Hidden Price of a Cruise: Hantavirus’ Effect on the Brain

A cruise though the South Atlantic sounds like a dream vacation, but for eighteen Americans, the trip ended as a nightmare. After MV Hondius returned to the United States on May 11, two passengers were placed in biocontainment units because they had developed Andes virus, a strain of the hantavirus. The World Health Organization confirmed this, with eight cases and three deaths reported as of May 8.

In relation to the neurological effects of the virus, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome invades the brain indirectly. Drawing on cases traceable to the 1993 American Southwest outbreak and documented in NLM PubMed literature as far back as 1998, the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society found that hantavirus pulmonary syndrome survivors exhibited cognitive impairments immediately after acute hospitalization and again at a one-year follow-up, with memory deficits resembling those seen in patients who have suffered brain anoxia, starving the brain of oxygen in a way that mirrors traumatic anoxic injury. Some research also suggests the virus may damage the blood-brain barrier, producing CNS symptoms including headache, insomnia, and vertigo, though this remains incompletely understood. Lasting effects include fatigue, memory loss, and attentional deficits.

Treatment mirrors the approach taken with other forms of acquired brain injury: supportive intensive care, cognitive rehabilitation, and neuropsychological monitoring. A 2024 multicenter cohort study of Andes virus survivors in Chile found that 61.9% reported incomplete recovery at three to six months post-onset, with clustering of both physical and neuropsychological symptoms across patient groups regardless of whether they required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Responding to the 2026 cruise ship outbreak, Admiral Brian Christine, the Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for health, told reporters, “Let me be crystal clear: the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very, very low. The Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily.” While the virus can be spread from person-to-person, Andes virus spreads primarily through contact with the urine, saliva, or droppings of infected rodents. Unfortunately, there is currently no approved vaccine for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the United States.

Brain Injury Community in Crosshairs of Bipartisan “Claim Sharks” Bill

“We will be suspending your Social Security number because we found some suspicious activities on your Social Security. If you want more information about this case, press 1. Thank you.”

Smartphone screen displaying a scam likely call with decline button being pressed

While the above “Robocall Scam Example”, listed on the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Advice webpage, may seem to be an obvious scam when viewed in print, the same may not be said when abruptly faced with the concern – particularly if you already have cognitive disabilities. In response to this reality, a new bipartisan bill targets predatory for-profit companies that use robocall software to harvest veterans’ disability data from federal phone lines Advocates state this practice poses a particular threat to veterans living with traumatic brain injury.

Introduced on March 26, 2026, by Rep. Chris Pappas (NH), the Veterans Benefits Information Protection Act, H.R. 8120, was prompted by a 2025 NPR investigation: Florida-based Trajector Medical “CallBot” auto-dialer program placed tens of thousands of monthly calls to a VA hotline, inputting veterans’ Social Security numbers and birthdays to detect disability rating increases and trigger automated billing both with and without veterans’ knowledge.

In addition to Pappas, H.R.8120 counts a bipartisan list of co-sponsors, including Rep. Don Bacon (NE), a retired Air Force brigadier general and co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force.  “Our veterans should never be targeted by bad actors trying to profit off their hard-earned benefits,” says Bacon, adding that the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 26,2026, “takes a commonsense approach to crack down on predatory practices and protect veterans from exploitation.”

* Scamming, of course, does not solely refer to robocalls. In recent years, the government has given more attention to cyber scams, and particularly as it relates to the disabled. In 2024, the Journal of International Medical Research addressed cyber scams and acquired brain injury, available to PubMed, noting that, “People with acquired brain injury may be more susceptible to scams owing to postinjury cognitive and psychosocial consequences.”)

Pregnant Brain’s Resilience Comes With Risk

Diagram showing pregnant woman with brain regions labeled for hormone regulation, emotional processing, memory, planning, and neural plasticity, plus uterus and fetus.

As any person who has given birth will confirm, pregnancy transforms nearly every system in the body. The brain is no exception to this change. Much of this neurological alteration is remarkably positive, but, as with other major body occurrences, some of it is genuinely alarming.

Estrogen and progesterone, which surges throughout pregnancy, are now being studied as neuroprotective and neuroregenerative agents in strokes and other brain injuries. Research shows these hormones can reduce the injury cascade by enhancing antioxidant mechanisms, reduce excitotoxicity, and stimulate remyelination. As researchers put it: “Estrogen seems more effective as a prophylactic treatment in females at risk for ischemic brain injury, whereas progesterone appears more helpful in post-injury treatment of both male and female subjects with acute traumatic brain damage.” Additionally, the 2022 Rotterdam Study, available on PubMed, examined 2,835 women over decades, finding that pregnancy and childbirth are associated with a robustly larger global gray matter volume that persists for decades.

The story, though, isn’t all rosy. More recently, contradictory study results have been found. 2025 MRI research published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, found on PubMed, showed that pregnancy reduces total cortical gray matter volume by an average of 3%, with losses concentrated in regions linked to social cognition and self-awareness. More acutely, an estimated 7.7 – 15% of all maternal deaths worldwide are caused by stroke, and 30 – 50% of surviving women are left with persistent neurological deficits. “Female stroke survivors were more than twice as likely as their stroke-free counterparts to have another stroke while pregnant and in the six weeks after childbirth,” reported the 2026 American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference.

