WINNIPEG - The Canadian military is considering whether to start screening soldiers for mild traumatic brain injuries upon their return from combat zones.
Sometimes called hidden head injuries, it's an issue that's been heating up in part because of the increasingly powerful roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices being used by insurgents in places like Afghanistan.
The Canadian Forces doesn't track the number of mild traumatic brain injuries, or concussions, said Dr. Mark Zamorski, head of the military's deployment health section.
"We don't have a clear picture of the magnitude of the problem in the Canadian Forces members," Zamorski said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
The topic has received a lot of attention in the United States, where traumatic brain injuries are known as the "signature wound" of the war in Iraq. Earlier this month, American legislators voted to expand monitoring and research into brain injuries.
Zamorski said U.S. statistics show that about 15 per cent of military members deployed in combat missions report suffering a concussion, and he expects the numbers would be similar in Canadian soldiers.
A panel of experts is studying the issue within Canada's military, said Zamorski, "because we realized it's an issue that we didn't have great visibility or understanding of."
However, he added he didn't "want to get too excited too quickly about what's becoming the miracle malady of the moment that explains everything."
Unlike moderate or severe brain injuries, where the damage is apparent, mild brain injuries aren't always obvious, but can cause a series of problems, including learning impairment, memory loss, severe fatigue, headaches.
There's also a wider question about mild traumatic brain injuries that researchers have yet to answer: does an explosion cause a different type of head injury than a car or sports accident because of its pressure waves?
"There has not been truly definitive research that's been done on that," Zamorski said. "Some more detailed studies are going to have to be done."
The military already has some ways of catching mild brain injuries in troops. In checks that occur three to six months after deployment, soldiers are screened for memory and concentration problems, and those with symptoms are referred for further evaluation.
"We may be picking people up that way, even if we don't ask specifically about head trauma," Zamorski said.
