Brain Injury News: Week of January 24
January 27, 2025

This Week in Brain Injury News
Week ending Jan. 24, 2025
Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review
“The Trump administration has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts, according to nearly a dozen current and former officials and other people familiar with the matter.”
New study shows stem cell therapy ‘jump-start’ brain repair after stroke
“Scientists at Gladstone Institutes and the regenerative medicine company SanBio have shown that a cell therapy derived from stem cells can restore normal patterns of brain activity after a stroke.”
Don’t miss a quiet symptom of concussion
The Mayo Clinic informs readers that “persistent ringing in their ears, sensitivity to noise and hearing difficulties” is a commonly overlooked concussion symptom.
Sleep Apnea Linked to Structural Brain Changes: Study
“’Untreated sleep apnea may accelerate and cause brain injury that could lead to Alzheimer’s-related changes.’”
Advocating for Increased Investments in Services and Workforce in VA House and Senate Budgets
Brain Injury service providers across Virginia will be at the General Assembly January 29, 2025 requesting state-funding to address critical issues faced by brain injury service providers in the Commonwealth… ‘We look to the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate to recognize the critical need to support brain injury service providers and the individuals they serve,’ said Dan Reeves, Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia.”
Mild TBI associated with long-term effects when occurring with psychological trauma
VA Boston Healthcare System researchers found that mild traumatic brain injury leads to significant long-term consequences only when it occurs at the same time as a psychologically traumatic event, in a new study published in JAMA Network Open Jan. 22, 2025.
“Our findings suggest that mTBI alone may not drive long-term negative outcomes; it’s the combination of brain injury within a psychologically stressful context that creates lasting challenges among Veterans,” said Dr. Emily Van Etten, co-lead author and a post-doctoral fellow at the Translational Research Center for Traumatic Brain Injury and Stress Disorders, known as TRACTS, located at VA Boston’s Jamaica Plain campus.
Blasts from military weapons may injure the brain through its blood vessels
“When military personnel fire certain powerful weapons, they are exposed to a blast wave that sends blood surging from the body to the brain. This ‘tsunami in the body’ is one way a blast can injure blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to structures deep in the brain, says Dr. Ibolja Cernak, an expert on blast injuries at Belmont University in Nashville.”