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Long-Term Effects Of Troops' Brain Injuries Unclear

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The Associated Press

Published: December 5, 2008

WASHINGTON - Many of the thousands of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of long-term health problems including depression and Alzheimer's-like symptoms, but it's impossible to predict how high those risks are, researchers say.

About 22 percent of wounded troops have a brain injury, concluded the Institute of Medicine. The Veterans Affairs Department, which requested the report, and the Pentagon already are taking some of the recommended steps. But a report out Thursday highlights the urgency.

"I don't think we really knew how big a hole in scientific knowledge there is about blast-induced brain injuries," said lead researcher George Rutherford of the University of California, San Francisco.

Traumatic brain injury, TBI, is a signature injury of the Iraq war. Most aren't penetrating head wounds but damage hidden inside the skull caused by an explosion's pressure wave.

The researchers examined decades of studies, most of civilian injuries, and found:

•Moderate-to-severe TBI is linked with later-in-life risks including Alzheimer's-like dementia, Parkinson's-like symptoms, seizures, problems with social functioning and unemployment.

•TBI in general is linked to depression, aggression and post-concussion symptoms such dizziness and amnesia.

The report recommends every soldier exposed to a blast be screened for TBI, and that everyone get a pre- and post-deployment brain-function test. The military has begun such steps.

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