A recent study shows that helmet and seatbelt use in Canada has greatly reduced traumatic brain injury in that country. The investigation, headed by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), was a retrospective study of hospital admissions over 10 years from 1994-95 to 2003-04.

In one of the most blatant examples of accident coverup, a group of contractors in California has been cited for improper record-keeping of worker injuries, including one worker who was found to have a traumatic brain injury. The group, called KFM, is a “joint venture partnership of three construction giants” according to their website; the group was awarded the $1 billion contract to make San Francisco’s Bay Bridge more earthquake-worthy. The companies listed in the partnership are Kiewit Pacific of Vancouver, WA, FCI Constructors Northern Division of San Jose, CA, and Manson Construction Company of Seattle, WA.

Stem cell research holds a lot of promise for victims of many different injuries including spinal cord and traumatic brain injury. For the vast majority of people, these injuries are largely “unrecoverable” because brain cells do not repair themselves as most other cells do in the body. Stem cells, on the other hand, can help regenerate brain function. Because they are the basis of every specialty cell in the body, they can be triggered to become brain cells, replacing damaged cells and theoretically allowing the brain to fully recover.

Quadriplegia, or total immobility and sensation in all four limbs, is a crushing disability affecting the lives of over 100,000 people in the United States. This is the result of a spinal cord injury, caused either physically such as with a sports injury or fall, or by disease including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Although there are some devices on the market that help quadriplegics with certain tasks like controlling their own wheelchair, for the most part they are dependent on family, friends, and health care professionals to help with almost all of their everyday needs.

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital will be the first to see how stem cells can be used to help repair traumatic brain injury. Beginning 2006, the study will recruit 10 patients aged 5 to 14 who have sustained a brain injury due to car accident or other type of accident. As a Phase I trial, its main focus is to confirm that the procedure itself is safe, and to determine all risk factors. If successful, it will pave the way for more research and bigger clinical trials.

Auto accidents are the leading cause of brain injury in the U.S., accounting for 44% of all Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). In over 50% of car "accidents" resulting in TBI to one or more victims, alcohol was involved. More often than not it is the reckless and negligent behavior of one driver that impacts all the lives of the victims and their families for years to come.