European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 26, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page stars and stripes monday March 262007 Hospital tries to get ahead of brain injuries by Steve Mraz stars and stripes Lan Stuhl Germany in the developing Battle against Trau Matic brain injury among us troops Lan Stuhl regional medi Cal Center stands at a strategic Crossroads the Hospital is the choke Point in the military medical evacuation process it is where All the wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan Are ferried and treated before being sent to various Hospi tals around the states All patients including outpatients being treated at the Center for relatively minor injuries Are asked if Treyve been exposed to blasts this is the place for screening and capture of traumatic brain said Ramon font Tai in patient coordinator at Lan Stuhl the push now is to get 100 per cent of the patients so people dont leave Here without being screened since its Tai screening pro Gram began last May Lan Stuhl has identified 33 percent of its War related inpatients As having some form of Tai during their Brief stay the injured Are Given an Oral exam for Tai known As the military acute concussion evaluation most of those flagged have mild Tai which is synonymous with a con Cussion font said Early in the War in the midst of troops with obvious and severe wounds missing limbs puncture wounds and massive bleed unscathed yet still exposed to bomb blasts went undiagnosed for Tai As the insurgency began to rely heavily on improvised bombs doctors turned their attention toward Tai Tai int new but it came to the forefront because those explosions increased and the number of troops exposed to those explosions increased said or rican Thony Ashley an army lieutenant colonel and chief of radiology at Lan Stuhl then they would be Dis charged because nothing was Evi Dent in the sense of gee he didst have a penetrating injury he never got a scratch on him he goes Home but then he cant add the Way he should be adding Hes not acting right in recent months Media outlets have begun calling Tai the Signa Ture injury of the War traumatic brain injury is a blow or Jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain sym Ben and stripes or Alisa Gean foreground and or Ric Anthony Ashley discuss traumatic brain injury on an electronic brain scan tuesday at Lan Stuhl regional medical Center Gean is a Neur radiologist and traumatic brain injury expert who volunteered to spend time at la Stuhl teaching and helping doctors Ashley is an army lieutenant colonel and chief of radiology at the medical Center How do they test for Tai Here is a test based off a portion of the military acute concussion evaluation known As Mace used to screen for Tai the test has a possible 30 Points patients without concussions average a score of 28 scores below 25 indicate a test taker May have Tai rimmed hate memory 15 Points 1 Point for each Correct answer Over three trials a test giver will say five random words and ask a patient to repeat them in any order test giver and patient repeat this two More times for a total of three trials orientation 5 Points 1 Point for each patients Are Given five time and Date questions concentration 5 Points 1 Point for each patients Are told a string of numbers and asked to recall the numbers in reverse order the number strings Range from three to six digits in length then patients Are asked to recite the months of the year in reverse order delayed recall 5 Points 1 Point for each without the test giver repeating the same five words from the immediate memory portion patients Are asked to recall the five words from the first portion of the test source defense and veterans brain injury Center Toms include headaches dizziness and memory problems those symptoms can dissipate in hours or Days and nearly always get better in one to three months most people recover from a con Cussion within three months if a service member has More than one concussion in a three month Span the Healing process can Stop and problems can arise font said those suffering from Tai also have difficulties with social relationships and interactions said or Alisa Gean a euro raviolo Gist and Tai expert of 25 years who just completed a two week visit to Lan Stuhl there Are these ill defined emotional complaints that occur but otherwise physically they look like Normal human beings she said there not paraplegic there not in a wheelchair they look totally Normal but they know there not quite Normal its Likely because of the head gear that protecting them from the penetrating injuries but there still nevertheless experiencing the concussive manifestations those with severe Tai have brain injuries visible on computer brain scans and obvious Dys functions advanced imaging technology is not yet Able to detect mild brain injuries however which is Why the Oral exams Are Given some patients arriving at Lan Stuhl already have been screened downrange for Tai in the Oral exams patients Are told to remember five words which they repeat three times then they go through a series of exercises that test orientation and concentration after those exercises the patients Are asked if they can recall the initial five words that tests Short term memory whats to traumatic brain injury is a blow or Jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain not All blows or jolts to the head result in Tai severity ranges from mild a Brief change in mental Sta Tus or consciousness to severe an extended period of unconsciousness or mild Tai is basically the same As a concussion Tai can result in Shorter Lon term problems with inde pendent function blasts Are a leading cause of Tai for Active duty Mili tary in War zones other causes Are bullets shrapnel Falls vehicle crashes and assaults males Are about 15 times As Likely As females to sustain Tai the incidents of Tai Are far greater than incidents of his and breast cancer combined according to or Alisa Gean a Neur radiologist and Tai expert who just completed a two week visit to land Stuhl sources Lan Stuhl regional medical Center and or Alisa Gean and longer term memory after the brain has been tasked to do some things said or Stephen Flaherty an army colonel and director of lands Uhls trauma pro Gram this test the Standard assessment of concussion has been used on athletes its been re searched and validated in the ath Lete population so we have some what of an idea of what that score Means troops identified with Tai can be treated through therapy Avail Able at some stateside centers medically lesions visible on scans can reverse and improve Over time Gean said from mild to severe Tai the brain can adjust to injury she said the Good news about these kids is they have Young brains that Are very capable of Healing themselves Gean said when i was in medical school we used to think that once you injured your brain it was a Perma nent injury the Good news is that the brain is extremely elastic its very malleable it can adapt to being wounded so that it can heal itself email Steve Mraz at Volvo military sales Purchase your new Volvo xc70 or xc90 with the Premium package and get the climate or convenience package for free also for a limited time Only All new orders for a Volvo v70 v70r xc70 with the Premium package will also receive the Rte navigation system valued at for free so you can now Purchase your new v70v70r or xc70 through the Volvo military sales program and save up to under stateside Srp and other Winter wonder offers Japan 046 82s 326s Okinawa 098 936  email