Category Archives: Government/Research

Examination of Lindsay Clancy’s Brain

As widely reported, on September 4, the judge declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial. Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, pleaded not guilty to killing her three children on Jan. 24, 2023. Her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a psychiatric disorder. Prosecutors, however, called on a forensic psychiatrist, who testified that she “retained the capacities that were required for having criminal responsibility,” ABC News reported.

Questions about brain injury came up in the medical testimony. A January 24 jump from a second-floor window, following the strangulation of her kids, left Clancy paralyzed from the waist down. While one doctor testified that Clancy’s head CT was “unremarkable,” as reported by Boston 25, a defense pathologist testified that Clancy did a “freefall dive head first,” causing a C1 (first cervical vertebra) Jefferson fracture.

According to a 2021 report available on the NLM database, “Jefferson fractures with potential tears in the transverse ligament can cause cervical spine instability and can result in neurologic injury if not appropriately diagnosed and managed.” The NLM database also includes the results of a 2011 study on the rare neurological condition Collet-Sicard Syndrome due to Jefferson fracture. The report reveals that the examined patient had decreased gag reflex on the left side, decreased laryngeal elevation, tongue deviation to the left side, and atrophy of the left trapezius. Jefferson fracture, though, does not directly cause cognitive impairment.

Newsweek reported that Clancy had no skull fracture or brain bleed. A psychiatrist testified that Clancy’s brief delirium in the hospital could have been caused by anesthesia, oxygen problems or an elevated heart rate, and that it resolved, reported CBS Boston and Fox News. After the trial, defense attorney Kevin Reddington claimed she came out of “this obvious coma” with “no memory,” CNN reported.

As of now, no decision on whether or not to retry the case appears to have been made.

Christa Pike Survived Her Execution. Did Her Mind?

Tennessee tried to execute Christa Gail Pike via lethal injection on September 30. The convicted killer was unsuccessfully given two doses of pentobarbital. (According to the NLM database, pentobarbital is a barbiturate that primarily acts on the central nervous system. It is approved by the FDA for managing seizures, status epilepticus, and short-term treatment of insomnia. In higher doses, it is an anticonvulsant for emergent seizure control and for inducing medically induced comas.)  Currently, Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator. She has burned and blistered arms, suggesting the drug leaked into tissue instead of her veins. A brain injury is likely but has not been confirmed.

Nearly all execution methods kill by depriving the brain of oxygen. Pentobarbital suppresses breathing. Nitrogen removes oxygen directly. Beyond pharmaceutical means, electrocution can burn the brainstem, and hanging and firing squads cut off blood flow. However, a method may not fully work, as a person can survive a stretch of low oxygen, resulting in hypoxic brain injury.oxygen

Periodic table featuring pentobarbital only

Earlier survivors of pharmaceutical execution, including Romell Broom and Kenneth Smith, lived because staff never got an IV line working. Pike is the first person known to survive after the drugs were given.

In a broader sense, recreational drug overdose often involves medications used in the medical field, but at a much smaller dose. Typically, emergency services often come quickly. Reportedly, it took more than an hour for Pike to receive emergency treatment. According to prison protocol, inmates who survive or experience acute medical distress during the process are legally required to be transferred to an off-site medical facility for life-saving care.

Her recovery depends on how long her brain was deprived of oxygen, which is unknown. The law generally allows a second attempt. But if she can no longer understand why she is being executed, Supreme Court rulings forbid it. Gov. Bill Lee has paused executions in Tennessee pending an independent review.

As of now, no decision on whether or not to retry the case appears to have been made.

When Bears Attack

Rocky forest trail leading toward snow-capped mountains and winding river

On Sept. 14, a 20-year-old bowhunter near Augusta, Montana, surprised a grizzly near a cow carcass. Badly hurt, the injured man still drove himself home. In May, a mother grizzly with cubs mauled two brothers at Yellowstone. The older brother needed facial reconstruction and care for a head wound.

Unfortunately, head injuries are a relatively common consequence of a bear attack, as bears typically strike the head, face or neck first. These strikes can then result in skull fractures and traumatic brain injury. In one study of 417 bear-attack victims, 55% had head injuries. While bear attacks are rare, roughly 11 brown-bear attacks a year occur in North America. These attacks are clustered, with Alaska, Montana, Wyoming and British Columbia known to be grizzly bear backcountry.

Western governors want control of grizzly management to return to the states. “The endangered species list is not a dean’s list,” Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said in July. “It’s time that [the grizzly] bear graduates.” Peak season for bear attacks is from July through September, as bears eat up to 20,000 calories a day to fatten up before hibernation.  According to 2024 information found in the NLM database, “upper‐body injury results from bears often attacking from a standing position, targeting the head and neck,” so be wary of a standing bear.

Year round, caution is recommended for those who traverse bear-friendly terrain: carry bear spray, travel in groups and make noise. The U.S. National Park Service and other wildlife authorities advise that if a grizzly attacks, lie face-down with your hands clasped over your neck. Fight back against black bears.

