With the nation at war for eight continuous years, and awareness of the dangers of sports concussions on the rise, a new priority—and opportunity—are taking shape for neurodegenerative disease researchers. In a time of austere budgets, the Department of Defense last week allocated $15 million of new research funds for grants exploring Alzheimer's disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and related conditions, particularly in veterans. Are veterans with blast trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder at higher risk of premature neurodegeneration, as is thought to be the case for some athletes prone to head injury?
Series
Stress and Trauma: New Frontier Calling AD Researchers
Stress and Trauma: New Frontier Lures Alzheimer’s Researchers
As an army medic in Iraq, Specialist Kara Wooten was caught in the blast radius of improvised explosive devices six times. The first five rattled her brain but left her conscious; the last one knocked her out. Two months later, Wooten began to hav...
Stress and Trauma: Aβ’s Mysterious Role in Severe Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has become a hot topic. Between the high number of military personnel exposed to blasts from homemade bombs and a new awareness of the seriousness of concussive sports injuries, the disorder has grabbed the attention o...
Stress and Trauma: Shaken Brains, Shaken Lives
Athletes who suffer repeated concussions in high-impact sports such as boxing, football, and hockey are at risk for long-term brain damage. Some of them develop a degenerative condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), also called ...
Stress and Trauma: Blast Injuries in the Military
Scientists are beginning to get a handle on what happens in the brains of athletes who suffer multiple concussions, but to date little research exists on how brains respond to the pressure waves from explosions. Elaine Peskind at the VA Puget Soun...
Stress and Trauma: The Puzzle of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
The signature wound of modern war may be traumatic brain injury, but the picture is complicated by another invisible injury, that is, ...
Stress and Trauma: Tackling Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Despite evidence of a link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dementia, the picture remains hazy, and bringing it into focus will require animal studies and human neuroimaging. As detailed in ...