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Are you tired all the time? Maybe you bumped your head – research says
New study from Switzerland revealed underrecognized cause of fatigue and excessive day time sleepiness. Even after first-ever traumatic brain injury of any severity 67% of the people showed excessive day time sleepiness.
Traumatic Brain Injuries, concussions or whiplash are very common in the UAE. Most common causes are motor vehicle accidents, sport injuries, falls and violence.
Many people are not aware of the long term disabilities that could come with a concussion. One of the most common complaints is fatigue. But most people don’t relate being tired all the time to the actual concussion in the past.
Researchers from the Departments of Neurology and Traumatology, University Hospital Zurich screened 140 patients with acute, first-ever traumatic brain injury of any severity. They included 60 in the study and compared the results to a control group of healthy individuals without any TBI in the past.
18 month after the TBI the researchers investigated the sleep habits of both groups. The TBI group showed excessive day time sleepiness in 67% compared to the control group with 19%. These findings are even more surprising as the patients underestimated the impact by themselves.
Future research is needed on the topic. However, doctors and patients should be more aware of the chronic symptoms of concussions or traumatic brain injuries.
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