• TBI is a silent epidemic. Each year 1 out of every 200 Europeans and Americans will sustain some form of TBI.

  • TBI is mainly caused by road accidents, falls or violence.

  • Men are more susceptible to TBI than women

  • 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 Europe 75,000 people die each year from TBI. In India, one patient dies every 5 minutes because of severe TBI.

  • A total of 2.5 million people suffer a TBI in Europe each year. Mild TBI makes up 10 per cent of attendances to Emergency Departments each year.

  • So called mild TBI should not be underestimated: Patients with mild TBI who are seen in Emergency Departments and subsequently discharged may suffer several months of disabling symptoms.

  • Absence of visible damage on CT scanning of the brain after TBI does not exclude the presence of structural abnormalities. Subsequent MR imaging can show visible damage in approximately one quarter of patients with a normal CT scan after TBI.

  • The annual costs of TBI are huge and exceed 70 billion dollars per year in the US.

  • In Europe and the US there is increasing concern about the impact of mild TBI during both amateur and professional sport, and about the chronic effects of TBI, which may predispose to dementia in later life.