Childhood head injuries linked to subsequent interpersonal violence

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Dr. Jonathan

A study just published in the journal Pediatrics documents the association of interpersonal violence in young adulthood with earlier head injury. The authors state:

“The purpose of this study was to examine differences in interpersonal violence among individuals who reported a head injury compared with those who did not report a head injury.”

They examined 8 years of data for 850 kids in 4 public high schools in a Midwestern city, looking specifically at the years from mid-adolescence to the transition into young adulthood, correlating levels of interpersonal violence with reports of head injury. Multivariate regression analyses, controlling for variables such as race, gender, and previous violence, as well as risk behaviors such as alcohol and marijuana use, were used to determine whether head injury was associated with subsequent violent behavior. What did the data show?

“Participants who had ever experienced a head injury before young adulthood reported more interpersonal violence in young adulthood than participants who had never had a head injury. In multivariate analyses, respondents who had a head injury in the past year reported more subsequent interpersonal violence than respondents who had not had a head injury.”

As noted in our Parents’ Guide To Brain Health even a mild traumatic brain injury can set in motion a cascade of effects that compromise brain function for cognition, impulse control and regulation of emotions. There are remedial measures that can help if the problem is recognized and properly assessed when we keep in mind the authors’ conclusion:

“Our findings support other studies that link history of head injury to later interpersonal violence.“

Curcumin also helps brain trauma

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Dr. Jonathan

When the brain is traumatized there is “an energy crisis that compromises the capacity of the brain to cope with challenges, and often reduces cognitive ability.” This paper recently published in the journal Neuroscience reports that curcumin, extracted from the spice turmeric, has a significant beneficial impact on the ability of brain tissue to cope with “events that regulate energy homeostasis crucially impact synaptic function and this can compromise the capacity of the brain to respond to challenges during the acute and chronic phases of TBI.” The authors conclude that curcumin and similar compounds show value in recovering from brain injury: “Results show the potential of curcumin to regulate molecules involved in energy homeostasis following TBI. These studies may foster a new line of therapeutic treatments for TBI patients by endogenous upregulation of molecules important for functional recovery.”

If you injure your head take omega-3 fatty acids

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Dr. Jonathan

I hope this never happens to you, but if you or someone you have responsibility for ever sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), even a mild one, omega-3 fatty acids are one important part of the solution. This study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma explains how brain injury reduces the activity of a factor important for maintaining brain health called Sir2α (silent information regulator 2 alpha). The authors describe multiple aspects of the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids and conclude: “Our results suggest that TBI may compromise neuronal protective mechanisms by involving the action of Sir2α. In addition, results show the capacity of omega-3 fatty acids to counteract some of the effects of TBI by normalizing levels of molecular systems associated with energy homeostasis.”

Eat protein to heal from traumatic brain injury

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Dr. Jonathan

“Neurological dysfunction caused by traumatic brain injury results in profound changes…leading to impaired cognition.” This interesting study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) documents the importance of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in recovering from head injury. We humans must obtain BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine and valine) from what we eat; foods such meat, chicken and fish are the most abundant and complete sources. The authors state “These results suggest that dietary BCAA intervention could promote cognitive improvement by restoring hippocampal function after a traumatic brain injury.” For vegetarians who have sustained a head injury we have branched-chain amino acids in supplement form.