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Traumatic Brain Injury vs. Natural Brain Degeneration
Washington, D.C., Maryland & Virginia
While traumatic brain injury (TBI) often causes serious brain degeneration, it is important to distinguish degeneration caused by an injury and degeneration that occurs naturally as we age. The older the brain is, the more vulnerable it is to disease and injury alike, and the more abnormalities will be present on a brain scan.
When physicians are reading brain scans of patients fifty years and older, they must carefully distinguish between abnormalities that exist due to the normal process of aging, and abnormalities that may have been caused by a traumatic injury. These complex medical issues must be resolved in order to successfully pursue a brain injury claim involving an older patient.
The experienced brain injury attorneys at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. have successfully litigated brain injury claims for victims of all ages. With the assistance of medical experts they can use brain scans and other tests to show when trauma was the cause of your brain damage symptoms.
White Matter Lesions (WML): Caused by Age or Trauma?
Small abnormalities called white matter lesions (WML) are generally present on the brain scans of patients over fifty years of age. On an MRI, these lesions can be seen as bright focal points where the light either converges or diverges.
The problem is that WML can be caused by either aging or trauma. An increased number of lesions may be present in older brain injury victims who have hypertension, diabetes, or a long history of migraine headaches. Because of this, the presence of WML on a brain scan must be explained and put into context in order to pursue a successful brain injury claim.
Brain Atrophy in Older Brain Injury Patients
Brain atrophy is another condition that can occur due to either age or trauma. The brain normally atrophies at a slow rate as a person ages. Again, a physician examining a brain scan must be able to distinguish between atrophy caused by trauma and atrophy caused by the effects of aging.
However, brain atrophy caused by a traumatic injury usually does not show up on a scan immediately after an accident. Therefore, if a brain scan is taken upon the patient’s arrival to the ER immediately after the accident, it can be compared to a scan taken several months later, making the distinction between the different sources of brain atrophy clear.
If you or one of your loved ones has suffered any type of traumatic brain injury in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington D.C., please contact our skilled brain injury attorneys today. There is no reason you should have to bear the financial, physical, and emotional burden of this serious injury alone. We are committed to obtaining justice and fair compensation for our clients.
