Nutritional Supplementation and Traumatic Brain Injury

In the past five to ten years, the topic of traumatic brain injury (TBI) otherwise known as a concussion has become a hot topic of discussion and research. A concussion is a disturbance in brain function caused by direct or indirect force to the head. It is a functional rather than structural injury that results from shear stress to brain tissue caused by rotational or angular forces. The injury suffered by the brain may not be quantifiable by imaging, but is suffered by the patient through inflammation, changes in function, energy requirements, and metabolism of the neurons. The symptoms that manifest: headaches, insomnia, anxiety, nausea, etc. are targeted for symptomatic treatment rather than helping the brain to heal. TBI is a major cause of death and disability with over 1.4 million incidents, 50,000 deaths, and over 200,000 people hospitalized each year.