Ultimately, the pregnant brain endures, often emerging stronger. But, as with every activity that has a significant effect on the body’s function, proper monitoring is required, with even more caution needed for those with a history of brain injury.

Tiny “Brain” Yields Big Answers About Concussions

Gloved hand holding tweezers manipulating a miniature brain organoid in a petri dish on a lab bench

What if a pea-sized cluster of lab-grown cells could unlock the mysteries of brain injury? Researchers at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science have been doing just that:

Reported by UC on April 21, 2026, UC Assistant Professor Volha “Olga” Liaudanskaya has engineered a tiny, functioning replica of human brain tissue that researchers can safely study. Termed a “mini-brain”, these lab-grown models combine three types of brain cells with two vascular cell types. This, then, creates a complex five-cell system she can observe in living tissue. Simulating concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries on this model, UC engineers can uncover how blunt-force impacts trigger cellular chain reactions that may ultimately lead to long-term neurodegenerative diseases. (Prior models lacked the vascular components, which researchers now recognize as key, driving brain inflammation and degeneration, perhaps reshaping how America protects its athletes, veterans, and kids.)

According to 2026 estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children alone sustain nearly 4 million concussions every year, so the results of this “mini” innovation may be enormous.

Kansas Official Honored for Championing Brain Injury Survivors

On April 17, 2026, Kansas Secretary of the Department for Aging and Disability Services Laura Howard was named the 2026 Brain Injury Champion for her work that has helped thousands of families in the State navigate life after a brain injury. Howard was recognized at the Brain Injury Association of Kansas & Greater Kansas City Annual Professional Conference in Topeka, a distinction that places her at the center of one of the most important disability policy conversations in the State.

As a gubernatorially-appointed cabinet secretary, Howard oversees Kansas’s Medicaid Brain Injury Waiver, a program that funds rehabilitation support for brain injury survivors. Under her leadership, the waiver was expanded to cover a broader range of injuries and now includes children under 16, nearly doubling the number of people it helps. Even Kansas Governor Laura Kelly took notice, publicly praising Howard’s “commitment to supporting Kansans with brain injuries and improving access to care.”

When the Floor Hits Back: Brain Injury in Basketball

Spurs player making a layup shot over a Portland Trail Blazers defender in a crowded basketball arena

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama tumbled face-first on the court in the second quarter of Game 2, on Tuesday, April 21, at the NBA Playoffs against Portland. The accident was both a serious blow to the player and the team, as Wembanyama averages 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. Fortunately, he returned for Game 4 of the game series, which San Antonio ultimately won. However, it is a sobering reminder both that nobody is concussion-proof and of the immense importance of NBA’s Concussion Protocol.

Through the years, incidents like Wembanyama’s head trauma have become more common and with greater consequences, as today’s NBA players are stronger and more athletic than those from the past. Due to this situation, the NBA finally had the wherewithal to institute a Concussion Protocol in the 2011–12 season. Before it, reportedly just 5.7 concussions were recorded per season in the League. Afterward, that number nearly tripled, not because the game suddenly got much more dangerous, but because of more “accurate reporting secondary to advances in player education, medical knowledge, national media coverage, and standardized testing protocols,” states a 2019 study, Concussions in the National Basketball Association: An Analysis from 1999-2018, available on PubMed.gov.

“A player diagnosed with a concussion should be regularly monitored for 24 hours … the player may not begin the return-to-participation exertion process until 24 hours after the time of injury,” read the original Protocol. In 2026, the Protocol is more rigorous: a player cannot return to full participation for at least 48 hours and must successfully complete cognitive tests before clearance.

High school basketball players in action with one driving past defender near the basket

Beyond the pros, college players are at risk, as are basketball players still in high school and younger. In the 2023 – 2024 season, approximately 250,000 students sustained concussions across nine high school sports, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Accordingly, Senator Dick Durbin (IL) introduced Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act on September 18, 2025. At that time, S.2889 was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. On February 17, 2026, Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act was introduced to the House by Representative Mark DeSaulnier (CA). H.R.7590 was then referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. No action has been taken on either bill since their introductions. (While no federal sports concussion law yet exists, all 50 states have adopted youth sports concussion laws.)

Although injuries do happen, most notably in the NBA, ultimately a player is responsible for their own safety. In August 2024, the government published a systematic review, Sure Steps: Key Strategies for Protecting Basketball Players from Injuries, available on PubMed. Five of the six strategies highlight neuromuscular training, which includes strength work, stabilization or core, mobility, and agility.

VA Health Care Uses New Treatment Tech to Bring Silence

Lenire tinnitus therapy device with handheld control, headphones, and tongue stimulator

For many, a brain injury doesn’t end when the wound heals. One of its most persistent aftereffects of brain injury is tinnitus, a relentless ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears that no one else can hear. Scientifically. when the brain sustains trauma, the auditory pathways that process sound can become dysregulated, causing the nervous system to essentially generate phantom noise around the clock. Affecting up to 53% of people who sustain traumatic brain injury, tinnitus is not just annoying, it can fuel anxiety, disrupt sleep, and greatly erode quality of life.

