Fort Carson study: 1 in 6 show brain injury symptoms

A soldier, who suffered a brain injury in a bomb blast in Iraq, expresses frustration when he loses his train of thought and forgets what he was going to say. Traumatic brain injury can be caused without any visible injuries when explosives jar the brain inside the skull. Symptoms can range from headaches, irritability and sleep disorders to memory problems and depression.

FORT CARSON, Colo. — A 22-month study of Fort Carson soldiers returning from the Middle East found that nearly 18 percent suffered from at least a mild form of traumatic brain injury, which can be caused by close calls from explosions.

Of 13,440 soldiers examined since June 2005, 2,392 exhibited some of the symptoms associated with mild TBI which include headaches, memory loss, irritability, difficulty sleeping and balance problems, Col. John Cho, who commands the Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, said Tuesday.

Fort Carson will be submitting its study results to a leading medical journal for review and possible publication, said Col. Heidi Terrio, chief of deployment health at Evans.

“As it turns out, TBI may very well be the signature injury of this war,” Cho said.

Read the rest at Army Times

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