Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced Tuesday that the Department of Defense awarded a $33 million grant to a group of Texas medical institutions known as Mission Connect to further traumatic brain injury research.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston will lead the five-year research project, which will aim to standardize traumatic brain injury models, improve diagnosis techniques and develop new treatment strategies for soldiers returning to the United States after service, said Matt Mackowiak, a spokesman for Sen. Hutchison.
Other involved institutions include Rice University, the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. While each school has its own stake in traumatic brain injury research, the grant offers them a chance to collaborate with one another and share ideas.
"The era of one scientist doing something by himself is over," said Dr. Alex Valadka, a neurosurgeon for the UT Health Science Center. "This consortium involves everyone from rehab doctors, psychologists, radiologists to researchers in different areas ranging from nanotechnology to stem cell research."
Traditionally, Valadka has focused on patients with severe head injuries who are in comas or on ventilators. More than 1.5 million people experience a traumatic brain injury each year. As many as
75 percent of those cases involve concussions, the most common type of brain injury associated with military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mackowiak said.
Valadka said the side effects of mild traumatic brain injury include short-term memory loss, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. In most cases, side effects diminish with time, but Valadka said the number of cases in which effects persist is increasing.
"The Department of Defense is realizing this, and they are determined to do a better job taking care of our service men and women," Valadka said. "I'm very excited to have our institutions be recognized for our ability to work together and tackle these important issues."
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