Brain Injury and War
Blast and Impact Injuries to Service Members and Civilians
New Treatments and Programs
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A study found that civilians who had been directly or indirectly exposed to explosive blasts exhibited greater post-concussion syndrome (PCS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and had reduced white matter (WM) connectivity compared to unexposed civilians.
As part of the HERO study, researchers Raouf Gharbo and James Burchat are studying the effectiveness of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback for veterans and service members with persisting symptoms after concussion.
Dr. Lisa Brenner, a rehab neuropsychologist, gives a comprehensive overview of the research on the relationship between mTBI, blast exposure, and PTSD in military populations, and adds military-specific recommendations for evaluation and treatment.
Call for study participants: military veterans who have had concussions and/or a traumatic brain injury, an injury to your head or neck that caused you to lose consciousness or feel dazed/confused/experience a gap in memory. Eligibility: it’s been a least one year since your military service, and you are willing to participate in a 4-5 hour study visit in EITHER New York City OR Seattle, Washington.
In a multimodal study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Natalie Gilmore et al. found that higher cumulative blast exposure was associated with decreased brain function and lower quality of life. According to a New York Times article, the damage seen in these brains was not CTE but a new pathology.
Veterans exposed to blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury (blast mTBI) may experience impaired function of the glymphatic system, according to a recent study published in Brain.
On February 28, the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel held a hearing about traumatic brain injury from repeated blast exposure for U.S. service members. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Chairwoman of the subpanel, led the two-hour hearing in which senators questioned experts. Senator Warren said, “We need to do better for our troops, and we need to do it right now.”
In a recent New York Times report, Dave Phillips brought attention to abundant evidence indicating that brain injuries and “serious and lasting harm” in veterans are related to their exposure to repetitive blasts from weapons used in training.
We are super excited about this opportunity! When you register with the TROOPS referral program, you will be connected with multiple research teams, several of which are recruiting for studies of treatments for concussion (mTBI). Civilians are welcome to join, and there is no upper age limit.
Repeated blast exposure from firing heavy weaponry such as cannons, mortars, shoulder-fired rockets, and even large-caliber machine guns is causing long-term injury to the brains of our military service members. The New York Times reported on the military’s struggle to understand the life-changing mental and physical problems U.S. troops face as a result of blast exposure.
Participants needed for a study using an app to combat depression after concussion. The app provides online activities based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles. Eligibility: individuals 18-70 years old with a history of concussion. The study is open to civilians even though the flyer says the study is designed for veterans and service members.
A study found that college athletes who sustained non-sports-related concussions reported their injury at lower rates, had higher symptom severity, and had longer-lasting symptoms than those who has sports-related concussions.
Some clinics in the Defense Intrepid Network for TBI and Brain health, a system of 13 clinics for TBIs, have integrated nutrition plans into treatment programs for “active duty service members diagnosed with mild-to-moderate TBI and associated health conditions.”
Dr. Mac Donald et al. conducted a 10-year prospective study of veterans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to determine the trajectory of disability within this population and identify which subset of the population is most at risk. Their study demonstrated that veterans who sustained a concussion in combat had “very high odds of poor long-term outcome trajectory.”
The Tampa, Florida VA association’s Post-Deployment Rehabilitation and Evaluation Program (PREP) “is an inpatient rehabilitation program that specializes in the evaluation and treatment of complex reactions and symptoms associated with possible mild TBI.” The program appears to be one of the more comprehensive multidisciplinary care programs.
According to the Veterans Association (VA), 11.9% of veterans use marijuana, often to self-medicate for illnesses like PTSD. Yet the VA will not expand its cannabis research and "continues to deny cannabis recommendations to veterans in 36 states that allow medical marijuana," according to an article in Politico.
The Sleepless Warriors At-Home study is recruiting veterans age 21+ who have served in the military for at least 180 days, have trouble sleeping, and have a concussion history.
An article published by Stanford Medicine reports that female veterans endure a more challenging recovery after sustaining a TBI than males. Cortical thinning in male and female brains after TBI may be associated with the exhibition of unexpected behavioral trends within the female population.
U.S. Navy researcher David Jesse Daily has created a prototype helmet with “increased protective capability.” As reported by TechLink, this helmet uses cavitating bubbles, which are “the formation of vapor pockets in a fluid,” to act as a shock absorber.
This new helmet design transfers the energy created on impact into the cavitation bubbles to help cushion the brain.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in alternative medicines, such as acupuncture. This holistic approach may be used to treat many symptoms associated with concussions. While research on acupuncture as a treatment for concussion is still relatively new, there is some evidence that points to this alternative treatment option being a successful treatment.
Free opportunity to try a CBT app for insomnia, customized for military members. A clinical trial is enrolling 200 service members and veterans to test the efficacy of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) app for insomnia that has been customized to be specific to military members.
The Portland Sleep Study is calling for study participants for a Morning Routine study for veterans. The federal Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine is looking for study participants for research on a cognitive behavioral therapy app for insomnia and TBI. The clinical trials are recruiting veterans and military service members.
Acupuncture has recently gained legitimacy in the eyes of western medical providers, and in our experience acupuncture has helped with concussion symptoms such as headaches, brain fog, related neck and jaw pain, and mood. Individual acupuncture treatments can cost $75-100 per session, while treatment at a Community Acupuncture clinic typically is a sliding scale price of $20-50 per session.
A study found that active duty service members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and PTSD had similarly lower levels of resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in regions associated with working memory compared to service members with an orthopedic injury.