TBI Healing Hope

The face of hope for treatment for traumatic brain injury just got a
bit brighter with the introduction of something called Oxycyte. This is
a major breakthrough, as there is currently no effective medical
treatment.

Traumatic brain injury is a real concern in Cleveland medical malpractice
circles when someone has been in an accident. Whether that injury has
been the result of a car crash, a slip and fall accident or other blunt
force trauma to the skull (such as blasts from explosives), the
consequences are life altering, if not deadly when not treated in a
timely manner. Cleveland medical malpractice lawyers see instances like this quite frequently.

There are roughly 1.4 million cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
in the U.S. every year. Approximately 300,000 of those cases are
classified as severe. The fact of the matter is that TBI is the number
one cause of disability for those under age 35. This injury results in
close to 99,000 cases a year of permanent disability. Fifty percent of
those who survive a TBI sustain major impairment. These statistics
alone speak loudly enough about the severity of this injury to prompt
victims to hire a highly skilled Cleveland malpractice lawyer.

Lest we forget, there are hundreds of cases of military blast injury
sustained by our Armed Forces personnel overseas, as a result of
roadside bombs. There were approximately 360,000 military blast
injuries 2002-2008. Those numbers have not decreased over the last two
years. While we may be waging a war against terrorists, the real terror
is stalking military personnel in the form of blast injuries. The
incidence of deaths due to TBI from bomb blasts is also very high.

In most instances traumatic brain injury is “managed” in order to
reduce the pressure on the brain from swelling and to ensure it is
receiving enough oxygen. Any breakthrough in the medical field that
offers promise for those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury is
welcome news. Indeed, most Cleveland medical malpractice
attorneys feel new therapy like this may assist their clients in
recovery. While the proposed therapy and drug are pending trials in
Israel and Switzerland, Oxycyte’s initial results appear to be
promising.

This company focuses on pharmaceuticals and medical devices in the
field of oxygen therapeutics and continuous substrate monitoring. Their
latest offering to the medical community is Oxycyte, a perfluorocarbon
therapeutic oxygen carrier and liquid ventilation product and an
implantable glucose sensor.

Currently there are six treatment sites planned for each country
with clinical trials slated to begin in the second quarter of 2009 and
tentatively lasting anywhere from 12 to 18 months. There are many test
subjects available, as the Israelis have been dealing with TBI and
blast victims for quite some time. Their skill will enable them to
utilize this promising therapy and provide clinical test results based
on the therapy regime of a single infusion of one of 3 incremental
doses of Oxycyte given within 12 hours of injury along with 50% oxygen
and the usual care in cases like this.

The hope is that Oxycyte will play a crucial role in assisting in
cases dealing with traumatic brain injury, wound care, strokes, heart
attacks, surgery, etc.

From the point of view of a Cleveland medical malpractice
attorney who deals with TBI as the result of someone else’s negligence,
this latest medical news may change the outcome for TBI patients, and
that could only be good.

Christopher Mellino is a Cleveland Malpractice Lawyer specializing
in Cleveland Medical Malpractice cases in Ohio. To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.