After the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, tens of thousands of veterans have returned home from the frontlines with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Researchers working with John Hopkins University have discovered that TBIs caused by bomb blasts are different from other TBIs. Scientists associated with the project suspect that bomb-induced brain injuries might be their own disease.

Insurgents in the Iraq and Afghan wars used improvised explosive devices to kill and wound tens of thousands U.S. troops. The new study published in the Acta Neuropathologica Communications, a neuroscience journal, found that TBIs from bomb blast wounds had different shaped brain lesions than car accident and sport-related brain injuries.

Researchers found their evidence by examining the brains of deceased veterans aged 23 to 38 and with a history of surviving blast related injuries. What researchers found was a honeycomb pattern across the area of the brain that deals with executive function and reasoning. Further research is being done to assess how this specific kind of brain injury would affect people who have it.

How Many Veterans Have TBIs?

More than 300,000 service members have sustained TBIs since 2014, although most were concussions. An additional 33,000 undiagnosed brain injuries might have occurred among members of the military.

TBIs, especially if they are sustained repeatedly, can cause lifelong complications and may put individuals who have them at risk for dementia and other neurological disorders later in life.

Metier Law Firm has experienced injury attorneys who represent clients who have sustained TBIs. Please come and learn more about us by visiting our Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Did You Know? Research by Ohio State University has found that inflammation from a brain injury plays a leading role in causing depression and other mental health complications later in life.