BIAA Responds: NUEDEXTA Essential for PBA Treatment

Brain injury – including traumatic brain injury and stroke – is not an isolated event or an outcome. For many, the issues become chronic, requiring long-term management of multiple health conditions that impact functional independence, quality of life, and caregiver stress. One of these is pseudobulbar affect (PBA), a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary and uncontrollable episodes of laughing or crying. A 2011 survey of people living with brain injuries and their caregivers found that almost 80 percent reported PBA symptoms impacting quality of life and causing increased family burden.

“CNN’s report of physicians who prescribe unnecessary and perhaps harmful medication to elderly people with dementia is deeply disturbing,” said Susan Connors, president and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America. “But people with brain injuries who experience PBA and are helped by NUEDEXTA should not be punished for the actions of others and their access should not be restricted.”