title: Traumatic brain injury as a chronic health condition.
abstract: Growing evidence indicates that multiple types of brain injury, including traumatic brain injury, are dynamic conditions that continue to change years after onset. For a subset of individuals who incur these injuries, decline occurs over time and is likely due to progressive neurodegenerative processes, comorbid conditions, aging, behavioral choices, and/or psychosocial factors. Deterioration, whether directly or indirectly associated with the original brain injury, necessitates a clinical approach as a chronic health condition, including identification of risk and protective factors, protocols for early identification, evidence-based preventive and ameliorative treatment, and training in self-management. We propose that the acknowledgment of chronic brain injury will facilitate the research necessary to provide a disease management approach.
authors: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. corrigan.1@osu.edu
authors: John D
authors: JD
authors: Corrigan
authors: Flora M
authors: FM
authors: Hammond
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D019468:Disease Management; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors