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A Chance for Clues to Brain Injury in Combat Blasts
from the New York Times
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No direct impact caused Paul McQuigg's
brain injury in Iraq three years ago. And no
wound from the incident visibly explains why
Mr. McQuigg, now an office manager at a
California Marine base, can get lost in his
own neighborhood or arrive at the grocery
store having forgotten why he left home.
But his blast injury -- concussive brain
trauma caused by an explosion's invisible
force waves -- is no less real to him than a
missing limb is to other veterans. Just how
real could become clearer after he dies, when
doctors slice up his brain to examine any
damage.
Mr. McQuigg, 32, is one of 20 active and
retired members of the military who recently
agreed to donate their brain tissue upon death
so that the effects of blast injuries --
which, unlike most concussions, do not involve
any direct contact with the head -- can be
better understood and treated.
Read more...
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