A legendary rugby player has cited the fear and anxiety that has come into his life among the reasons for urging the Australian government to fund support services and education about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE ..read more

The number of head CT scans completed during concussion evaluations in emergency departments could soon be affected by a blood test newly approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In early April, Abbott Laboratories announced the approval of its its i-STAT TBI cartridge, which can help determine whether a patient has a concussion in as little as 15 minutes using only a small blood sample.  ..read more

Soldiers can suffer brain injury if they are repeatedly exposed to explosive blasts, a new study shows. Further, the more frequently a soldier is exposed to explosions, the greater their risk for brain injury, researchers reported April 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Based on this, researchers intend to develop a diagnostic test to detect blast brain injury in military personnel ..read more

A genetic study involving more than 1.2 million people has pinpointed 95 genetic loci that are associated with risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including 80 loci that had not been previously known.  ..read more

The same university that birthed the polio vaccine has engineered another medical breakthrough. And as the University of Pittsburgh pioneers new developments in the world of concussion detection and treatment, it could have lasting effects on the Pitt Panthers' teams. According to a report from Abby Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dr. David Okonkwo, a professor of neurological surgery at Pitt, has created an FDA approved a lad-quality device of his team's creation that is capable of detecting concussions quickly. It could be used in hospitals, in the field and, potentially, on the sidel ..read more

The Secretary of the Army says all new soldiers will receive cognitive testing as part of basic training, as a way to set a baseline for their neurological health from shockwave trauma ..read more

When COVID-19 first reared its head back in 2019, it brought with it a slew of strange symptoms beyond just respiratory problems. One of the most puzzling symptoms in those early days was something called "brain fog" — cognitive issues like confusion, forgetfulness, and trouble focusing ..read more

 A generative artificial intelligence (AI) model that can analyze the narrative accounts of women who have undergone recent childbirth has shown the ability to accurately screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD), a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system has found. By exploring the capabilities and shortcomings of several models from OpenAI, including ChatGPT, the researchers identified a version that offers rich insights into maternal mental health following traumatic childbirth ..read more

Minibrains grown in the lab may help explain why concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) raise people's risk of dementia. In a new study, published Thursday (April 4) in the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists reported the results of an experiment in which they blasted these lab-grown models of the human brain — known as cerebral organoids — with high-intensity ultrasonic waves. The waves were intended to mimic damage to brain cells induced by severe traumatic brain injuries ..read more

Dr. Avindra Nath spends his days surrounded by brains. His goal: learning all he can about how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, affects brain tissue, potentially leading to long-term symptoms of the virus. "The involvement of the brain is quite extensive," said Nath, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The brains he studies come from Covid-19 patients who died suddenly, and were all donated by family members ..read more