Any damage to our brains can have enormous and far-reaching consequences, inflicting strain upon the entire social network of the individual - from family and friends to coworkers. Roles and relationships change, sometimes radically. Financial implications may be huge. For the afflicted individual, cognitive and physical abilities can be severely impaired, and behavioral or emotional functioning can be disturbed.

Even minor brain trauma (such as a concussion where there is little or no loss of consciousness and no hospitalization) can cause temporary or permanent damage to the brain. Individuals and their families often face a long period of rehabilitation.

Brain injury can also alter the complex internal functions of the body, such as regulating body temperature, blood pressure, and bowel and bladder control. These changes can be temporary or permanent.

A serious brain injury can cause a brief loss of consciousness or result in a coma that may last for days, weeks, or months. The shorter the length of the coma, the more likely the individual is to return to full or nearly full function. Conversely, the longer the person remains unconscious, the greater the risk of intellectual and speech impairment, behavioral and psychological disorders, and related physical disabilities.

Brain injury often occurs in young people, who are more likely to survive after severe injury but then face a dramatically changed life. Ironically, the increased ability of medical technology to save lives also contributes to the rising numbers of people living with the consequences of brain injury. Nowhere is this more evident than in the numbers of veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq whose lives and the lives of their families have been permanently altered by head injury.

Research has shown that TBI can contribute to an increase in high-school dropout rates, unemployment, risk for substance abuse, psychiatric hospitalizations including suicide attempts, and criminal activity. Good pre-hospital care, appropriate trauma treatment, and intensive rehabilitation are needed to alleviate symptoms and prevent complications or secondary disabilities.

A person with a suspected acquired brain injury should contact a physician immediately, go to the emergency room, or call 911.