Previous studies have suggested that combat veterans who develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at three to four times the risk for future dementia, which may be attributed to genetic risk factors. In a recent study published in Nature Mental Health, researchers identify shared genetic loci among military veterans with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).

In perhaps its clearest admission that football can cause degenerative brain disease, the N.F.L.’s top health and safety official admitted Monday that there was a link between the sport and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in dozens of retired players.

Researchers from Boston University’s School of Medicine have identified an inflammatory protein circulating in spinal fluid that may reflect the presence of CTE in patients’ brains.

The American Legion issued a letter of support this week to Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., for his work on behalf of H.R. 5633, Veteran Suicide Prevention Act. The legislation would mandate the examination and disclosure of vital information regarding opioids, psychotropic medications and other relevant factors in veteran suicide cases. It would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include data on combat experience, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and military sexual trauma in its annual report. “This bill represents a crucial step toward a more thorough understanding of the complex interplay between trauma and suicide risk among veterans,” American Legion National Commander Daniel Seehafer wrote.

Dr. Avindra Nath spends his days surrounded by brains. His goal: learning all he can about how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, affects brain tissue, potentially leading to long-term symptoms of the virus. "The involvement of the brain is quite extensive," said Nath, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The brains he studies come from Covid-19 patients who died suddenly, and were all donated by family members.

Minibrains grown in the lab may help explain why concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) raise people's risk of dementia. In a new study, published Thursday (April 4) in the journal Cell Stem Cell, scientists reported the results of an experiment in which they blasted these lab-grown models of the human brain — known as cerebral organoids — with high-intensity ultrasonic waves. The waves were intended to mimic damage to brain cells induced by severe traumatic brain injuries.

For years, athletic trainers have comforted athletes with suspected concussions with an ice towel. It appears they were on to something. Researchers at Akron Children's Hospital — along with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the University of Michigan, and Dayton Children's Hospital — found using a device that cools the brain helps to reduce the severity of concussion symptoms. It's known as hypothermic therapy.

Groundbreaking research is being conducted at Rowan University to help determine if a veteran has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is done by giving them a simple blood test. Dr. James Grinias is a chemist at Rowan. He was just awarded a $350,000 grant to develop a portable PTSD test for the U.S. Army. The thinking is that PTSD affects the brain at the cellular level, and therefore might be detectable in blood cells.

African American veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more likely to be re-hospitalized with stroke compared to those without PTSD, according to a data published in Stroke. Further, investigators of the study found that PTSD did not contribute to post-stroke readmission for White veterans.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Tonya Oxendine, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for nine hard years before she began her path to recovery. Her pain reached a point where, one day after leaving her desk at the Pentagon, she was considering driving off a bridge.