Pitt reseachers join nationwide head-injury study

October 22, 2013 12:08 PM Share with others:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

University of Pittsburgh researchers are among those from 20 institutions in the U.S. who will participate in a $18.8 million NIH study on traumatic brain injury. It will be part of one of the largest international research collaborations ever coordinated by funding agencies.

David Okonkwo, associate professor of neurological surgery and clinical director of the Brain Trauma Research Center at Pitt, will lead the local part of the study.

The five-year study will be administered through University of California San Francisco.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2 percent of the U.S. population lives with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injuries or TBI, with an annual cost of care at $77 billion. Roughly 1.7 million people seek medical attention for TBI each year.

In the new study, scientists aim to refine and improve diagnosis and treatment of TBI whether from car accidents, football injuries, battle wounds or other causes. Such brain injuries often go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed and can be under treated because symptoms can be misunderstood and insidious.

Geoffrey Manley, a UCSF neurosurgeon who will serve as the U.S. research teams primary liaison to the NIH, hopes the work will advance the medical fields understanding of TBI and lead to more effective and patient-specific treatments.

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Pitt reseachers join nationwide head-injury study