Long-term Impact of TBI

According to the CDC, 5.3 million Americans (2 percent of the population) are living with some degree of disability from a prior TBI.1,2 These patients have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of TBI. TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language and/or emotion as well as physical changes affecting overall performance. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.3

Clinicians can help prevent life-long effects of TBI and improve patient health outcomes with early and appropriate medical management. However, there are currently no approved medications to improve outcomes following TBI.

  1. Brown, A.W., et.al. (2008) Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil., 89 (Suppl 1), S3-8.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Facts About Traumatic Brain Injury. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/TBI.htm. Updated 9/08.
  3. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). (2002, February). Traumatic Brain Injury: Hope Through Research. NIH Publication No. 02-2478.