Dr. Stephan Hittmann on the U.S. Military Confronting the Epidemic of Military Personnel with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

1. Dr. Stephan Hittmann on the U.S.
Military Confronting the Epidemic of
Military Personnel with Traumatic
Brain Injury (TBI)

2. ● Stephan Hittmann helped obtain the grant that
established the Traumatic Brain Injury Center at
Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
● Dr. Hittmann continues to serve on the TBI
Advisory Committee at Mount Sinai, and
recently answered questions about the
military’s effort to identify veterans with TBI.

3. Question: The military recently pledged $100 million to help
identify and treat traumatic brain injuries among soldiers,
which includes concussions. Why is it so hard to identify a
concussion?
Stephan Hittmann: Unlike other severe brain injuries, a
concussion doesn’t always show up on an imaging scan.
To make matters worse, some of the symptoms of a
concussion, such as sleeplessness, dizziness, depression,
and headaches, can easily be mistaken for a mental
illness. Unless a patient mentions a head injury, doctors
won’t always consider a concussion as being a causative
or contributing factor. In addition, many head injuries can
cause a blackout and memory loss, so the patient may not
remember the injury at all. This can make diagnosis that
much more complex.

4. Question: How many soldiers and veterans suffer from
TBI?
Stephan Hittmann: The military started screening for
TBI in 2003, acknowledging that explosions and other
events on the battlefield could cause concussions, with
the cognitive effects therefrom potentially lasting
months or years. They’ve since identified more than
43,000 soldiers with lasting symptoms. Recovery times
vary, with the current primary therapy for a concussion
being rest. Repeat concussions carry a higher risk for
long-term complications, so soldiers are at especially
high-risk for TBI.