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Los Angeles Researchers Find Alcohol May Help Treat Brain Injuries
California brain injury lawyers constantly monitor new developments in the field of brain injury treatment. A new study by researchers in Los Angeles reveals a provocative finding - patients with head injuries may actually be more likely to survive if they have consumed alcohol just before the injury. The researchers however are warning that this must not be taken as a license for more alcohol consumption, because drinking can actually cause a whole range of other complications that can kill you after injury.
According to the New York Times, Dr. Ali Salim, and other researchers from Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Medical Center, found that head injury patients who had drunk alcohol were less likely to die than patients who had not consumed alcohol. That finding came from a study of more than 38,000 head injury patients. These patients' injuries ranged from moderate to severe.
The study is believed to be the largest such study on the effects of alcohol on survival after brain injury. The patients had been hospitalized between 2000 and 2005. The researchers found that for every 100 patients who suffered severe brain injuries, tested negative for alcohol and died, there were only 88 patients who tested positive for alcohol and died of their injures. According to the study, that is a 12 percent difference, statistically significant enough for researchers to sit up and take notice. There may be future studies into these findings, and if these results are confirmed, there could be further research to determine if giving people with head injuries a small amount of alcohol after they are injured, could actually increase their chances of survival.
Further, there seems to be a strong relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed and the effect on patient survival. Too much alcohol can lead to the beneficial effects being lost, while too little alcohol may not be enough to increase the patient's chances of survival. According to researchers, alcohol if imbibed in the right quantities can inhibit swelling, and prevent secondary brain injuries in which the brain cells are destroyed further.
However, there is another side to these findings. The head injury patients who had alcohol in their systems, and found less likely to die after injury, were typically younger patients, and had suffered less severe brain injuries. Besides, the researchers are warning that patients who have imbibed alcohol, and been involved in an accident that leaves them with head injuries, could actually suffer from a host of other complications that could restrict their chances of survival. According to brain injury experts, these findings are very intriguing, but the message must be tempered with the bottom line - to avoid any brain injury in the first place, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol.
California brain injury lawyers find these findings are definitely intriguing, and it may be worthwhile to research whether giving brain injury patients tiny amounts of alcohol after an injury can increase their chances of survival. However, California catastrophic injury lawyers also see everyday the kind of severe injuries that are caused by drivers driving under the influence of alcohol. It's important to remember that drinking alcohol before driving could increase your chances of being in an accident, and suffering brain injuries and other severe injuries.
About the Author The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated to the representation of personal injury victims. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
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