Gabrielle Giffords’ Traumatic Brain Injury, Recovery

posted on Jun 10 by Admin in the Disability News, Health, Traumatic Brain Injury category

Gabrielle Giffords is making an astonishing recovery after she was shot from point-blank range through the brain. Her peculiar case shows off the ability of the brain to restore and sustain functions after a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent says, “The brain was once thought to be completely immutable (or not capable of change) after childhood.”

“I’m still amazed from time to time at how well people do, and I think that we have simply underestimated the resilience and regenerative capacity in the human brain,” says Dr. Stephan Mayer, professor of neurology and neurological surgery at Columbia University.

It is now understood that thanks to brain plasticity and “mirror neurons” located on the opposite side of the brain from the damaged area, it is possible to form new brain cells even in adulthood in treatment such as rehab. Some cases have even shown the ability to form new brain connections that allow an individual to even move or talk again. The brain can be retaught basic tasks and skills but the severity of the injury must also be put into consideration as well. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studies have shown that nearly 1.7 million people suffer at one point in life a traumatic brain injury in the US. Nearly 80% of them actually get treatment and leave the emergency department.

“We’re now sort of entering an era when we realize the brain is not that different from the rest of the body in its ability to heal,” says Mayer.

Doctors and scientists are finding that parts of the brain that were even destroyed or missing can be over taken by the remaining parts and be relearned. The brain cells that are near the damaged cells can reconnect with one another, forming new circuits which can resume the function of the missing cell. The smaller the lesions, the better recovery is expected in this way. Patients who are younger still have more capability of regaining functions, but there is hope for any age.

“You need to be really actively engaged. You need to be working hard on trying to get back,” Mayer said. In other words the patient needs to be constantly challenged. He added that some patients even say that after years of recovering, life is actually better than it was before their brain injury.

“A certain kind of person develops a profound appreciation for life that maybe we all lose sight of sometimes.”

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/05/brain.plasticity.giffords/