Do Veterans Who Experience Concussions Have an Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s?

Middle-age veterans who experienced concussions due to blasts from explosive devices may have biomarkers in their spinal fluid similar to people who develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in the March 13, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Moderate to severe brain injuries significantly increase risk for brain cancer in post-9/11 veterans

Service members who have had a moderate, severe, or penetrating traumatic brain injury, or TBI, are at a greater risk for subsequently developing brain cancer, according to a collaborative study led by researchers at the Uniformed Services University (USU) published February 15, 2024, in JAMA Open Network. On the other hand, those who have suffered mild TBI, or concussion – which is much more common – may not be associated with later brain cancer diagnoses, the study finds.

Largest Brain Autopsy Study of Female Intimate Partner Violence Decedents Reveals Brain Injury Pathology Unlike That Seen Among Male Contact Sports Athletes

The largest brain autopsy study of women who had experienced intimate partner violence reveals substantial vascular and white matter damage in the brain, but no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurodegenerative disease recognized among male contact sports athletes who sustain repeated head trauma.

How A Traumatic Brain Injury Shaped Emily Tarconish’s Mission for Disability Advocacy

Emily Tarconish had a plan for her life until a car crash left her with a Traumatic Brain Injury. Now, she’s devoting her life to making sure that people with disabilities know that having a disability isn’t anything to be ashamed of and that they have resources available.

Even Mild Head Injury Increases the Risk of Ischemic Stroke, Study Shows

Suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) – no matter how severe – is associated with a significantly increased risk of ischemic stroke in a diverse group of U.S. adults, according to new research being presented at the 148th Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA). Suffering more than one head injury further increased the risk.

Can a Blood Test Detect Alzheimer’s Disease?

In July, the first direct-to-consumer blood test designed to assess a user’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease hit the market.

UTHealth Houston awarded nearly $13M in grants to study treatments for traumatic brain injury

Nearly $13 million in federal grant funds to study treatments for traumatic brain injury, which kills an average of 190 people and hospitalizes another 600 in the U.S. every day, has been awarded to UTHealth Houston by the Department of Defense’s Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

This Groundbreaking Biomaterial Heals Tissues From the Inside Out

A new biomaterial that can be injected intravenously, reduces inflammation in tissue and promotes cell and tissue repair. The biomaterial was tested and proven effective in treating tissue damage caused by heart attacks in both rodent and large animal models. Researchers also provided proof of concept in a rodent model that the biomaterial could be beneficial to patients with traumatic brain injury and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Updated guidelines on cognitive rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury

A rapidly growing body of evidence shows the importance and effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A major update of the groundbreaking INCOG guidelines for cognitive rehabilitation following TBI is presented in the January/February special issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). The official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America, JHTR is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Mount Sinai Leads Multi-Site Study Evaluating a Novel Intervention Designed to Improve Community Re-Entry Outcomes for Justice-Involved Individuals With Brain Injuries

Researchers from the Brain Injury Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PADOC) and the Brain Injury Assocation of Pennsylvania (BIAPA), have launched a rigorous research study to reduce recidivism, or re-offending, among people with brain injury who are leaving incarceration.

Scientists See Signs of Traumatic Brain Injury in Headbutting Muskox

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai saw for the first time hallmarks of concussions and other head trauma in the brains of deceased headbutting animals—muskoxen and bighorn sheep. The results published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica may contradict the commonly-held belief that ramming animals do not suffer brain injuries and support the notion that studies on animals with brains evolutionarily similar to those of humans may help researchers understand and reduce traumatic brain injuries.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine Receives $11 Million Grant to Tackle Post-Traumatic Epilepsy

Approximately 1 in 50 people who suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) will develop post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE)—with the risk of PTE significantly higher in people with severe TBI. PTE is characterized by recurring seizures that begin a week or more after the brain injury, and there is currently no way to identify those at risk for developing PTE or to prevent its onset.

Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury: M.O.M. to the Rescue

The M.O.M. project, which will have four units in Ohio, Florida, South Carolina and Texas, will engage veterans with traumatic brain injury, their caregivers and other stakeholders to bolster patient-centered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research in order to identify treatment options for traumatic brain injury that are effective, acceptable, and meaningful to the veteran population.

History of traumatic brain injury linked to higher rates of prescription opioid use and misuse

Adults with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), even years previously, are at increased risk of use and misuse of prescription opioid medications, reports a study in the September/October special issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR).

Insights about the Genetic Basis for Concussion

Despite significant advances in treatment, sports-related concussion continues to plague athletes. Part of the reason for this is that the biological basis of concussion is poorly understood. Genetics play a key role in the biology underlying concussion. In this study,…

Brain magnetic stimulation for veterans with concussion: Need is high, but evidence is limited

Studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive technique, to help veterans and active-duty service members living with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other lasting consequences of concussion have shown promise. However, there’s an urgent need for studies designed to address the unique patterns of post-concussion symptoms seen in military populations, concludes a review in the November/December issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). The official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America, JHTR is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Concussion discovery reveals dire, unknown effects of even mild brain injury

Even mild concussions cause severe and long-lasting impairments in the brain’s ability to clean itself, and this may seed it for Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurodegenerative problems.

UChicago Medicine joins BOOST-3 national trial to investigate treatments for traumatic brain injuries

As part of nationwide study to improve trauma care for severe brain injuries, researchers at UChicago Medicine are working to engage South Side residents and ensure representation among underrepresented communities.

Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Have Higher Sugar Levels in Brain

Article title: Increased myoinositol in the anterior cingulate cortex of veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study Authors: Chandni Sheth, Andrew P. Prescot, Margaret Legarreta, Perry F. Renshaw, Erin McGlade, Deborah Yurgelun-Todd From the…

Concussion May Lead to Permanent Changes in Spinal Cord Motor Nerve Pathways

Article title: Altered corticomotor latencies but normal motor neuroplasticity in concussed athletes Authors: William Stokes, Jake Choynowki, Maria St. Pierre, Manuel Alejandro Anaya, Matthew A. Statton, Pablo A. Celnik, Gabriela Cantarero From the authors: “We found that the number of concussions an…

‘Brain Surfing’: Ultrasound waves focused on prefrontal cortex elevate mood and change brain connectivity in human volunteers

A team of researchers at the University of Arizona has found that low-intensity ultrasound waves directed at a particular region of the brain’s prefrontal cortex in healthy subjects can elevate mood, and decrease connectivity in a brain network that has been shown to be hyperactive in psychiatric disorders. The method uses transcranial focused ultrasound (‘tFUS’), a painless, non-invasive technique to modulate brain function comparable to transcranial magnetic stimulation (‘TMS’), and transcranial direct current stimulation (‘tDCS’). This study shows, for the first time, a correlation between tFUS-induced mood enhancement, and reorganization of brain circuits.

Study Reveals New Way to Treat Stroke Using an Already FDA-Approved Drug

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) is currently used to treat neutropenia due to chemotherapy and has been successfully used for patients who require bone marrow transplants. The study is the first to report on the neuroprotective effect of GCSF in vivo and showed that it improved neurological deficits that occur in the first few days following cerebral ischemia. GCSF improved long-term behavioral outcomes while also stimulating a neural progenitor recovery response in a mouse model.

Researchers develop cell therapy to improve memory and stop seizures in mice following traumatic brain injury

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine developed a breakthrough cell therapy to improve memory and prevent seizures in mice following traumatic brain injury. The study, titled “Transplanted interneurons improve memory precision after traumatic brain injury,” was published today in Nature Communications.

Penn Medicine Researchers Receive $9.7 Million NIH Grant to Study Traumatic Brain Injuries and Neurodegeneration

An international team of experts led by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Glasgow has been awarded a $9.7 million, five-year grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and National Institute for Aging (NIA) to establish CONNECT-TBI—a program spanning 12 institutions which will study traumatic brain injury (TBI) and related neurodegenerative diseases.