Finally a good use of research funds, Saint Louis University maps brains

I thought we ran out of good studies to talk about when it comes to invisible injuries like PTSD and TBI, but I am so glad to be wrong. This sounds like the right way to go so that changes in the brain can be studied more closely.

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Brain:
Saint Louis University Investigators Search for Answers about Injuries, PTSD
Veterans from Around the Country, Civilians Sought for DOD-Funded Brain Mapping Study

Carrie Bebermeyer
314.977.8015
bebermcl@slu.edu


ST. LOUIS - In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries. Funded by a $5.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers will use three types of imaging equipment together, producing better data and a more complete taxonomy of brain injuries, information that investigators hope may lead to better treatment for blast injuries and car accidents.

"It's an extraordinarily significant study. We are casting about with a new net. We think there is a lot of information that we don't know about brain injuries," said Richard Bucholz, M.D., lead investigator of the study and director of the division of neurosurgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

"It's an opportunity to get a better handle on the problem, to see what actually constitutes head injury as opposed to relying on a vague description of someone who is having problems after a blow to the head."

Traumatic brain injury is caused by physical trauma to the head, and symptoms can range from mild, with headaches or nausea, to severe, with seizures or decreased levels of consciousness. In the United States, approximately 1.4 million people suffer traumatic brain injuries each year. Of these, 230,000 are hospitalized and survive, while another 50,000 die.

At the same time, combat veterans, now equipped with better body armor and armored vehicles, are thought to be surviving injuries that were once lethal and are returning from war zones with brain injuries rather than fatal wounds.
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http://www.slu.edu/x31438.xml