Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Contribute to Staff Perceived Irritability, Anger, and Aggression After TBI in a Longitudinal Veteran Cohort: A VA TBI Model Systems Study

Objective To examine the relationship between staff perceived irritability, anger, and aggression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) of all severity levels. Design Longitudinal cohort design. Setting Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Programs. Participants Veterans and service members with TBI of all severity levels enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers’ Traumatic Brain Injury Model System national database (N=240). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measure Univariable and multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between irritability, anger, and aggression and potential risk factors, including PTSD symptoms. Irritability, anger, and aggression was measured as a single construct using an item from the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 that was rated by program staff at admission and discharge from the inpatient rehabilitation program. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version. Results PTSD symptoms uniquely predicted program staff-rated irritability, anger, and aggression at discharge even after controlling for severity of TBI, age, male sex, education, and annual earnings. The model explained 19% of the variance in irritability, anger, and aggression. Conclusions When TBI severity and PTSD symptoms were considered simultaneously in a sample of veterans, only PTSD symptoms predicted staff-rated irritability, anger, and aggression. Given the negative outcomes linked with irritability, anger, and aggression, veterans may benefit from assessment and treatment of PTSD symptoms within rehabilitation settings

Evolution of Irritability, Anger, and Aggression after Traumatic Brain Injury: Identifying and Predicting Subgroups

The current prospective, multi-center, longitudinal cohort study examined how veterans/service members (V/SM) changed in their irritability, anger, and aggression (IAA) scores from admission to discharge in post-acute rehabilitation settings. The goals were to identify trajectory subgroups, and explore if there were different predictors of the subgroups. V/SM (n = 346) from five Veterans Affairs TBI Model Systems Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers participated. The sample was mostly men (92%) and identified as white (69%), black (13%), and other races (18%). Median age was 28 years, and 78% had sustained a severe TBI. Staff rated IAA at admission and discharge using the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 item#15. Four IAA trajectory subgroups were identified: (1) no IAA at admission or discharge (n = 89, 25.72%), (2) resolved IAA (n = 61, 17.63%), (3) delayed onset IAA (n = 31, 8.96%), and (4) persistent IAA (n = 165, 47.69%). Greater post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were the only consistent predictor of belonging to all the subgroups who had IAA compared with the no IAA subgroup. We conclude that IAA had different trajectories after a TBI. The majority of V/SM had persistent impairment from IAA, a quarter of the sample had no impairment from IAA, and fewer participants had resolving or worsening IAA. Findings emphasize the importance of educating providers and family of the different ways and times that IAA can manifest after TBI. Timely diagnosis and treatment of PTSD symptoms during and after rehabilitation are critical treatment targets

Demographic and Mental Health Predictors of Arrests Up to 10 Years Post-Traumatic Brain Injury: A Veterans Affairs TBI Model Systems Study

OBJECTIVE: Examine rates and predictors of arrests in Veterans and Service Members (V/SM) who received inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: Veterans Administration (VA) Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 948 V/SM drawn from the VA TBI Model Systems cohort with arrest data up to 10 years post-TBI. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study; secondary analysis of pre-TBI characteristics predicting post-TBI arrests. MAIN MEASURES: Disclosure of arrests pre-TBI and up to10 years post-TBI. RESULTS: Thirty-six percent of the sample had been arrested prior to their TBI; 7% were arrested post-TBI. When considering all variables simultaneously in a multivariate model, pre-TBI mental health treatment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.03-9.14), pre-TBI heavy alcohol use (aOR = 3.04; CI: 1.08-8.55), and number of follow-up interviews (aOR = 2.05; CI: 1.39-4.50) were significant predictors of post-TBI arrest. CONCLUSION: Arrest rates of V/SM prior to TBI were consistent with rates of arrest for people of similar ages in the United States. Post-TBI rates were lower for V/SM than published rates of post-TBI arrests in civilians with TBI. As part of rehabilitation planning for V/SM with TBI, providers should assess for preinjury mental health services and alcohol misuse to (1) identify those who may be at risk for postinjury arrests and (2) provide relevant resources and/or supports

Comprehensive Systematic Review Update Summary: Disorders of Consciousness: Report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology; the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine; and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

peer reviewedObjective: To update the 1995 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) practice parameter on persistent vegetative state and the 2002 case definition for the minimally conscious state (MCS) by reviewing the literature on the diagnosis, natural history, prognosis, and treatment of disorders of consciousness lasting at least 28 days. Methods: Articles were classified per the AAN evidence-based classification system. Evidence synthesis occurred through a modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation process. Recommendations were based on evidence, related evidence, care principles, and inferences according to the AAN 2011 process manual, as amended. Results: No diagnostic assessment procedure had moderate or strong evidence for use. It is possible that a positive EMG response to command, EEG reactivity to sensory stimuli, laser-evoked potentials, and the Perturbational Complexity Index can distinguish MCS from vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS). The natural history of recovery from prolonged VS/UWS is better in traumatic than nontraumatic cases. MCS is generally associated with a better prognosis than VS (conclusions of low to moderate confidence in adult populations), and traumatic injury is generally associated with a better prognosis than nontraumatic injury (conclusions of low to moderate confidence in adult and pediatric populations). Findings concerning other prognostic features are stratified by etiology of injury (traumatic vs nontraumatic) and diagnosis (VS/UWS vs MCS) with low to moderate degrees of confidence. Therapeutic evidence is sparse. Amantadine probably hastens functional recovery in patients with MCS or VS/UWS secondary to severe traumatic brain injury over 4 weeks of treatment. Recommendations are presented separately

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

Detecting Consciousness with a Brain-computer Interface

peer reviewedRecent electrophysiological and neuroimaging studies showed command-specific changes in EEG or fMRI signals of unresponsive patients providing motor-independent evidence of conscious thoughts. These promising results have paved the way for a new application for Brain-computer Interface (BCI): detecting consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC). In the present abstract, we review the first results obtained by BCI-like applications in patients with DOC and discuss the challenges facing BCI research. We believe that patients with DOC may benefit from BCI based diagnosis. BCIs may detect changes in the signal in response to command and, in some cases, may permit communication