I saw in interesting article today where star of the recent movie Cloverfield, Mike Vogel, and a group of pro cycling legends, veterans advocates and the Pentagon, are working to help wounded military heroes.

Vogel will serve as chairman of the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans and is participating in a series of "Road 2 Recovery" bike rides across the country to assist wounded veterans as they leave the military and begin rehabilitation.

Vogel's need to help those serving our country comes after the recent death of a relative in Iraq. Vogel solicited the help of his Los Angeles neighbor, John Wordin, who is a former pro cyclist and team owner. Wordin was already working on a plan to help the VA improve its cycling facilities for disabled vets.

I think this is a great way to bring attention to the rising rate of military personnel returning home from Iraq wounded with traumatic brain injuries. You can read more on this story here.

The National Resource Center for TBI is proud and pleased to join with other leading organizations in presenting a national conference for caregivers of persons with Brain Injury. The National TBI Caregiver's Conference will be held Saturday June 7, 2008 at the Hospitality House Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Family members and caregivers who play a crucial role in helping survivors recover after and before discharge from health care settings. With the needs of caregivers in mind, this one-day national conference is designed to provide extensive practical information on achieving recovery. Panel presentations, lectures, discussion sessions, and workshops will cover a wide range of topics including community and home-based rehabilitation, finding and accessing services, recovery, avoiding burnout, and how the brain works. Conference presenters will include experienced caregivers, survivors and nationally known rehabilitation professionals.

For more information please contact Linda Lee, at 703.451.8881 or by email at llee@braininjurysvcs.org.

Not long ago, a New Hampshire trial court barred the introduction of the Boston process testing approach in neuropsychological testing.  There, the trial court also found that while this flexible approach in clinical neuropsychology was scientifically valid in the clinical setting, it was not valid in the forensic context and that data-based clinical judgments do not meet legal admissibility standards.  The case is now before the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

Try and read this article on Vitamin D by the dean of health and fitness writers, Jane E. Brody from The New York Times.  She recaps the current thinking about the benefits and proper doses of Vitamin D.

Here are some of the key points from her article:

Many Doctors and researchers now believe that the current recommended daily allowances (RDA’s) of Vitamin D are too low. 

You can get your Vitamin D through sunlight, eating certain foods rich in D or through supplements.

Skin exposure to the sun’s UV rays (the same ones that cause sunburn) forms Vitamin D. 

Other sources of Vitamin D are fortified milk, juices and certain foods such as the oily fishes.  Some vitamins contain D, but not all.  Check your labels.

It takes a quart of fortified mild a day to reach the current RDA of 400 international units (IUs).

Researchers now believe that 700-800 IUs per day will significantly reduce risk of bone fractures

Animal studies show that Vitamin D reduces tumors.

Observational studies in people show that low levels of Vitamin D are linked to the increased occurrence of many types of cancer including breast, stomach, bladder, pancreas and uterus as well as Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and multiple myeloma.  A recent double blind study showed that those taking 1000 IUs of D had 80% less chance of cancer than those that did not.  Diabetes and MS have also been linked to low levels of D.

It is unclear what the maximum safe dose of Vitamin D is as reliable studies are rare.

Check your vitamin D intake today and read the Ms. Brody’s important article in full. 

Since its inception in the early 1980s, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey has been dedicated to addressing the needs of children with brain injury.  In the mid 1980s, the Association formed the Education Committee, known today as the Children & Adolescents Committee, from a group of passionate professionals and parents of children and adolescents who had sustained a brain injury.  The Committee grew out of a need, often expressed by parents, to improve the information available to parents and those working with children and adolescents who had sustained a brain injury.

The goals of the Committee remain the same as they were at its inception, to improve the information that parents and those working with children and adolescents who sustained brain injury receive.  The Committee strives to improve school re-entry for students with brain injury pre-kindergarten through college, improve community re-entry for children and adolescents who have sustained brain injury, and increase awareness about the effect of brain injury on children and adolescents through in-services, training guides, and education.
 
The Children & Adolescents Committee is currently seeking new members to be part of the Committee.  The Committee is made up of both professionals and parents of children and adolescents who sustained a brain injury.  The Committee asks new members to make a minimum of a 1-year commitment to attend meetings.  The Committee holds 7 daytime meetings and 3 evening meetings throughout the year, typically meeting on the 4th Tuesday of the month.  If you are interested in joining the Committee please submit a letter of interest along with a current resume, bio, or CV to René Carfi at rcarfi@bianj.org.