European Commission funds unique study with OUS participation: Large European study aims to improve treatment for traumatic brain injury

(from the joint press release:)

The treatment for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), caused by accidents, falls or violence is challenging and large variations exist between countries. The University Hospital Antwerp (UZA) and the University of Cambridge (UK) are to coordinate a unique project to improve treatment and outcome for TBI. This project is funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development, and forms part of a global collaboration established by the European Commission, the National Institutes of Health in the US and the Canadian Institute of Health Research in Canada. Seldom has such a large collaboration been implemented by funding agencies.

TBI is called a silent epidemic.
Each year 1 out of every 200 Europeans and Americans will sustain some form of TBI. Early and late – even years after injury – effects are often disabling. TBI is the most important cause of death in young adults and in survivors, disability results in high socio-economic costs. In low- and middle-income countries the incidence is increasing at an alarming rate.
In India, for example, one death occurs every 5 minutes due to TBI.

European study will lead to improved and better targeted care for TBI
Despite many advances in medical care, the outcome for a patient with TBI has not changed much over the past 20 years. Different approaches to treatment exist and we do not yet fully understand the disease. Prof Maas, chair of neurosurgery in UZA states: “We can do much, but not enough”. This is difficult to accept for relatives of the often young patients.

For these reasons, the international project CENTER-TBI (Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research) was developed. This project will collect data in over 5000 patients across Europe. New technologies, such as advanced MR-Imaging will be employed and further developed to better understand the disease. This will increase our knowledge of TBI and is expected to result in better and more targeted treatment.

Thirty-eight scientific institutes and more than 60 hospitals in Europe will participate in the project. The official launch is during a meeting in Antwerp on 11 and 12 October that will be attended by at least 80 top experts from Europe, China, America and Australia.

Oslo University Hospital (OUH), Division of Surgery and Clinical Neuroscience represented by dr. Nada Andelic and profs. Cecilie Røe, Eirik Helseth and Olav Røise participate in the project’s work package (WP) “Transitions of Care and post-acute care”. The complex issue of TBI rehabilitation will be a major focus in this WP, and the main objective is to explore the structural differences in approaches to transitions in care across Europe. The key questions to be addressed are the effects of transitions in care, including the timing of transitions and interventions and the value of specific interventions such as vocational rehabilitation and cognitive rehabilitation. The ultimate goal is to describe optimal ways to provide different levels of care for subjects with TBI. Prof. Olli Tenovuo, Finland is a leader of this WP, which consists of 6 tasks. Each participant is responsible for a specific task, but all participants will work in close interaction.Task 2 – 4 form an integrated continuum of all post-acute (leaders: Nada Andelic, Oslo University Hospital, Norway; Philippe Azouvi, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin France and Helen Dawes, Oxford Brookes University, Great Britain). Tasks 1, 5 and 6 help to build this complexity into a clinically comprehensible entirety (leaders: Peter Ylén, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland; Marek Majdan, Trnava University, Slovakia and Olli Tenovuo, Turku University Central Hospital, Finland).

CENTER-TBI: Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in TBI
(From European Commission web site. Path: Research & Innovation > Health > Medical Research > Brain Research)

"Rehabilitation after trauma" research group, led by Nada Andelic

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, OUS

Division of Surgery and Clinical Neuroscience, OUS

Nada Andelic's publications

Cecilie Røe's publications

Eirik Helseth's publications

Olav Røise's publications