Traumatic Brain Injuries - A Growing Concern for Vets

This article on traumatic brain injuries (TMIs) is one of many that have already been written, and will be written in the future because it is a huge concern for the Army – and our country.  One of the grim benefits for society is that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, due to the extensive use of IEDs, will force the Army to learn a great deal more about non-catastrophic TBI.  For every case of a person with a crushed skull or brain-penetrating wounds there are probably 100 cases where the patient walks, talks and looks normal, but whose brain is injured.  While the medical providers classify these TBIs as either mild or moderate, they are anything but that for the patient.  It has become a not-so-hidden epidemic among service men and women in war zones.  Not too long ago the Army began installing dosimeters in combat helmets, devices that measure the rate at which the head is accelerated in high energy events.  The Army has also been working with a new blood test that will produce signs of acute brain injury, signs that can only be detected within the day or two after the event.  America is going to have to embrace hundreds of thousands of veterans who were brain-injured in explosions, and find the best ways to help them function in their civilian lives.  It is going to be a major health issue for our country for a long time to come.