A new study by military researchers says almost a quarter million American troops diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury are at risk of developing a degenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE.
A report in Huffington Post says CTE causes bursts of anger and depression and can lead to memory loss, difficulty walking and speaking, paranoia and suicide, according to military researchers.
According to the most recent Pentagon data, 244,217 U.S. military men and women have been diagnosed with TBI, often caused by one or more exposures to bomb blasts. Thousands more are believed to have experienced undiagnosed mild brain damage from blast injuries.
The grim effects of CTE have been observed among boxers and other athletes for years. But only recently have researchers been able to demonstrate a link between TBI, an increasingly common form of combat injury, and CTE.
The research demonstrated that even those who have suffered mild TBI — commonly believed to be a less serious condition — can develop CTE.
