A new study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) highlights the difficulty of finding a lab test for long Covid – a novel condition that encompasses dozens of symptoms and is currently considered a “diagnosis of exclusion." Long Covid’s most common symptoms include brain fog, fatigue and heart palpitations, which can change over time and be disabling when severe. Approximately one in 20 adults reported persistent symptoms of Covid, as of June 2024.

Many patients thought to be in vegetative or minimally conscious states may be capable of thought, researchers reported.

The Pentagon has issued new guidelines aimed at protecting personnel from shockwaves that can cause brain damage, including running cognitive tests on recruits before they begin their military service.

Young football players who sustained a head-to-ground concussion practicing or playing games on natural grass experienced more symptoms—and significantly higher severity—than those who suffered concussions on artificial turf, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found.

Defense Department leaders on Friday unveiled a series of new steps designed to protect troops from blast overpressure injuries related to weapons use, including new restrictions on how close trainers can stand during firing range sessions and cognitive assessments for all troops by the end of next year. A blast overpressure injury can occur in several jobs across the military branches when explosions create high pressure that can cause a myriad of injuries to service members.

About 400 million people worldwide have been afflicted with long Covid, according to a new report by scientists and other researchers who have studied the condition. The team estimated that the economic cost — from factors like health care services and patients unable to return to work — is about $1 trillion worldwide each year, or about 1 percent of the global economy.

Multiple biological pathways involving organs and the brain play a key part in physical and mental health, according to a new study from UCL, the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge. The study, published in Nature Mental Health, analyzed UK Biobank data from more than 18,000 individuals. Of these, 7,749 people had no major clinically-diagnosed medical or mental health conditions, while 10,334 had reported a diagnosis of either schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety.

The agency said there was insufficient data to allow the use of a treatment for PTSD that involves the drug known as Ecstasy.

A multidisciplinary approach to studying and treating brain disorders is shedding light on the physiological mechanisms that may be behind psychological distress.

More than a half century after federal regulators banned most psychedelic compounds, the Food and Drug Administration is nearing a decision on a novel treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder that pairs talk therapy with MDMA, the club drug commonly known as Ecstasy or Molly. The decision, which is expected in the coming days, has generated a groundswell of lobbying by veterans groups, researchers and members of Congress from both parties. Eighty lawmakers signed letters to the Biden administration this week, urging the F.D.A. to approve the application by the drug company Lykos Therapeutics.