.png)
Women who suffered brain injuries or "poly-traumas" which included other injuries, generally experienced higher rates of substance abuse, cognitive issues, depression, and homelessness, among other things, when compared with men with similar injuries.
Vocabulary
trauma /ˈtroumə,ˈtrômə/ n.
emotional
shock following a stressful event or a physical injury
ex.: The bike
accident gave me trauma and fear of riding bikes.
injuries in·ju·ry n. ( plural form ) the fact of being injured, harmed, or damaged
ex.:I can’t lift
heavy objects because of my back and arm injuries.
phenomenon /fəˈnäməˌnän,fəˈnäməˌnən/ n.
a fact or situation that is observed
to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question
ex.: An earthquake is a natural phenomenon
that can be explained.
conduct /kənˈdəkt/ v. organize and carry out
ex.: Our project
is to conduct an interview with the city officials.
equitable /ˈekwədəb(ə)l/ adj. fair and impartial
The
government must provide equitable services to all citizens.
Comprehension
Questions
What was generally experienced by women who suffered brain injuries?
Why is it important to know the differences in brain trauma
between men and women?
What is the goal of the research after finding out the
differences in brain trauma?
What is cortical thinning?
How can this research help groups with brain traumas?
Article Reading
Are there differences in the brains of men and women? Some say yes, and some say no. But when it comes to brain trauma, Odette Harris and Maheen Adamson have shown that the answer is unequivocal yes. Harris, MD, director of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, had been analyzing head trauma data from the Department of Veterans Affairs when she noticed something striking: Women who suffered brain injuries or "poly-traumas" which included other injuries, generally experienced higher rates of substance abuse, cognitive issues, depression, and homelessness, among other things, when compared with men with similar injuries.
In one of my latest Stanford
Medicine magazine stories, "Same injury, different brain," I share
the story of Harris and Adamson, Ph.D., two researchers at the VA determined to
better understand how and why women experience head trauma differently than men
and how health care teams and policymakers can support the specific needs of
women after injury.
“Part of the research goal is to figure out
how best to set women up for success after brain trauma. It's not always the
same as what's best for men. "For instance, when we see unemployment in
males with traumatic brain injury, our approach is to assist in education and
skills training," said Harris.
"So the knee-jerk reaction is to find
ways to increase education and training when we see unemployment in women with
traumatic brain injury. But we found that female veterans were better educated
and more likely to have a college degree than their male counterparts."
Alongside their data digging, the
pair conducted a study looking at the brains of women with a head injury, and
they saw something curious. It was a phenomenon known as "cortical
thinning," in which the cortex tissue of the brain becomes thinner,
sometimes due to injury, sometimes disease.
Through MRI scans, Adamson saw
that the thinning was worse in women, with more patches of tissue
"balding" in regions of the brain that control emotion and decision
making. While researchers know that cortical thinning isn't good, it's too
early to tell exactly how it affects the brain, and scientists plan to conduct
more studies.
"We're seeing a shift toward
looking at differences between male and female traumatic brain injury more
deeply, and my hope is that that trend will extend to other groups within the
traumatic brain injury patient population," Harris said. "That's what
will enable us to improve outcomes and ensure equitable care for all
people, not just women."
Source: Hanae Armitage, Published on November 11, 2021, https://scopeblog.stanford.edu