The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) reports that traumatic brain injury is the number one cause of death and disability for children in the United States.

Federal and state authorities continually work on ways to improve safety regulations and reduce the incidence of events that cause brain trauma. Often, this is frequently too late for many parents and families who have to contend with the aftermath of an of such an injury to their infant.

Often the babies that have suffered these life-changing events face monumental challenges in their daily lives. Their one hope is that scientists and medical research professionals will discover new ways and treatments to reduce their burden and make life more enjoyable.

Research Funded by the NINDS

The NINDS is an organization that falls under the umbrella of the National Institute of Health (NIH), which is a global leader in biochemical research. The NINDS is currently involved in research on head injuries. A key objective of this study is to develop non-invasive methods of detecting and monitoring brain trauma. The end goal of researchers is to evaluate the effect of head injuries and develop new ways of diagnosing a concussion.

The Institute is also researching natural substances that could assist in preventing brain cell death and inflammation. Thus far, flavonoids found in plants have proved to be effective for this purpose. Any advances in this area would certainly give patients greater hope for early intervention to reduce the effects of these injuries.

Coordinated Research

One of the major challenges of research into brain trauma is the number of variables involved in traumatic events. Variables include a patient’s age, health and the severity of the injury. Other variables that come into play include the location of the injury and how long it took to initiate medical treatment after the event.

The NIH is involved in collaboration with European and Canadian organizations to coordinate global research results under the umbrella of an international initiative for research into brain injury. Having a larger database of results and data to work with can give researchers a much greater chance of a breakthrough.

The NINDS is funding an international study in pediatric brain injury called Approaches and Decisions for Acute Pediatric TBI (ADAPT) Trial. The objective of this research is to develop guidelines that will improve recovery and reduce disabilities among children suffering from brain trauma.

UCLA Research Program

UCLA runs a research program into pediatric brain injury that has two studies running currently:

These are just some examples of the research facilities and academic institutions that are conducting research into brain trauma. This can only serve to give hope to those who have infants, children or have family members that have been impacted by such injuries.