Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) is one of the most common and damaging of all of the different types of traumatic brain injury.DAI can cause serious damage to the part of the brain that sends messages to control bodily functions. DAI often leads to a coma, and 90 percent of patients with severe DAI never regain consciousness. The other 10 percent who do come out of the coma are significantly impaired because of the potential for brain damage. Currently, there are some medical authors who say DAI can occur in different levels of severity from mild to severe. Concussions can be considered mild types of diffuse axonal injuries.Because DAI is an injury that can spread across all parts of the brain, it is categorized as a diffuse brain injury. Diffuse brain injuries can affect more than one part of the brain and can affect blood vessels as well.Brain injures can lead to unpredictable conditions, so getting yourself checked out by a doctor after you hit your head ensures you are diagnosed properly. Many people hit their head dismiss it. You dont want to mess around with head injuries. Get checked out by a doctor, a neuropsychologist if necessary, and think about consulting with an experienced brain injury lawyer.

What are the characteristics of diffuse axonal injury?

DAI commonly affects white matter in areas such as the brain stem, the corpus callosum (the part of the brain that separates the right and left hemispheres) and the cerebral hemispheres themselves. Diffuse axonal injuries are characterized by lesions (abnormal tissue) in the white matter. These lesions can be as large as 15 mm.Other characteristics include a separation of nerve fibers (called axons) in the brain where it is torn at the site and stretched. The tear then causes the fiber to continue to break down. Originally, it was believed that the main cause of this separation was tearing as a result of mechanical forces in trauma. Now it is understood that the tears are actually caused by secondary chemical reactions that happen as a result of the primary injury.

How Is A Diffuse Axonal Injury Treated?

In order to treat a diffuse axonal injury, you have to find it, first. Unfortunately, that can be difficult. DAI is hard to detect because it doesnt show up well on computed tomography (CT) scans or any other macroscopic technique. Diffuse injury is more of a microscopic injury than macroscopic. CTs and MRIs have a hard time picking one up, but doctors can assume a DAI is present when small bleeds are found in the corpus callosum or cerebral cortex.Diffusion Tensor Imaging has the ability to demonstrate the level of white matter fiber tract injury even when an MRI comes up negative. Since DAI is commonly the result of secondary chemical reactions, there is a delay in onset. Therefore, a person with DAI may seem fine, but something much worse without diagnosis.A treatment using polyethylene glycol acts as a sealant to help the tears in nerve fibers.

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