A new study from Aaron Baggish and colleagues, first author Rachel Grashow, of nearly 2,000 former NFL players shows that about one-third believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neuropathological condition linked to repeated head trauma that can only be diagnosed through a postmortem examination of the brain.

New research from From Michael D. Fox and colleagues, first author Shan H. Siddiqi, suggests that using neurostimulation therapies on a specific brain network could treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. By evaluating 193 participants in the Vietnam Head Injury Study with penetrating traumatic brain injury, the team found those with damage connected to their amygdala, the fear center of the brain, were less likely to develop PTSD.

When tested for “hidden consciousness,” one in four patients with severe brain injury who appeared unresponsive were able to respond to instructions covertly. From Nicholas D Schiff and colleagues, first author Yelena G Bodien.

New research from Joseph Giacino and colleagues may upend the widely held view of traumatic brain injury as a permanently debilitating condition. The findings indicate that electrical stimulation can reawaken quiescent brain circuitry, leading to functional improvements that have the potential to restore work and social activities to patients’ lives. 

HMS News article on new research from Ross Zafonte and colleagues, first author Saef Izzy, finding that people who sustain a brain injury have an increased risk of developing chronic cardiovascular disease than people without a brain injury.

HMS News article on new research from Aaron Baggish and the Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, first author Rachel Grashow. The odds that former professional football players will be diagnosed with high blood pressure — a known risk factor for cardiovascular and cognitive dysfunction — rises in step with the number of concussions the athletes sustained during their careers

HMS News article on new research from Joseph T. Giacino and colleagues finding that many people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (msTBI) achieve favorable outcomes over the course of their first year of recovery, moving from a deep coma to being able to live independently for at least eight hours per day within a year.

HMS News article on new research from Clas Linnman and colleagues, on the development of a new imaging technique allowing researchers to capture images of injuries caused by whiplash that previously eluded scans.

HMS News article on new research from Ross Zafonte and colleagues, first author Saef Izzy, finding that people who have suffered concussions may also carry increased risk for other medical conditions such as diabetes, neuropsychiatric, and cardiovascular disorders.

Harvard Gazette article on a preliminary MR spectroscopic imaging study of the brain in COVID-19. COVID-19 patients with neurological symptoms show some of the same metabolic disturbances in the brain as patients who have suffered oxygen deprivation from other causes, but also notable differences. From Eva-Maria Ratai and colleagues, co-first authors Otto Rapalino and Akila Weerasekera.

Harvard Gazette Q+A with Laura Kubzansky on a new study finding a host of health benefits accompany an optimistic attitude.

Harvard Gazette article on a new study led by MGH researchers suggesting light therapy is safe and may help patients with moderate brain injury. From Rajiv Gupta, Benjamin Vakoc and colleagues, co-first authors Can Ozan Tan and Maria Gabriela Figueiro Longo.

HMS News article on new research from the labs of Tomas Kirchhausen & colleagues, co-first authors Mootaz Salman, Philip Kitchen, & Andrea Halsey, demonstrating that a drug that reduces swelling may help protect against brain and spinal cord injury.

HMS News article on new research from the teams of Ross Zafonte, Alvaro Pascual-Leone and colleagues, first author Rachel Grashow, raising questions about diagnoses of CTE in former NFL players.

Kelsey Tyssowski, postdoc in Hopi Hoekstra's lab at Harvard, received a Life Sciences Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

Stephanie Roberts, HMS instructor in pediatrics and an attending physician in the Division of Endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital, was named by the Society for Pediatric Research as the recipient of the 2020 Bridging to Success Award.

New research from the labs of Joshua Sanes, Zhigang He and colleagues provides novel insights into the CNS injury response of axons and how it might be improved.

HMS News article on new research from the lab of Mark Weisskopf, first author Andrea Roberts, and colleagues suggesting that longer careers and playing position each appear to spell greater long-term risk for serious cognitive problems in NFL players.

Concussions are linked to erectile dysfunction in former NFL players.

HMS News article on a new study from the lab of Joseph DeGutis (first author Elizabeth Riley) shedding light on associations between psychological distress symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in returning combat veterans.

HMS News article about recent research from the team of Matthias Nahrendorf and colleagues discovering channels connecting skull bone marrow to brain surface.