Concussions are a known risk for athletes playing at a recreational or professional level. But in recent years, research has started to highlight a concerning trend. Concussions for female athletes have tripled in the past two decades. However, there’s little research to explain why

There's this early research about arteriovenous malformations, or AVMs, which are a malformed tangle of veins and arteries that can cause a stroke. 

"It took me a long time to realise how lucky I was. It just wasn't my time."

Martin Longmore learnt to walk and talk again after suffering a brain injury in a serious crash in 2001 and was given two days to live. He's been recognised for supporting others with brain injuries.

There is a “window of opportunity” for faster recovery, researcher says.

The very thought of being 'locked in' following a brain injury or even aware during general anesthesia induces fear because it awakens the classic terror trope of being buried alive. But what does it mean to be awake, but entirely unable to respond, and what can this tell us about consciousness itself? In a new paper published in the journal Lancet Neurology, Western University neuroscientist Adrian Owen and his colleagues at Western, Lawson Health Research Institute and Harvard University describe new developments in the field of neuroimaging that can reveal the thoughts, actions and intentions of brain-injured individuals based solely on the pattern of activity observed in their brain. Most importantly, this breakthrough can be used to predict survival rates of intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Diagnoses for mental disorders among U.S. service members increased nearly 40% in a five-year period that partly overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report that military researchers say demonstrates a growing need for health services. From the beginning of 2019 through the end of 2023, more than 541,000 active service members were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder and about half that number were diagnosed with at least two, the report said. From the beginning of 2019 through the end of 2023, more than 541,000 active service members were diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder and about half that number were diagnosed with at least two, the report said.

Ginger MacCutcheon had plans to spend decades as a military medic in the Women’s Army Corps. She enlisted right out of high school, leaving northeast Ohio at the age of 18. “I went off to boot camp dressed in a suit with matching luggage and shoes, just like Private Benjamin would go,” MacCutcheon said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, this is a great adventure I’m going on.’” That dream was cut short. MacCutcheon was raped repeatedly by commanding officers. The sexual harassment followed her from base to base. Years passed before she felt safe enough to confide in a colleague and was honorably discharged.

Several months after Hurricane Helene, survivors still need help coping with the trauma they endured. NPR's Katia Riddle went to Asheville, North Carolina, recently. She brings us this story about a practice that some frontline responders there are adopting in order to help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder.

"That night we were notified, I had two conversations that I remember," Kristen Christy, Air Force spouse and master resilience trainer for the Air Force and the Army, recalled of the days following one of the worst days of her life. "One was a friend from church, and she came and said, 'Kristen, he's in the better place.' And in the rawness of the moment, I said, 'Why isn't the better place at home or at the dining room table?'" Christy's husband had killed himself three days before he was set to accept the rank of colonel.

As Colorado becomes the second state to legalize psychedelic therapy this week, a clash is playing out in Colorado Springs, where conservative leaders are restricting the treatment over objections from some of the city’s 90,000 veterans, who’ve become flagbearers for psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Colorado residents voted to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the chemical compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, in a 2022 ballot measure, launching two years of rulemaking before it could be used to treat conditions such as depression and PTSD.