About the International Brain Research Foundation
IBRF is a public charity that serves as a platform for funding leading neuroscientists and research institutions around the world.
IBRF’s objective is to maximize the potential benefits derived from basic scientific research and translate it into clinically useful treatments for those afflicted with disorders of the brain.
Brain-Related Research IBRF Is Currently Targeting:
• Traumatic and Non-Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI/NTBI)
• Disorders of Consciousness (DOC)
• Stroke Syndromes
• Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Autism Spectrum)
• Neurodegenerative Disorders (Alzheimer's/Dementia)
Click HERE for more information about IBRF
Urgent Need Now
The International Conference on Behavioral Health and Traumatic Brain Injury - held October 12 through October 15, 2008.
Over 100 international experts in neuroscience, medical research, neurorehabilitation, behavioral health, treatment, ethics, and training joined to prepare recommendations for the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to address the complex issues of TBI and PTSD.
• Traumatic brain injury is often called the Signature Injury in the war on global terrorism.
• Blast related injuries and extended deployment are contributing to an unprecedented number of warriors suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• The Rand Corporation, DoD, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all report that the long term effects and consequences of TBI and PTSD will cost billions of dollars in care, treatment and rehabilitation unless action is immediately taken.
• Of the 1.64 million U.S. troops deployed in the war on terrorism, approximately 320,000 are estimated to have suffered a TBI and another 300,000 suffer from PTSD.
• The Rand Report estimates that PTSD-related and major depression-related costs could range from $4.0 to $6.2 billion over two years.
• TBI costs per patient range from a one-year cost of $25,000 in mild cases to $408,000 in severe cases.
• The total cost for TBI-related health issues is estimated to be in the billions of dollars and does not include the lost productivity of our wounded veterans nor quality of life issues for them and their families.
Click HERE for more information about IBRF
What is being said about IBRF-
Congressional Letter to the Subcommittee on Defense from Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Jr. and Joseph Crowley dated April 2, 2008.
We would like to bring to your attention…
The International Brain Research Foundation (IBRF), a northeast regional not-for-profit medical research organization committed to applied research surrounding brain health, has made significant strides towards developing advanced treatments for those affected by Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and coma.
• To date, the strategies being developed by IBRF have helped one of my constituents in New Jersey recover from coma. Steven Domalewski, a 12-year-old little leaguer was hit in the chest with a baseball that stopped his heart for half an hour. He was in a deep coma for three months, and doctors told the family he had very little chance of recovering. The International Brain Research Foundation sent an advanced-treatment team that employed the IBRF protocol and successfully woke up this boy.
• To date, 20 individuals who were written-off by traditional neurological interventions were awakened by these new techniques, including two soldiers from Iraq.
• As we all too tragically know, more than 40% of the injured troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have been diagnosed with brain-related disorders – many from traumatic brain injury.
• We ardently believe the cases referenced here, along with so many others, demonstrate the great potential of the protocols that have been developed by the International Brain Research Foundation.
• We have seen first-hand their remarkable works in the treatment of brain injury and believe their works would provide great benefit to our nation’s understanding of brain injuries and in treating our military heroes serving our nation abroad.
A 65-year-old Virginia business executive slipped into a coma a few years ago after complications from open-heart surgery. Doctors told his family he would never regain consciousness. Dr. Philip A. DeFina proved them wrong... click here for the full story.
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2009 – Innovative therapies that have assisted previously comatose patients regain consciousness may be incorporated on a greater scale to treat troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, a brain injury expert said here today.
Dr. Philip A. DeFina, chief executive and scientific officer at the not-for-profit International Brain Research Foundation Inc., in Edison, N.J., said that, over the past four years, electronic brain stimulation, oxygen-induction, drugs and other therapies were used to bring 43 people, including five injured soldiers, out of minimally-conscious or vegetative states... click here for the full story.
2009 “Martial Arts Extreme Challenge” Fundraising Effort
A nationwide fundraiser, held at individual martial arts academies, with a focus on accelerating research in the area of Severe Disorders of Consciousness (SDOC), with a tie-in to the urgent and immediate military need and the celebration of the Memorial Day holiday.
The Potential Military Relevance
A new “epidemic” of severe brain injury is now affecting our military personnel. The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force stated that “Traumatic Brain Injury is often called the Signature Injury in the war on global terrorism. Blast related injuries and extended deployment are contributing to an unprecedented number of warriors suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI). More than 40% of the injured troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have been diagnosed with brain-related disorders — many from traumatic brain injury (TBI), and a good number in coma. Many of the wounded soldiers have either been written off prematurely or not afforded rehabilitation techniques that will optimize their potential for recovery.
The Rand Corporation, Department of Defense (DOD), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) all report that the long term effects and consequences of TBI will cost billions of dollars in care, treatment and rehabilitation unless action is immediately taken. Of the 1.64 million U.S. troops deployed in the war on terrorism, approximately 320,000 are estimated to have suffered a TBI. The Rand Report estimates that TBI costs per patient range from a one-year cost of $25,000 in mild cases to $408,000 in severe cases. The total cost for TBI-related health issues is estimated to be in the billions of dollars and does not include the lost productivity of our wounded veterans nor quality of life issues for them and their families.
Conclusions
The IBRF Disorders of Consciousness Advanced Care Protocol (DOCACP) has been successfully piloted over the last three years with 43 patients suffering from anoxic and traumatic brain injury that led to coma, pervasive vegetative state or minimally conscious states. The diagnostic methods for assessment of these patients proved to have had a high degree of both validity and reliability in more accurately understanding the level of damage and response to treatment. The treatment protocols are very promising in that over 84% of patients demonstrated marked improvement in arousal with substantial improvements in cognitive abilities despite poor prognoses predicted with standard treatment.
Click HERE for more information about IBRF
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