17 Jul Post-Concussion Symptoms Mimic Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

Posted at 16:24h in Author Interviews, Brain Injury, JAMA by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Emmanuel Lagarde Director of Research at INSERM, France Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lagarde: Concussion accounts for more than 90 percent of all traumatic brain injuries, although little is known about prognosis for the injury. The symptoms cited as potentially being part of post concussion syndrome fall into three areas: cognitive, somatic and emotional. But the interpretation of symptoms after concussion should also take into account that injuries are often sustained during psychologically distressing events which can lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Medical Research: Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Lagarde: Yes, as we were expecting to observe long term (3-month) symptoms following brain injury, but few were found to be specific : most of them were as frequent among patients with other injuries. Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Lagarde: It seems as if there is little evidence of the existence of a specific syndrome following mild traumatic brain injury. However, patients who experienced a concussion are at risk of another well-known syndrome called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, which is associated with the distressing event that led to the injury. Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study? Dr. Lagarde: The classification system of symptoms following mild brain injury should be revisited as our results are challenging the very relevance of the DSM-V post concussion syndrome. Citation: Association of Symptoms Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder vs Postconcussion SyndromeMedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Emmanuel Lagarde
Director of Research at INSERM, France

Medical Research: What are the main findings of the study?

Dr. Lagarde: Concussion accounts for more than 90 percent of all traumatic brain injuries, although little is known about prognosis for the injury. The symptoms cited as potentially being part of post concussion syndrome fall into three areas: cognitive, somatic and emotional. But the interpretation of symptoms after concussion should also take into account that injuries are often sustained during psychologically distressing events which can lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.


Medical Research: Were any of the findings unexpected?

Dr. Lagarde: Yes, as we were expecting to observe long term (3-month) symptoms following brain injury, but few were found to be specific : most of them were as frequent among patients with other injuries.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Lagarde: It seems as if there is little evidence of the existence of a specific syndrome following mild traumatic brain injury. However, patients who experienced a concussion are at risk of  another well-known syndrome called Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, which is associated with the distressing event that led to the injury.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Lagarde: The classification system of symptoms following mild brain injury should be revisited as our results are challenging the very relevance of the DSM-V post concussion syndrome.

Citation:

 

Last Updated on July 17, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

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