Pages

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury

Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury, study finds
It's unclear what can trigger the post-traumatic epilepsy, which can hit up to 35 years after a penetrating head wound. The long-term study looks at Vietnam veterans.

By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times

July 20, 2010


Soldiers who suffered brain injuries can develop seizures decades — as long as 35 years — after the initial injury, researchers have found.

A study published Tuesday in the journal Neurology found that among a group of 199 Vietnam veterans, about 13% developed post-traumatic epilepsy more than 14 years after they had suffered a penetrating head wound, such as a gunshot injury or shrapnel that entered brain tissue. Penetrating head injuries are generally linked with a higher risk for epilepsy than other types of head injuries, such as concussions.

Among the veterans, who are part of a long-term investigation called the Vietnam Head Injury Study, the overall rate of post-traumatic epilepsy was about 44%, consistent with similar military groups.

It is unclear what's responsible for the triggering of seizures so many years after a penetrating head injury, said study coauthor Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md.
read more here
Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury

No comments:

Post a Comment

If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.