The Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC) project has led to University of Arizona (UArizona) and various affiliates across the State to research new and varying aspects of brain injury.  Looking at the EPIC website, I could find no study report after 2019, and before 2019, there also was a 6-year gap in studies.  However, regardless of the operation of the EPIC Project, it is a well-regarded research university.  To that end, the Department of Defense recently announced that it has provided millions of dollars in grants to UArizona for new research that will increase knowledge and, hopefully, provide better solutions to identify and treat brain injury.

The most intriguing study, at least for a layman like me, is that of a portable video game to detect brain injury for which the DoD provided $1.5 million in funding.  The project, Model Development and Translation of a Virtual Reality Military Operational Neuropsychological Assessment, or VRMONA, involves immersing oneself in a combat-related activity with the use of a VR headset and a hand sensor system.  While one plays the immersive game, data is collected about the player’s accuracy, response time, motor coordination and inhibition.  The goal is to ready its use for the military, though those connected to the study hope that it can be used in civilian life too, such as in sports, in the future.

Additionally, new treatments for brain injury are always sought after by the government.  The University of Arizona Health Sciences was awarded $3 million to study if peptide hormones are an effective treatment for brain injury.  In the four-year study, they will be investigating the efficacy of one specific peptide hormone, angiotensin 1-7, in the treatment of brain injury.  (The NIH has found that, “Peptide hormones play a prominent role in controlling energy homeostasis and metabolism.”)