A research team at Johns Hopkins University says they have found a unique honeycomb pattern of broken and swollen nerve fibers in brains of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans who survived improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, but later died of other causes. In doing so, the team says they may have found the signature of "shell shock" - a problem that has afflicted many soldiers since World War One warfare.

The team of eight researchers, led by Vassilis Koliatsos, professor of pathology, neurology and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, studied the brains of five U.S. combat veterans and compared them to 24 other brains of people who died from causes such as car accidents, drug overdoses and heart attacks.

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Fast Facts: - Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) affect millions of Americans every year after car accidents, sporting collisions, assaults, falls and other incidents. They can cause symptoms ranging from headache, dizziness, memory problems and difficulty paying attention to seizures and coma.

• A CT scan can reveal whether a head injury has caused bleeding in the brain, but not whether brain cells themselves have been injured — the primary cause of many TBI symptoms.
• Researchers have discovered that a blood test measuring levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can gauge the severity of a patient’s TBI and predict how well he or she will recover, helping pinpoint which patients need further specialized treatment.

A new blood test could help emergency room doctors quickly diagnose traumatic brain injury and determine its severity. The findings, published July 10 in the Journal of Neurotrauma, could help identify patients who might benefit from extra therapy or experimental treatments.


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Taylor Bingaman, an avid sportsman from Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling down a flight of stairs in 2012. Doctors said the 21-year-old would probably not live. Taylor's physical recovery was arduous and in some ways miraculous, but he was never again the same person. His mother, Nicole Bingaman, writes about the family's journey in her book, "Falling Away From You."Bingaman, 45, shares why she is on a crusade to help others understand the heartbreak of a brain injury.

I am probably a person who keeps on the sunny side of life, but I will say this is the most excruciating thing I have gone through. I know we are fortunate, but sometimes we paint things with a light brush.

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