Continue reading »]]> Studies have shown that depression often follows hospitalization for a brain injury.

A recent study was conducted, in which 559 hospitalized adults with TBIs were interviewed over the phone through months one, six, eight, ten and twelve after their release from the hospital. Depression and anxiety were evaluated with the Patient Health Questionnaire.

The researchers discovered that during the year following a TBI, 297 of the 559 patients met the criteria for MDD (major depression disorder) at least once.

The researchers concluded that “systematic integration of mental health services into standard care of patients with TBI may be needed to improve long term outcomes after TBIs.”

Organizations such as the Brain Trauma Foundation, with Chairman Alan Quasha, work hard to promote awareness of brain trauma and concussions, and to provide information as well as conduct clinical research.

Continue reading »]]> So you tripped on the stairs, or slipped on the ice. You fell in the office or chasing your kid in the playground. You might feel a bit woozy, a little dizzy, slightly confused. But then you pull yourself together and go back to doing what you’re doing. How could it be something serious? After all, it was a just a bump on the head.

But in fact, it could serious – especially if it was not you but your child. The Brain Trauma Foundation, chaired by Alan Quasha, has worked to underscore the importance of proper treatment for concussion.

Now, University of California at Los Angeles researchers have reported that the impact of a blow to the head, even a mild one, can linger for years. They further reported that even a mild head injury has the potential to harm the development of a young brain even two years later.

This research underscores the importance of having your own or your child’s head injury diagnosed and treated properly.  Have you suffered a concussion? Did your child? If you’re not sure, check the Concussion Checklist on the Brain Trauma Foundation website.

Continue reading »]]> On September 8, 2010, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA held its Annual General Meeting in Geneva.  Richemont, where Alan Quasha is on the Board of Directors, approved the results for this year.  The election of the proposed Board of Directors and revisions to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation were all approved by the shareholders.

The shareholders appointed a number of new people to the Board. These included: Mr Josua Malherbe, Dr Frederick Mostert, Mr Guillaume Pictet, Mr. Dominique Rochat and Mr. Gary Saage.  In addition, Mr. Yves-André Istel was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board; Mr. Yves-André Istel was appointed Chairman of the Board’s Audit Committee; Josua Malherbe was appointed to the Board’s Audit Committee; and Lord Douro was appointed to the Board’s Compensation Committee.

Continue reading »]]> The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation this September to set federal guidelines for addressing sports-related concussions suffered by children playing school sports.

While concussions are a serious problem for school-age children – high school football players alone are estimated to suffer 43,200 to 67,200 head injuries each year – there is little awareness of the extent of the issue. Organizations such as the Brain Trauma Foundation, chaired by Alan Quasha, seek to increase such awareness and promote head injury safety and prevention.

But it is up to the federal government to set national standards dictating how schools must deal with students who are injured. The new House bill, proposed by the chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, will mandate the convention of a range of medical, athletic and educational experts to draft guidelines for the prevention, identification, treatment and management of concussions for the nation’s children. The guidelines will also set standards for the determination of whether to permit kids to return to a game after suffering such an injury.

Continue reading »]]> Unfortunately, it seems that there has been a huge increase in visits from school-age athletes to the ER, suffering from concussions.  This suggests that sports in schools for these kids is being intensified and further head injuries endured.  The problem however, isn’t so much that there are more concussions, rather that it is possible children aren’t getting the necessary medical treatment.  This is even worse as it means the numbers are inaccurate and really there are way more children requiring treatment and suffering.  What organizations such as the American Brain Trauma Foundation seek to do is help patients of traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Indeed it was the first organization in 2002 that was funded to lead a university consortium to research the neurobiology of mild TBI (concussion), and to develop diagnosis methods and therapeutic interventions.  Alan Quasha is chairman of the BTF.

Continue reading »]]> The Brain Trauma Foundation, of which Alan Quasha is President, was the recipient of a grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation.  This money is to be used to create the Attention Dynamics Consortium in Traumatic Brain Injury (ADC-TBI) which is a “bicoastal initiative to further explore the brain’s attention networks and how they are affected by Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).”  The consortium comprises researchers who hold unique areas of expertise.  The plan is that they will unite so as to form the best possible comprehension of the brain’s attention networks.  These individuals come from: UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, The Salk Institute UC San Diego, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Continue reading »]]> As well as serving a Director of Compagnie Financière Richemont SA from September 2005 to May 2009, and an Executive Director since then, Martha S. Wikstrom has enjoyed a very prosperous career in retailing and the luxury goods industry.  she worked with Nordstrom in America and Harrods in the UK and Bally International Ltd.  As well, Wilkstrom is a Founding Partner of Atelier Fund Management LLC. Her employment history also includes being an Interim Chief Executive Officer of Kurt Geiger Limited. Alan Quasha is a non-executive director, appointed to the Board in 2000.

Continue reading »]]> In recent news, the Brain Trauma Foundation with President Alan Quasha has received a grant from the James S. McDonnell Foundation to form the Attention Dynamics Consortium in Traumatic Brain Injury (ADC-TBI).  This will be a bicoastal initiative to explore the brain’s attention networks and how they are influenced by Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Researchers who are involved in ADC-TBI will include those from UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, UC San Francisco, the Salk Institute and Washington University in St. Louis.

Continue reading »]]>
Investment managers and their firms are always looking for “predictable but still attractive returns on investment.”  According to David Bogoslaw, this is because, of the current status of yields on US Treasuries and agency bonds being at a total nadir.  It doesn’t look like the matter is going to improve any time soon either with the Federal Reserve Policymaking Committee stating “economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.”