DoD Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium Award
Recent research has indicated that TBI, including mild TBI (mTBI)/concussion with repeated exposures, leads to neuronal changes, and cognitive, behavioral, psychological, and sensory impairments. Further, research suggests that TBI, including mTBI, leads to chronic consequences (lasting 3 months or greater) in some individuals having experienced a TBI. Three critical issues related to the chronic effects of neurotrauma (over the lifespan of the patient) remain:(1) identification and characterization of the anatomic, molecular, and physiological mechanisms;(2) evaluation of how comorbidities are associated with and exacerbated by neurotrauma; and(3) appropriate treatment and rehabilitative strategies. This Consortium effort will be dedicated to establishing a comprehensive understanding of the chronic sequelae associated with neurotrauma, primarily focused on mTBI/concussion as defined by the DoD/VA. Briefly, the DoD/VA defines mTBI as associated with normal structural imaging (excluding DTI, fMRI, etc.), loss of consciousness lasting 30 minutes or less, alteration of consciousness/mental state from a moment up to 24 hours, and post-traumatic amnesia lasting 1 day or less. (The full DoD/VA mTBI definition is provided in the General Application Instructions, Appendix 7.) A key priority of this Consortium is the development of diagnostics, including a broad range of biomarkers, and novel treatment and rehabilitative strategies to improve the long-term health and well-being of Service Members and Veterans. The Consortium will coordinate research activities, including translational preclinical and clinical studies, as well as the collection, storage, use, and analyses of data and anatomical specimens, with an emphasis on basic and preclinical studies to address the anatomic, molecular, and physiological mechanisms issues and a heavy emphasis on clinical studies to address the comorbidities issues. There must be an emphasis on and progression toward translational/clinical work over the course of the Consortium. In the case of studies involving animal models, justification of validation is required at the time of application submission. Introduction of any new animal models will require clear justification. For applications studying blast-related TBI, teams should have access to an expert in the study of blast physics.
Office: U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity
