Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
New research indicates that head injuries are associated with two to three times higher mortality rates in adults.
The 30-year-study, conducted by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, found that mortality rates among adults who experience moderate or severe head trauma were nearly three times higher than adults who never endured head injuries. It also found that any head injury, whether mild, moderate or severe, are linked to nearly two times the mortality rate of adults who have never injured their heads at all.
Published in the JAMA Neurology, the research found that over 23 million adults in the U.S., age 40 or older, reported a history of head injury with loss of consciousness, attributing causes such as unintentional falls, sports injuries, or car crashes. The research also correlated a series of long-term health conditions with various types of head trauma, including late-onset epilepsy, dementia and a higher risk of stroke.
Holly Elser, a neurology resident at Penn and one of the study’s lead author, said in a press release that the research “highlights the importance of safety measures, like wearing helmets and seatbelts, to prevent head injuries.”
Studies have previously shown increased short-term mortality associated with head injuries primarily among hospitalized patients, but this new study says the consequences of head injuries could extend those who had never been hospitalized for their head injuries.
“Investigators found that 18.4 percent of the participants reported one or more head injuries during the study period, and of those who suffered a head injury, 12.4 percent were recorded as moderate or severe. The median period of time between a head injury and death was 4.7 years,” explained the release.
Researchers also assessed the extensive data pertaining to specific causes of death for all participants – and the most common causes were cardiovascular disease, neurologic disorders (including dementia and epilepsy) and cancers. Participants with head injuries were shown to have more deaths related to neurologic disorders, according to the study.
Specific neurologic causes of death among participants with head injuries included neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, which composed a larger proportion of overall deaths among those with head injury (14.2 per cent) versus those without (6.6 per cent).
Andrea Schneider, an assistant professor of Neurology at Penn, believes this study opens more questions about the nature of neurodegenerative diseases and their releationship with head injuries.
“Study data doesn’t explain why the cause of death in individuals with head injuries is more likely to be from neurodegenerative diseases, which underscores the need for further research into the relationship between these disorders, head injury, and death,” she said in the release.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.