Traumatic brain injury seen in "healthy" soldiers, thanks to high-tech scans

CBS/iStockphoto

(CBS/AP) An experimental high-tech brain scan is finding previously undetected traumatic brain injury in servicemen who sustain concussions in combat.

The research is considered a first step toward a better understanding of what happens in the brain after bomb blasts and what might be done about it, said Dr. David Brody of Washington University in St. Louis. He's senior author of the study in the June 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Blast-related traumatic brain injuries have affected about 320,000 U.S. troops and are considered the "signature" injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, HealthDay reported. But because concussions alone cause no visible damage, experts have debated whether they actually damaged the brain.

The new "diffusion tensor imaging" scans seem to suggest that concussions can affect the "wiring" that connects parts of the brain. It's unclear what the new finding suggests for treatment, Brody said. Scientists are studying whether they reveal anything about a patient's future course, such as the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The scans were done by adding software to an ordinary MRI machine.

The results suggest doctors may someday be able to use objective markers to help make a concussion diagnosis, said Katherine Helmick, deputy director for traumatic brain injury at the federally funded Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Little can be done to reverse the initial brain damage that results from traumatic brain injury, which can cause changes in mood, behavior. But patients can often be helped with physical and occupational therapy and other forms of treatment.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on traumatic brain injury.

[decotoguy]

Understand everyone When the Great American Honorable War Hero George W.Bush STRATEGIZED these WARS he had include everything imaginable, from how many troops on the ground and equipment to the necessary amount of Doctors and Consultants to help with the sick and injured.

Only a BIG FOOL will go to WAR UNPREPARED.


I'm sure the Great Honorable War Hero George W.Bush is no FOOL.

I Encourage every American man and woman to join the Military and be part of the multinational counterinsurgency mission called AFGHANISTAN.

[worldcitizen1]

Another good reason to stop the ignorant, unnecessary, profiteering wars! What a waste!

[brainlineorg]

New imaging is a promising front in an effort to identify traumatic brain injury more quickly and more accurately. Katherine and her group at the Defense Centers of Excellence and those at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center are on the forefront of making sure our service members have the best health care possible. We have a great article on the different types of imaging as it pertains to brain injury http://www.brainline.org/content/2011/04/neuroimages.html it's so cool to see what doctors see and what various types of imaging show and more importantly don't show.