Treat brain injury with calories, expert advisesRSS Feed

Traumatic brain injury patients should receive calories immediately after the event, one expert has advised.

John Erdman, University of Illinois nutrition professor and Vietnam veteran, has said that traumatic brain injury sufferers should receive at least half of their normal calorie intake within 24 hours of the event.

He explained that this lessens the inflammation of the brain, and gives it the energy to better repair itself.

"Inflammation, of course, is a particular problem in the brain because there's no room for the swelling; and the secondary effects of inflammation, which include cell death, pressure and hemorrhaging, are unacceptable," he said.

These recommendations follow instructions from the Institute of Medicine which advised that soldiers with traumatic brain injury should be treated nutritionally.

According to the organisation, soldiers experiencing traumatic brain injury must be given adequate protein and calories soon after the incident, and this should continue through the first week of treatment.

Serious Law, award winning brain injury law firm

Posted by Matthew Heap
 

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