Soldiers Finally Getting Fighting Chance!
I am pleased to learn that the military has set up a process of detecting and treating soldiers with brain injury. The Associated Press published an article today about testing military personnel before they are sent into service. This mini-neuropsychological test is designed to measure memory and attention, among other cognitive domains, before an injury occurs.
Before they leave for Iraq, thousands of troops with the 101st Airborne Division line up at laptop computers to take a test: basic math, matching numbers and symbols, and identifying patterns. They press a button quickly to measure response time.
It's all part of a fledgling Army program that records how soldiers' brains work when healthy, giving doctors baseline data to help diagnose and treat the soldiers if they suffer a traumatic brain injury — the signature injury of the Iraq war.
There are an extimated 30% of patients at Walter Reed Hospital receiving care for brain injury. Of those suffering from what is misleadingly referred to as "mild traumatic brain injury," an estimated 20% go on to suffer permanent lingering problems. According to research. Walter Reed found that irritability and memory, two classic symtoms of brain injury, are reported more on return home then in the battlefield.
Soldiers sometimes walk away from explosions with no obvious injuries. But the concussion from the blast can have a lingering effect that is not always immediately apparent.
"They look physically normal, but their neurocognitive performance is off," said Col. Mary Lopez, a physician specializing in occupational therapy.
Most brain injuries are mild, and soldiers can recover with rest and time away from the battlefield. But the military estimates that one-fifth of the troops with these mild injuries will have prolonged or lifelong symptoms requiring continuing care.
So little is known about traumatic brain injuries that these baseline readings could become an important cornerstone for future study.
To read the full article click here.
