Research Updates

Psychotherapy is as effective treatment for PTSD patients after multiple traumatic events.

In this case series of 152 contact sport athletes younger than 30 years at the time of death, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was found in 63 (41.4%), with nearly all having mild CTE (stages I and II). 

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with a history of repetitive head impacts (RHI). To better understand the strength of evidence underlying the possible causal relationship between RHI and CTE, we examined the medical literature through the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.

A study involving more than 1,500 found that an earlier return to school benefited children ages 8 to 18, who had less severe symptoms two weeks after their concussion compared with kids who stayed home longer.

The traditional view is that the brain is surrounded by three layers, the dura, arachnoid, and pia mater. Møllgård et al. found a fourth meningeal layer called the subarachnoid lymphatic-like membrane (SLYM). SLYM is immunophenotypically distinct from the other meningeal layers in the human and mouse brain and represents a tight barrier for solutes of more than 3 kilodaltons, effectively subdividing the subarachnoid space into two different compartments. SLYM is the host for a large population of myeloid cells, the number of which increases in response to inflammation and aging, so this layer represents an innate immune niche ideally positioned to surveil the cerebrospinal fluid.

Researchers are learning more about how the brain appears to rewire itself after traumatic experiences.

Symptoms of mental disorders are common, are underrecognized, and contribute to worse outcomes after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Post-TBI, prevalence of anxiety disorders and prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are comparable with that of depression, but evidence-based treatment guidelines are lacking. The investigators examined psychotropic medication use and psychotherapy patterns among individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorders and PTSD post-TBI.

Meta-analysis (9 articles) revealed that partnership with an assistance dog had a clinically meaningful, significant, and large effect on PTSD severity scores. Increasingly prevalent research on assistance dogs for veterans with PTSD provides support for the impact of this complementary and integrative health intervention on PTSD symptom severity, and signs of meaningful improvements in adjacent domains including mental and social health.

The serotonin hypothesis of depression is still influential. Our comprehensive review of the major strands of research on serotonin shows there is no convincing evidence that depression is associated with, or caused by, lower serotonin concentrations or activity.

Adults who have suffered childhood trauma exhibit a higher degree of somatization (i.e., mental suffering expressed through physical complaints that may lead them to consulting a physician). A mother's trauma impacts the mother-child relationship.

A new study published in Neurology dispels the notion that "mild" concussions have no lasting impact on mental skills like thinking, remembering, and learning. Poor cognitive outcomes are common 1 year after injury.

Due to its relatively brief course of treatment, written exposure therapy may be a more efficient method in reducing PTSD symptoms among U.S. military members, according to a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open.