Brain trauma doesn’t predict post-concussion syndrome
Mild traumatic brain injury is often followed by “post-concussion syndrome” but does not predict the condition, according to Australian researchers.
For unknown reasons, 5 to 10 percent of people who experience a concussion have symptoms that persist beyond six weeks. These people are diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.
“Post-concussion syndrome has been a controversial diagnosis in both civilian and military populations,” Dr. E. Arthur Shores of Macquarie University in Sydney told Reuters Health
Shores and colleagues evaluated 175 trauma patients—90 with mild traumatic brain injury and 85 without brain injury—for symptoms including poor concentration, irritability, memory problems, and mood swings.
According to their report in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, roughly 43 percent of mild traumatic brain injured patients and a similar percentage of controls met criteria for diagnosis of acute post-concussion syndrome.
“For individuals who have mild traumatic brain injury,” Shores said, “it is important they know that symptoms they continue to experience are not due to brain injury. They can be treated with early education and psychological therapies.”
The current results, Shores noted, are similar to findings by other investigators who studied military personnel after combat. “Once post-traumatic stress disorder and depression was considered, the effect of mild traumatic brain injury was non-significant,” Shores noted.
SOURCE: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, March 2008.
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