https://goo.gl/hqri54
An ambitious U.S. federally funded study is enrolling at least 1,100 service members and veterans who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan to learn more about mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and how it can be best evaluated, and perhaps prevented and treated.
Though ongoing funding is not guaranteed, the researchers hope to follow the cohort 20 years or more to better understand the long-term neurologic effects of mild TBI and other deployment-related conditions.
The research group reported recently on the first stages of the study in the journal Brain Injury. As of today, more than 700 volunteers are participating.
About 80 percent of those being enrolled have a history of at least one mild TBI, while the others have no TBIs. That will allow the researchers to compare the two groups. The focus is strictly on mild TBI; those with more severe brain injuries are excluded.