Tinnitus is also the leading service-connected disability among veterans. Up to three-quarters of veterans with a brain injury, especially blast-induced brain injuries, will develop tinnitus. In response, a major new treatment is in development: “The Atlanta VA Health Care System marked a significant milestone in Veteran care on April 2, 2026, with the first use of the Lenire tinnitus treatment technology,” reported the Office of Veterans Affairs. FDA-cleared, the Lenire treatment is a bimodal neuromodulation device that stimulates both the tongue and the ears simultaneously to retrain the brain’s response to tinnitus. Rather than masking the phantom sound, it targets the neurological root of the problem.

Neuromod Devices, the medtech company behind the Lenire treatment, states their device is “Effective, Safe and Calming”. For veterans and others who have long suffered, this launch may mean real relief is finally within reach.

Morning Joe’s Benefits Come with Caution for TBI Survivors

brain made of coffee swirling

The day doesn’t truly begin until that first cup of coffee is in hand for a countless number of people. It’s ritual, comfort, and fuel! However, what does caffeine do to an injured brain?

According to a June 2025 article from Nutrients, a peer-reviewed journal that is also available on PubMed, research revealed that caffeine can function both as a neuroprotectant and a neurotoxin for those with a traumatic brain injury. Whether it can be a boon or a burden hinges on dosage, timing, and context. At low-to-moderate amounts, such as a morning brew, caffeine may reduce TBI-associated inflammation, oxidative stress, and intracranial pressure, enhance alertness and reduce mental fatigue, critical for cognitive rehabilitation. On the other hand, in young people experiencing repetitive moderate TBI, it was found that caffeine consumption disrupts normal brain pruning processes. This can potentially lead to further neurological and behavioral impairments.

Adding to this complex connection, Neuropharmacology, a journal that focuses on research about neuroscience that can also be found on PubMed, published the findings of a 2026 University College London study about caffeine citrate, a medication used to treat a lack of breathing in premature babies: while intended to stimulate breathing centers, higher doses of caffeine citrate can result in toxicity. (However, it appears that the “babies” that were studied were piglets.)

The takeaway is similar to that of other treatment possibilities: your coffee habit may be doing your brain favors – or not – so caution is warranted.

What the Reclassification of Marijuana Means for the Brain Injured

“Justice Department Places FDA-Approved Marijuana Products and Products Containing Marijuana Subject to a Qualifying State-issued License in Schedule III, Strengthening Medical Research While Maintaining Strict Federal Controls.” This headline, which appeared on the Department of Justice’s official website on April 23, 2026, refers to the Executive Order signed by President Trump.

Advocates and politicians have pushed for this change for years, arguing cannabis carries undeniable medical value. As of April 2026, medical marijuana use is legal in 40 states. Following many years of federal research that confirmed the potential benefits of marijuana use for medical conditions, this Executive Order reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I, the most restrictive federal drug category, to the less regulated Schedule III. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the decision, “allows for research on the safety and efficacy of this substance, ultimately providing patients with better care and doctors with more reliable information.”

For brain injury survivors, the implications may be significant. One study, available on PubMed, found that patients with acquired brain injury have reported improvements in mood, anxiety, headache, sleep, and quality of life through medical cannabis use. Government-funded research also indicates that the non-psychoactive cannabis compound CBD, and THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis that is responsible for the “high”, may be effective for pain management, anxiety, and insomnia, all of which are common symptoms following brain injury. (These benefits are debatable. Another major analysis found that medicinal cannabis does not effectively treat anxiety, depression, or PTSD, and may even worsen mental health in some cases.)

As always, caution is warranted. The CDC has proven that cannabis use affects brain development. Beyond brain development, a 2024 CDC report states, “cannabis use directly affects brain function — specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, attention, decision-making, coordination, emotions, and reaction time.” Chronic marijuana consumption may reduce dopamine responsivity, increase negative emotionality, and induce anhedonia, meaning a reduced ability to experience pleasure or a loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. These possible negative consequences are a significant concern for survivors, who already have cognitive issues and may struggle with low motivation.

While this rescheduling opens the door to better science, always consult a physician before using cannabis.

CDC Determines the Price of Brain Injury

Model of a human brain made from folded US one-dollar bills on a wooden desk

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not just a health crisis, it’s a financial one for the individual and the government, at large. According to a March 2026 CDC report, a compilation of more than a decade of research, “the average cost of nonfatal TBI injuries per person initially treated in an emergency department was approximately $4,530 in related medical spending and $1,500 in work loss over one year. These costs are higher for those who need inpatient care, with $51,241 in medical expenses and $6,110 in lost work.”

As everyone is at risk for a brain injury, understanding these costs is an important component in evaluating the impact of brain injury.

(Visit the CDC’s Economics of Injury and Violence Prevention page, published on March 16, 2026, to explore the full data and learn what policymakers are doing to address it.)