A study on the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on kids has revealed that children with TBI have more attention related problems and longer reaction times than children who suffer injury to other body parts, reported Reuters.
The lead author of the study, Marsh Konigs of VU University Amsterdam in The Netherlands, said that this study is the first to reveal not just lapses of attention in children with TBI but also the relation of these lapses to intelligence and attention problems.
The study was conducted on 113 kids, ages 6 to 13, who had suffered a traumatic brain injury, and 53 kids who had suffered a non-head injury. The kids with TBI exhibited higher attention problems and anxiety issues after about one and a half years after the injury.
However, the effects of TBI vary, depending on injury severity and other factors, Konigs said.
The authors noted that even though the findings suggest an association between head injury and lapses in attention, a direct cause-and-effect relationship is not established, reported HealthDay News.
The study did not find the remedies.
"Our research did not investigate treatment options for lapses of attention, but other studies showed that stimulant treatment (methylphenidate) successfully reduce lapses of attention in children with ADHD and childhood cancer survivors, suggesting that this treatment could potentially reduce lapses of attention in children with TBI as well," Konigs told Reuters.
