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What exactly was the tipping point for this change is hard to pinpoint, as I note in this edition of latest edition of Nature, which focuses on military science. But one crucial moment came in 2009 when Marine Corps commandant General James Amos toured Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, and was introduced to a patient who said, with considerable effort, “General, I know who you are. I have a picture of you and I together in Iraq.”. Continue to read: wired.com
The most devastating impact of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be on soldiers’ brains, and many of the injured likely don’t even know it. At least not yet.
As I describe in the new issue of Nature, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that these injured troops, who could easily number in the hundreds of thousands, face a heightened risk of early-onset dementia, and other diseases that attack the brain.
Worse, by Pentagon officials’ own admission, the military effectively ignored many cases of mild Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, primary caused by exposure to roadside bombs, for the better part of six years. One study, published in 2008 by a group of Army researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine, even downplayed the role of mild TBI, suggesting that people should use the word “concussion” rather than “mild traumatic brain injury” to avoid perpetuating the belief they are suffering from a long-term injury.
But with evidence mounting of troops returning home with severe neurological impairment, that attitude has finally changed. And over the past two years, a combination of a better science, and growing awareness among military leaders about the scope of the potential epidemic, has finally led to new policies and treatment for those suffering from mild TBI.
Blueberry powder slow breast tumor growth
Extracts from blueberries may slow the growth of breast cancer at a level easily obtained in the human diet, says a new study with mice. Read more: nutraingredients.com