experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, with TBIs playing a role in an estimated 30% of annual injury-related deaths. It has become more apparent in recent years that brain injuries often go undiagnosed and untreated, making public awareness of this cause a vital pursuit.

The Surprising Truth About Those That are Most Affected by TBIs

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to a surge in TBIs over the last decade, bringing the issue to forefront and fueling research into the causes and treatments of TBIs. While soldiers continue to suffer from these injuries, children between the ages of 0 and 15 account for more than half of brain injury related emergency room visits. Motor vehicle accidents and falls account for the majority of total TBIs, with falls being the most common among children and those above the age of 65. These TBIs range from mild concussions to fatal or serious life altering events.

Chances are that most people know someone who has experienced or lives with a traumatic brain injury. Enhancing public awareness about the reality of brain injuries will go a long way to ensuring that those who experience injuries receive the immediate medical care they require. TBIs are often treatable, allowing those who suffer from them to go on to lead healthy and normal lives.

For more information on TBIs and TBI survivors, please join our non-profit brain injury support network.

Our brains are amazing organs. They are responsible for the executive function for most other parts of the body. They are the centers for information processing, motor function and learning. Unfortunately, there are events—car accidents, sporting accidents, falls, etc—that can damage the sensitive tissues of the brain and cause a traumatic brain injury.  At TryMunity, our goal is to educate and support those affected by these types of injuries.

One of the most common types of brain injury is a concussion. This occurs when forces sufficiently cause the brain to impact the skull. This trauma is a serious medical concern and should be identified and treated promptly. Here are some common physical, cognitive and emotional symptoms to look out for:

Physical

Often a person suffering from this type of brain injury displays a lack of motor coordination or may complain of a headache, dizziness, nausea, and blurred vision. Some even experience seizures after a traumatic brain incident.

Cognitive

A person who has suffered a trauma to the brain will likely seem confused and disoriented. They might even show signs of post-traumatic amnesia. Their sensory perceptions may be distorted such as taste and smell.

Emotional

A person’s emotional temperament may change as well. Common affective symptoms include irritability, crankiness, tearfulness, depression and restlessness. That person may not act and feel as he or she normally does.

Knowing the signs and symptoms to look out for is one of the best ways to identify a traumatic head injury; connect with a brain injury survivors network for additional resources. At TryMunity, we seek to further this education and provide support for those affected by these kinds of injuries. Call us at 214-310-1356 for more information.

The whole TryMunity team is dedicated to raising awareness of the effects of concussion and other forms of traumatic brain injury. One of the things that make TBI so challenging is the difficulty in diagnosing it quickly enough for treatment. For this reason, an article from the MIT Technology Review really caught our eye.

A Simple App Could Help Coaches Diagnosis Concussive Sports Injuries

People coaching youth sports teams are aware of the dangers associated with concussion but they do not always have the skill to identify this condition when it occurs. A simple tablet application may soon be able to help identify this form of brain injury while on the field. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have been developing a voice-analysis program that can be added to a tablet computer and used just like any other app. The program will analyze the vowels within a selection of predetermined words to see of the sounds indicate the occurrence of brain injury.

App Development Continues

While such a voice test has the potential to detect changes in speech even from a player who wishes to stay in the game, researchers have not yet declared the app ready for general use. During the initial testing phase it identified three false positives in boxers. Researchers are currently testing it with around 1,000 young sports players between ages 10 – 18 throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

We hope that this research helps coaches and parents more successfully treat young concussion patients. It is heartening to know that the problem of TBI in youth is being given such innovative attention. If you or someone you know has been affected by traumatic brain injury, contact us at 972-757-9312 to be connected with helpful resources.

Source: MIT Technology Review, “Voice-Analyzing App Scans Football Players for Concussion,” Susan Young, September 18, 2013.