Traumatic brain injury leading causes

Stroke is a global health problem affecting approximately 750,000 people annually in the United States alone and ranks as the third leading cause of death and the most common cause of disability in most developed countries. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for an estimated 34% of all injury-related deaths in the United States. Stroke and TBI can produce both focal and widespread damage to the brain, which can yield acute and chronic impairments of sensory, motor, and cognitive functions. Because of their enormous medical and socioeconomic impact, a tremendous research investment is being made in the treatment and prevention of stroke and TBI. 

Like spinal cord trauma, traumatic head injury consists of a primary injury, attributable to the mechanical insult itself, and a secondary injury, attributable to the series of systemic and local neurochemical changes that occur in brain after the initial traumatic insult (Klussmann and Martin-Villalba, 2005). The primary injury causes a rapid deformation of brain tissues, leading to rupture of neural cell membranes, release of intracellular contents, and disruption of blood flow and breakdown of the blood-brain barrier. In contrast, secondary injury to the brain tissue includes many neurochemical alterations such as release of cytokines, glial cell reactions involving both activated microglia and astroglia, and demyelination... 

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