The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) provides disability compensation to veterans with a service-connected injury, and to receive disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a veteran must submit a claim or have a claim submitted on his or her behalf. Evaluation of the Disability Determination Process for Traumatic Brain Injury in Veterans reviews the process by which the VA assesses impairments resulting from traumatic brain injury for purposes of awarding disability compensation. This report also provides recommendations for legislative or administrative action for improving the adjudication of veterans' claims seeking entitlement to compensation for all impairments arising from a traumatic brain injury.

This open access book offers an essential overview of brain, head and neck, and spine imaging. Over the last few years, there have been considerable advances in this area, driven by both clinical and technological developments. Written by leading international experts and teachers, the chapters are disease-oriented and cover all relevant imaging modalities, with a focus on magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. The book also includes a synopsis of pediatric imaging. IDKD books are rewritten (not merely updated) every four years, which means they offer a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in imaging. The book is clearly structured and features learning objectives, abstracts, subheadings, tables and take-home points, supported by design elements to help readers navigate the text. It will particularly appeal to general radiologists, radiology residents, and interventional radiologists who want to update their diagnostic expertise, as well as clinicians from other specialties who are interested in imaging for their patient care.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the developme

With the contribution from more than one hundred CNS neurotrauma experts, this book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account on the latest developments in the area of neurotrauma including biomarker studies, experimental models, diagnostic methods, and neurotherapeutic intervention strategies in brain injury research. It discusses neurotrauma mechanisms, biomarker discovery, and neurocognitive and neurobehavioral deficits. Also included are medical interventions and recent neurotherapeutics used in the area of brain injury that have been translated to the area of rehabilitation research. In addition, a section is devoted to models of milder CNS injury, including sports injuries.

In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal.

This book provides a practically applicable guide to injuries, diseases, and disorders affecting the head, neck, and dental region seen within accident and emergency departments. These regions contain a number of specialized structures each with individual neural, muscular and vascular elements, meaning that the study of these anatomical areas is complicated and often quite daunting. Chapters in this work aim to break the treatment of such injuries and diseases into an easy-to-digest format via chapters featuring a symptom-based approach. Therefore, enabling the reader to quickly access the information they require when treating patients with a variety of disorders in the emergency room. Diseases and Injuries to the Head, Face and Neck: A Guide to Diagnosis and Management is a concise overview of how to deal with head, neck, and dental emergencies and is an important up-to-date resource for all medical professionals and trainees who encounter these patients.

The only review book currently available in this complex field, Brain Injury Medicine: Board Review focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of individuals with varying severity levels of brain injury. Focused, high-yield content prepares you for success on exams and in practice, with up-to-date coverage of traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, CNS neoplasms, anoxic brain injury, and other brain disorders. This unique review tool is ideal for residents, fellows, and practitioners studying or working in the field and preparing to take the brain injury medicine exam. - Supports self-assessment and review with 200 board-style questions and explanations. - Covers the information you need to know on traumatic brain injury by severity and pattern, neurologic disorders, systemic manifestations, rehabilitation problems and outcomes, and basic science. - Includes questions on patient management including patient evaluation and diagnosis, prognosis/risk factors, and applied science. - Discusses key topics such as neurodegeneration and dementia; proteomic, genetic, and epigenetic biomarkers in TBI; neuromodulation and neuroprosthetics; and assistive technology. - Reviews must-know procedures including acute emergency management and critical care; post-concussion syndrome assessment, management and treatment; diagnostic procedures and electrophysiology; neuroimaging, and brain death criteria. - Ensures efficient, effective review with content written by experts in physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, and psychiatry and a format that mirrors the board exam outline.