San Diego Personal Injury Lawyer - Head & Brain Injuries - Most Commented

Potential New Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

Randy Walton — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:40:43 GMT

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, the alma mater of both Randy Walton and Scott Barber, have identified a potential new therapy for chronic spasticity and rigity, and painful condition that is frequently the result of spinal cord injury.

According to yesterday's press release, in work with rats it has been demonstrated that an "AMPA receptor antagonist called NGX424 (tezampanel), being developed by Torrey Pines Therapeutics, Inc., of La Jolla, California, is highly potent in suppressing spasticity and rigidity."

Paraplegia from spinal cord ischemia is a serious complication that occurs in 20 to 40 percent of patients undergoing a surgical process called aortic cross-clamping. When the surgeon works on the aorta to correct a potentially lethal aneurysm, this large vessel carrying all of the blood flow from the heart must be temporarily blocked. If clamping occurs for more than 30 minutes, the procedure can result in the loss of specialized spinal cord neurons called spinal inhibitory neurons. Loss of these neurons can lead to irreversible spasticity and rigidity, or loss of muscle control, in the lower limbs.
"This exaggerated muscle tone, or uncontrolled spasms, is a serious complication of either ischemic or traumatic injury to the spinal cord -- such as injuries resulting from a diving or car accident," said Professor Martin Marsala. Several other conditions can lead to spasticity/rigidity, including brain trauma, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or Parkinson's disease - all of which lead to increased peripheral muscle tone.

The complete study will be published in the October 17 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Head and Brain Injury.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Randy Walton

Teen Suffers Head Injury in Slow Speed Accident

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 22:15:56 GMT

A 17-year-old girl was transported to St. Joseph Hospital after suffering a head injury in a slow moving accident, on Sunday, in a parking lot on State Highway 299.

According to California Highway Patrol, the girl was with three companions in a 1994 Chrysler LeBaron when they stopped to rest on the wayside. At which time an unlicensed male passenger borrowed the car keys from the driver to practice driving in the parking lot.

Two female passengers climbed onto the hood of the vehicle and the driver made a u-turn at slow speed. While making the turn, one of the females slipped from the hood and struck her head on the pavement. She began to convulse and lost consciousness.

She was immediately rushed to the hospital to St. Joseph Hospital.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Quarrel Between Two Drivers Ends in Accident

Christina Cole — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:29:29 GMT

A man suffered serious injury in a car accident on Wednesday after losing control of his car during what police say was a quarrel with another driver.

The 20-year-old man was driving a Chevy north on Interstate 15 when he got into an argument with the driver of a Jeep Cherokee, said police.

Both drivers exited the freeway and drove onto Poway Road heading east. The man in the Chevy flashed his headlights at the Jeep driver and tried to speed up to yell at him. The Jeep driver in turn changed lanes to cut him off, or hit his brakes to abruptly make him stop, police said.

At one point, the man swerved his Chevy sharply, causing it to overturn and roll several times before it ended up in the westbound lanes of Poway Road where it crashed into a Toyota, Tundra.

The Chevy driver suffered a broken clavicle, fractured hand and a head injury. The driver of the Tundra hurt his hand. Police say the driver of the Jeep stayed on at the crash site to speak with officials.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Woman Suffers Head Injury after Jumping from SUV

Christina Cole — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 07:07:36 GMT

San Diego Police say, a 39-year-old woman suffered from a critical head injury after jumping out of a moving vehicle.

The woman was supposedly having a dispute with the driver before she jumped from the SUV. She struck her head on the pavement and was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

The driver has not been arrested. Domestic violence detectives conducted the investigation alongside the traffic division.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Pilot of Small Plane Suffers Head Injury

Christina Cole — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 06:16:44 GMT

A pilot suffered a head injury when a private plane collided into a parked plane during take off at the Compton/Woodley Airport.

Just before 2pm, fire crews were called to the scene. The pilot lost control of the aircraft when attempting to take off. The plane clipped the tail of a parked Piper before tipping over.

At this time it is unknown how serious the Pilot's head injuries are. The passenger was not injured. And thankfully no one was in the parked plane at the time of the crash.

Both planes received extensive damage.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

CMC Inmate Death

Christina Cole — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 07:38:42 GMT

While on the job at prison, a California Men's Colony inmate has died after an suffereing a head injury.

CMC officials confirm that 62-year-old Darrell Christopherson was injured on November 16th. He died last Monday as Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.

Officials say he suffered from a head injury when falling off scaffolding while working with the maintenance crew. Christopherson was serving life in prison on murder charges.

This death was the first work-related injury resulting in death at CMC over the past ten years.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole