Category Archives: Government/Research

Brain Booster in Easter Basket & Candy Aisle, Year-round

Wicker basket filled with chocolate peanut butter cups and colorful pastel candy eggs.

This Easter, as you unwrap a peanut butter egg, you may be doing your mind a bigger favor than you realize.

Peanut butter is a quiet powerhouse for cognitive health, loaded with niacin (B3) and vitamin E. Though peanuts may be in the legume family, rather than a nut, its brain benefits fall in line with them. A recent and compelling study, published in November 2025 by Clinical Nutrition, and accessible through PubMed, is a randomized crossover trial that gave 31 healthy older adults 60g/day of skin-roasted peanuts for 16 weeks. Using MRI scans as a guide, the authors concluded: “Daily consumption of skin-roasted peanuts for 16 weeks improved brain vascular function in healthy older men and women. These favorable effects may underlie the observed improvements in verbal memory.”

Dark chocolate truffle with a bite taken out revealing a creamy peanut butter center.

The implications run deeper than better recall, as studies have long proven. A 2024 review, prepared under a Defense Health Agency contract, found that, “preclinical studies and early human trials suggest that specific nutrients and diets may offer neuroprotection or benefit during mild TBI rehabilitation.” Peanut butter’s niacin is among the compounds flagged by PubMed research as exhibiting neuroprotective properties by reducing lesion volume, oxidative stress, and neuronal damage after TBI.

The brain benefits of dark chocolate have also been widely proven. So, year-round, if you’re browsing the candy aisle, try looking for dark chocolate peanut butter cups for a brain boost.  

Your Eyes Can Reveal What’s In Your Brain

In March 2026, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus published the results of a study that reveals high-speed eye-tracking technology can detect lasting neurological damage from mild traumatic brain injuries. More so, it showed that the damage that can be detected may be completely invisible to MRI scans, CT imaging, and routine clinical exams. This matters enormously. Current standard concussion assessments are largely subjective and can result in patients being told they’ve recovered when their brains are still struggling.

At the CU’s Marcus Institute for Brain Health, researchers tested 78 military veterans and measured subtle disruptions in eye movement that expose hidden neural damage. The findings were sobering: deficits persisted 10 to 15 years after the original injury. As Dr. Jeffrey Hebert, who led the study, noted, “Even when someone feels recovered, their brain may still be working differently behind the scenes.” Funded by the Department of Defense, this technology offers something conventional medicine currently cannot – objective, documented proof of brain trauma.

Man’s Best Friend Aids Brain Injury Recovery

Dogs are proving to be powerful partners in brain injury rehabilitation, offering benefits across physical, emotional, and speech therapy alike.

A March 2026 story from the University of Colorado Health (UCHealth) system documented Alan Tay, a 71-year-old stroke survivor who credits his border collie Olay with driving his recovery. Working with a neurological physical therapist, Alan used dog agility training to rebuild endurance, coordination, and memory – ultimately winning a national canine competition just three months after his stroke. Emotionally, dogs combat the depression and isolation that frequently accompany brain injury. The above-mentioned UCHealth story also notes that Olay gave Alan the will to push through. An NIH-funded clinical trial confirmed that service dogs may meaningfully reduce PTSD symptoms in military members and veterans.

Dogs can assist with speech recovery, as well. Research shows that aphasia patients produce more verbal and nonverbal communication around therapy dogs, which respond to tone and gesture rather than specific words. Speech therapy in such a uniquely low-pressure and therapeutic environment is highly beneficial for language practice.

The bipartisan SAVES Act, which reached the Senate calendar in February 2026, would fund service dogs for veterans with TBI and PTSD. Introduced by Rep. Morgan Luttrell (TX) on April 2, 2025, H.R.2605 explicitly lists “Traumatic brain injury” as a covered condition, recognizing that a trained service dog can be “optimal for the veteran to manage the disability, condition, or diagnosis and live independently.” In March 2026, America’s VetDogs launched a national campaign during this Brain Injury Awareness Month that highlights service dogs’ life-changing impact for TBI survivors, particularly as it relates to counter-balance support and deep pressure therapy.

Bacterium in Your Lungs May Be Attacking Your Brain

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common respiratory bacterium responsible for millions of cases of pneumonia and sinus infections each year. Most people recover without incident, but a growing body of research suggests the bacterium doesn’t always leave. In a February 2026 study, published in Nature Communications, researchers at Cedars-Sinai found that Chlamydia pneumoniae can linger in the eye and brain for years, potentially aggravating Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists found that greater amounts of the bacterium were associated with more severe brain damage and worse cognitive decline, with elevated bacterial levels especially common in individuals carrying the APOE4 gene variant.

The mechanism is alarming. The bacterium can infect the olfactory and trigeminal nerves and reach the brain within 72 hours, while also dysregulating key pathways involved in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.

The federal government has taken notice. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 spending bill proposed an increase of $100 million for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research at NIH National Institute on Aging. Researchers hope this increased funding hope will accelerate investigation into infection-driven neurodegeneration. What once seemed like an ordinary respiratory bug may prove to be one of the brain’s most dangerous long-term adversaries.

Cerebral Palsy: When a Damaged Brain Leaves a Lasting Mark

The brain injury comes first. Cerebral palsy follows. That distinction matters enormously, as CP is not itself a wound, but rather the permanent shadow one leaves behind.

The NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke guidance, reviewed as recently as March 13, 2026, describes CP as a disorder “caused by changes in the developing brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and maintain posture and balance.” The damage happens; CP is an outcome that the victim must live with in the future.

For most, the injury strikes before they ever draw a first breath. Oxygen deprivation during delivery, bleeding in the brain, or destruction of the delicate white matter surrounding a premature infant’s ventricles collectively account for roughly 80–90% of all cases. The CDC, in a February 2026 update, puts the scale in stark terms: about 1 in every 345 American children has CP, making it the most common childhood motor disability in the country.

Some cases, however, emerge after birth. Meningitis, near-drowning, and traumatic brain injury can all trigger CP, but only during the critical window when the brain is still forming, generally before age five. Once the skull has fully matured, the same injuries are referred to as traumatic brain injuries or acquired brain injuries.

To remedy what many see as the government’s chronic underfunding for CP, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen introduced H.R. 2178, Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act of 2025, on March 18, 2025. As he stated, “Cerebral palsy… is the most prevalent disability that has no designated federal funding for research.” After introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (No further action within the last Congressional session is reported.)

University of Alabama’s COMPASS for Brain Injury Care

The University of Alabama officially launched the COMPASS Brain Health Initiative (Comprehensive Post-Acute Specialty Services) on March 4, 2026, becoming the first clinic of its kind in Alabama. The program provides free, same-day interdisciplinary evaluations for individuals living with the persistent effects of traumatic brain injury.

COMPASS is entirely funded by the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS), making every evaluation free of charge. The state’s involvement runs deep: planning began in October 2025, funding was secured in December 2025, and collaboration spans the Governor’s Office, the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Mental Health, and the justice system. The clinic serves an estimated 102,000 Alabamians living with TBIs, with patients split roughly equally between civilians and veterans.

ADRS TBI Director April B. Turner underscored the program’s significance: “There’s nothing like this that exists. Having a clinic where our veterans or the guard or folks in long-term recovery can come into our centers, and… have specialists that we can refer them to for free…is just pivotal.”

(ADRS also announced five satellite TBI centers across the state, in Birmingham, Mobile, Decatur, Opelika, and Enterprise, extending COMPASS’s reach statewide.)

“Eat Your Vegetables” for a Healthy Brain

Vitamin K is generally known for its role in blood clotting, but scientists have long been uncovering its powerful impact on brain health. Available to view through PubMed, biochemical journal Biofactors noted as far back as 2012, “There is now convincing evidence that vitamin K has important actions in the nervous system.” A 2022 study published in Nature, also available on PubMed, found that vitamin K suppresses ferroptosis, a type of cell death driven by lipid damage and linked to brain injury. 

