Suffering a traumatic brain injury may come with an additional risk besides concussion.

Ross Zafonte, Executive Vice Dean of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, explores this.

The University of Missouri, School of Medicine selected Dr. Ross Zafonte, DO, to serve as the Executive Vice Dean, effective October 1, 2024. In his role, Dr. Zafonte oversees the development and assessment of the medical school’s 23 academic departments.

Dr. Zafonte is a nationally and internationally recognized physician-scientist, whose work in the field of rehabilitation medicine focuses on traumatic brain and spinal cord injury recovery. Dr. Zafonte came to MU from Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham, where he served as the president of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and as the Earl P. and Ida S. Charlton Professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Previously, Dr. Zafonte has also served as chief medical officer and designated institutional officer of Spaulding.

Under Dr. Zafonte’s leadership, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital consistently achieved top rankings in U.S. News & World Report and research funding tripled under his guidance. This enabled Spaulding to become the only center national to host three National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research-model research centers, focusing on pioneering studies in neurorehabilitation.

Dr. Zafonte has played a pivotal role in the establishment and leadership Mass General Brigham/Red Sox Foundation Home Base Program, dedicated to serving veterans with traumatic brain injuries and psychological health conditions. He has also been at the forefront of research to improve the health and well-being of athletes through his role as principal investigator of the Football Players Health Study at Harvard.

Dr. Zafonte earned his DO from Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency in Rehabilitation Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Zafonte also completed his postdoctoral training and faculty role at MU in 1991.

A blow to the head can change a life in an instant.

And, as our new research shows, it may also change the brain’s future.

Much of my career has focused on brain injuries and recovery.

Recently, my research team took a closer look at the connection between traumatic brain injury—often called TBI—and brain cancer.

Earlier studies showed that veterans who sustained TBIs during their service faced a higher risk of developing brain tumors.

But those findings raised an important question: was that risk related only to the unique experiences of military service, such as combat stress or exposure to toxins, or would we see the same outcomes in the civilian population?

To answer that, we studied more than 150,000 civilian adults across three large health systems.

This is the most comprehensive study of its kind to date.

What we found is significant.

While patients who experienced a mild TBI, such as a concussion, did not face a higher risk, those who suffered a moderate to severe TBI were about 50 percent more likely to develop a malignant brain tumor later in life.

We don’t yet fully understand why this happens. It may be due to changes in the way brain cells handle energy or because of increased inflammation in the brain and nervous system after an injury or even perhaps related to additional radiation exposure.

But what we do know is that this research highlights an opportunity.

Patients with a history of moderate to severe TBI could benefit from more careful screening. Detecting tumors earlier makes treatment far more effective and improves patient outcomes.

This study is an important step toward protecting the health of people who have endured serious brain injuries, and it opens the door to further research that could save lives.

Read More:[JAMA Network] – Traumatic Brain Injury and Risk of Malignant Brain Tumors in Civilian Populations

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Ross Zafonte, University of Missouri – Link Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Tumors

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Ross Zafonte, University of Missouri – Link Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Brain Tumors