Experiment Documents Real Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury — the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — leaves many of its victims emotionally shattered and cognitively crippled. But because mild and moderate brain injuries do not show up on CT or other imaging, doctors and even family members often question whether any real damage exists.

The first experiment of its kind now documents exactly what “the invisible injury” — at least, the kind caused by blast waves or repeated physical impacts — does to the brain: Crumpled axons that carry signals between neurons, gummed-up neurons such as those found in Alzheimer’s disease and strangled blood vessels. Click here to read the full article from Reuters in the Chicago Tribune.