Vitamin K activates brain proteins Gas6 and protein S, which shield neurons from damage and support cell recovery after injury. While the vitamin is important for all people’s brain health, it is life-or-death for infants. The CDC has reported that babies who don’t receive a vitamin K shot at birth are 81 times more likely to develop Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding [VKDB]. Between 30% and 60% of late-onset cases of VKDB involve brain hemorrhage, and one in five affected infants will die.

More recently, the public medical library published a 2025 Tufts University study, first reported in The Journal of Nutrition, that confirmed “low vitamin K intake reduced menaquinone-4 concentrations in brain tissues and impaired learning- and memory-related cognitive function.” 

Beyond neuroprotection, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes that Vitamin K strengthens bones and supports healthy blood circulation. The old adage of “eat your vegetables” is apropos, as top food sources include kale, spinach, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.    

Developing the “Dancing Molecule”

Northwestern University scientists have developed an injectable nanomaterial, dubbed “dancing molecules”, that cross the blood-brain barrier and shield brain tissue from post-stroke damage. Published January 2026 in Neurotherapeutics, the therapy uses tiny, constantly moving molecular assemblies, known as supramolecular therapeutic peptides (STPs), delivered intravenously that self-organize into nanofibers inside injured brain tissue. In mice, a single IV dose given after blood flow was restored significantly reduced inflammation, tissue death, and harmful immune response with no observed toxicity.

In July 2025, Amphix Bio, the company behind the treatment, posted on LinkedIn: “We are thrilled to announce the FDA has granted an Orphan Drug Designation to AMFX-200, our lead candidate based on the Supramolecular Therapeutic Peptide (STP) platform, for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury. This will accelerate our efforts to bring this novel neuro-regenerative therapeutic to the clinic.”*

* I cannot find any record of human trials of this stroke treatment, as of yet. Additionally, key limitations remain, as results are preclinical only, dosing must be precise to prevent blood clotting, and long-term human safety is unproven.

Liquid Gold for Your Brain: Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Your pantry might hold one of the most powerful brain-protective foods on the planet. Research now links extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), long recognized as a boon to heart health, to a sharply lower risk of dementia, faster brain injury recovery, and protection against the toxic plaques that drive Alzheimer’s disease.

The National Institute on Aging states, “Consuming olive oil is associated with lowering the risk of dementia-related death.” This association was found to be true “regardless of overall diet quality”. These findings were compelling enough that the 2025–2030 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, issued by USDA and HHS, placed olive oil at the center of the new federal nutrition framework.

The 2026 PREDIMED-Plus study, which focused on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, revealed that EVOO works through the gut-brain axis, with participants showing improved memory and cognitive function alongside greater microbiota diversity. Animal studies from 2025 showed that oleocanthal, a polyphenol unique to high-quality EVOO, reduced brain infarct size and sped recovery after traumatic brain injury.

The key is EVOO’s polyphenols, specifically oleocanthal, oleuropein, and hydroxytyrosol, which cross the blood-brain barrier, clear amyloid plaques, and calm neuroinflammation. Only cold-pressed extra virgin oil retains these compounds at therapeutic levels, so quality matters. Refined olive oil could not replicate these results.

Ready to cook for your brain? Try combining EVOO with other ingredients known to promote brain health, such as salmon, or another staple of the Mediterranean diet, mint.

Pentagon’s New Coding Rules Aim to Protect Warfighters

On January 23, 2026, the Department of Defense’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence published updated ICD-10-CM coding guidance specifically for warfighter brain injuries. ICD-10-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification) is the standardized system doctors use to classify and record diagnoses. Without precise codes, injuries go miscounted and undertreated.

The new guidance is particularly critical now, as modern warfare inflicts unique brain hazards. Low-level blast overpressure from repeated weapons firing, extreme G-forces on pilots, and unexplained neurological incidents now have dedicated diagnostic codes, enabling better surveillance and resource allocation.

Just days earlier, on January 20, the Center released a research review revealing that mild TBI raises PTSD risk two- to threefold, findings that will shape military treatment protocols. Meanwhile, the Army’s baseline cognitive screening program, launched in August 2024, aims to assess every troop’s brain health proactively.