Brain injury soldiers suffer 'lower quality of life'RSS Feed

28 October 2009

Soldiers that have suffered vision loss as a result of traumatic brain injuries sustained in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have a worse quality of life, research shows.

Exposure to combat explosions is often the cause of vision loss related to brain traumas, with those suffering the most severe visual problems likely to have a lower quality of life, according to researchers from the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology.

War veterans were found to perform worse than civilian counterparts in both the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) and Neuro-Ophthalmic Supplement (NOS) tests.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Glenn Cockerham explained: "We found the VFQ-25 and NOS were sensitive to vision loss issues in patients with blast-related traumatic brain injury.

"Our future studies will correlate visual function with specific life challenges and determine how these change over time."

Veterans with brain injuries in the UK may benefit from a new service, recently launched by the Stroke Association and Momentum North East.

The service aims to rebuild patient confidence by guiding them back into jobs.

News from Serious Law, specialist traumatic brain injury solicitors. ADNFCR-2547-ID-19430080-ADNFCR