Traumatic Brain Injury: Acupuncture Treatment

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is estimated that half of the people in the world will experience at least 1 episode of TBI during their lifetimes. While the primary injury to the brain parenchyma is usually irreversible, the secondary effects, which involve cellular dysfunction, derangement of blood flow, and blood-brain barrier changes in ionic flux and elevated levels of free radicals are potentially amenable to treatment. At present, there are no neuroprotective agents in mainstream medicine to interrupt these secondary processes and improve the patient's neurologic outcome. Acupuncture holds promise to fill this gap and scientific evidence to that effect is presented. Sports-related brain injury is discussed in detail.