Military steps up effort to detect brain injuries

FORT CARSON, Colorado (AP):

A group of infantry just back from Afghanistan sat down before computers at Fort Carson and began answering a series of questions:

Were you wounded? Did you lose consciousness or get knocked out? Were you dazed, confused, or seeing stars?

The questionnaire is part of a battery of tests and interviews to identify soldiers who suffered even mild brain injuries that might go undetected. It's part of a broader military campaign to treat tens of thousands of war veterans with traumatic brain injuries, often caused by roadside bombs, a favorite weapon of insurgents.

Since 2000, nearly 213,000 US servicemen and women have suffered injuries ranging from concussions to something penetrating the brain, the military says. Well over half, or about 121,700, were Army soldiers.

Better screening

By at least one measure, the military appears to be doing a better job of screening. From 2000 through 2006, the military diagnosed an average of 13,000 brain injuries each year. From 2007 through 2010, it was 28,000 a year, according to statistics from the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

The Army Medical Command said most of the increase is due to better detection, not more injuries, and involves concussions and other mild injuries.

Measuring the effort's overall success is difficult. Figures on how many soldiers return to full or partial duty after a brain injuries weren't immediately available.

Also, the effort has suffered from a lack of clear budget information and difficulty recruiting staff, according to a Government Accountability Office report released in June.

Another concern is a scarcity of treatment guidelines for mild traumatic brain injuries, according to a Defense Department survey of soldiers, Marines and behavioural health-care providers in Afghanistan last year.

"I think that they've given it a lot of funding," said Jacob Gadd, deputy director for health care for The American Legion. "They're looking at research, they're looking at treatment. They're doing everything they can. It's just a matter of having the science."

One of the earliest alarms about military brain injuries was raised at Fort Carson, just outside Colorado Springs. A study in 2005-2007 found that nearly 18 per cent of soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan had a brain injury.

By at least one measure, the military appears to be doing a better job of screening.