NIH partners with U.S. Department of Defense for database on traumatic brain injuries

The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense announced the Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) database earlier this week. The database is intended to accelerate research on brain injury treatment and diagnosis, and will house new data, link to current databases and allow comparison of results across studies.

According to the NIH, the database will help in the development of the following:

• A system to classify different types of traumatic brain injury
• More targeted studies to determine treatment effectiveness across varying subjects and conditions
• Enhanced diagnostic criteria for concussions and other brain injuries.
• Predictive markers to identify risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions linked to traumatic brain injury.
• Clearer understanding of the effects of age, sex and other medical conditions on injury and recovery
• Improved evidence-based guidelines for patient care, from the time of injury through rehabilitation.

The FITBIR database is budgeted at $10 million over four years.