A head injury can lead immune-system brain cells to go on “high alert” and overreact to later immune challenges by becoming excessively inflammatory – a condition linked with depressive complications, a new animal study suggests. The findings could help explain some of the midlife mental-health issues suffered by individuals who experience multiple concussions as young

Read More…

Soldiers who suffer mild brain injuries from blasts have long-term changes in their brains, a small new study suggests. Diagnosing mild brain injuries caused by explosions can be challenging using standard CT or MRI scans, the researchers said. For their study, they turned to a special type of MRI called diffusion tensor imaging. The technology

Read More…

At four months following mild traumatic brain injury, symptoms are significantly reduced but gray matter abnormalities persist, according to research published online Nov. 20 in Neurology. Read full article. Read abstract.

A randomized placebo-controlled pilot trial scheduled to appear in the Jan 2014 issue of Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggests that taking omega-3 fatty acids and alpha lipoic acid as dietary supplements may help Alzheimer’s patients. Read full article.

If you’ve ever felt drained after doing a crossword puzzle, working a math problem or taking a test, there’s a reason, says Dr. Paul Foster, professor of clinical psychology at Middle Tennessee State University and a practicing psychologist. “There is an idea out there that you have a process of cognitive fatigue that is similar

Read More…

New research may help connect the dots between traumatic brain injury and the risk for memory and other brain-related problems later in life. Brain imaging technology known as positron emission tomography (PET) shows that people who have had a traumatic brain injury develop so-called “plaques” in their brain like those seen in the brains of

Read More…

A pair of Canadian scientists are challenging the fact that manufacturers of some cooking oils are entitled to make health claims about the products. They argue that new evidence suggests oils that are high in omega-6 fatty acids but contain little or no omega-3 fatty acids should not be labelled as beneficial to heart health.

Read More…