Noteboom The Law Firm

TBIs May Be Considered A Newly Discovered Disease

October 29, 2010 - For years Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) have been called the "signature wound" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It turns out they may be much more than that. They may be a completely new disease. This would explain the difficulty doctors are having diagnosing and treating TBIs in military personnel and veterans.

TBIs may be considered new diseases because the damage and destruction they create in the soldiers' brains is so distinctive. Soldiers today are surviving what would have been deadly blasts in wars past, but are coming home with mental trauma because of it.

TBIs are the result of soldiers being exposed to blasts, usually from roadside bombs. The wave of energy originating with the blast results in a pattern of damage to brain-cells more spread out than regular concussions. Further, the damaged cells remain irritated for longer periods of time than with concussions, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.

Concussions and/or brain injuries have afflicted approximately 10% of all troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those troops, somewhere between 5 and 15% will develop problems with:

• Concentration;
• Short-term memory;
• Fatigue;
• Irritability; and
• Persistent headaches.

The debate on whether TBIs are the result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will rage on for some time. While TBIs are similar in many ways to "normal" concussions, there are also many distinguishing features about them. Whether they will ultimately be classified as a new disease is still being debated.