“From Invisible Injury to Precision Medicine” with Metabolism

The mildest brain injuries, the most common, leave no trace on CT or MRI scans. New research says the answer to this conundrum may lie in metabolism, how the injured brain burns fuel.

Diagram of brain glucose metabolism, oxygen use, ATP production, and neuronal energy pathways

In a July 2026 Open Access Government article, VA and University of Washington scientist James Meabon argues that FDG-PET (Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography), which uses a radioactive sugar tracer to show the brain’s glucose use, can expose blast injury where structural scans cannot. Tracking the executive-function problems of 79 blast-injured veterans, this Journal of Neurotrauma study found that a single deep-brain hotspot heightened glucose uptake in the left pallidum.

At the molecular level, a May 2026 npj Metabolic Health and Disease journal review details how blast-related injuries stall the brain’s energy cycle. In particular, metabolites – succinate, lactate, altered pyruvate-dehydrogenase activity – it “spills” into blood and urine.

While the work was funded by the Department of Defense, VA, and NIH, and focused on brain injury in the military, the findings are universally applicable. “By viewing blast injury through metabolism,” Meabon writes, medicine can move “from invisible injury to precision medicine.”

Guarding the Farmer’s Brain: 80+ Years of Farm Safety Week

When most people picture a farm, they imagine open fields and fresh air. However, farming is one of the most dangerous workplaces in America. “According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 in 10 farmers will overturn a tractor in his or her lifetime,” said Senator Chuck Grassley (IO), member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, in 2024.

A study in the Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health found intracranial injuries were the third-leading cause of death among fatally injured U.S. farmers (16.1%), while research in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reported that head, face, and neck injuries make up 16% of agricultural workers’ compensation claims.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the first proclamation to acknowledge the 3rd week of September as National Farm Safety and Health Week. Every president since has renewed it. Since 1997, the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety (NECAS), partnered with the AgriSafe Network, has led the efforts to provide critical health, rescue training, and safety education during this week.

This year’s week, September 21–25, 2026, carries the theme “Safety Today, Success Tomorrow.”

Domino Effect: How a Concussion Can Buckle a Body

A mild traumatic brain injury doesn’t just rattle the head; it may set the stage for a torn ligament or a stress fracture. In June 2026, the JAMA Network published the findings of a study that found U.S. servicemembers who suffered a mTBI, such as a concussion. The researchers tracked 26,784 troops who enlisted between 2016 and 2020. Musculoskeletal injuries are the leading cause of lost duty days in the military, and it was found that those who had a mTBI were 2.24 times more likely to later suffer this secondary injury.

Infographic titled “BI-DIRECTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURY AND mTBI,” showing four steps: 1. ACUTE CAUSE—Falls, collisions, and physical impact can lead to both MSK injury and head impact (mTBI). 2. RISK FACTOR FOR RECOVERY—Pain, restricted mobility, and changes in physical activity hinder cognitive rest and rehabilitation. 3. INCREASED MSK RISK—mTBI symptoms increase vulnerability to falls and subsequent MSK injuries. 4. ALTERED MECHANICS—Neurological deficits and slow reaction times lead to improper movement patterns and higher re-injury rates.
This infographic explains how musculoskeletal injuries and mild traumatic brain injuries can reinforce one another through a cycle of pain, impaired recovery, and increased reinjury risk.

“There appears to be a bi-directional relationship between musculoskeletal injury and mild traumatic brain injury,” said Amy Silder, PhD, a biomedical engineer at the Naval Health Research Center. Referred to as post-concussion syndrome, PCS can include a disruption of balance, coordination, and reaction time long after the headaches fade. As is, it costs the military billions of dollars a year and leaves tens of thousands of troops unable to deploy.

The study’s authors urge clinicians to screen troops’ bodies after any brain injury. Screening concussion patients for lingering physical deficits, the researchers say, could keep more service members healthy and ready. (Though this recent study focused on the military, the clinical suggestions seem that they would be true for all those who have suffered a mTBI.)

Coast Guard Forced to Confront Brain Injuries

Coast Guard boat at sea

Coast Guard “surfmen” continuously absorb thousands of violent wave impacts while piloting rescue boats through rough surf. As the director of the University of Miami’s concussion program told the local NBC affiliate, “These are… significant waves, and sometimes it’s like hitting a concrete wall.” On July 31, 2026, US Coast Guard finally acknowledged the danger, through Admiral Kevin Lunday’s statement: “We owe it to [the crew] to protect [their] long-term health from the damage caused by relentless wave pound, blast overpressure and other concussive events that may cause injury.”

This reckoning was prompted by a citizen-investigation by 18-year-old Kayleigh Bonner, whose surfman father died by suicide in 2025. Soon after, this information was picked up by the New York Times, who reported that the service “has never studied the hazard that waves may pose to the brain.”

Repeated impacts can cause cumulative brain trauma, CTE-like degeneration, as the brain moves back-and-forth inside the skull. It has been determined that fast-boat operators have a roughly 45 percent chance of traumatic brain injury, but recreational boaters, powerboat racers, and commercial mariners are at risk too.

The US Coast Guard now pledges decisive action to better prevent, detect, and treat those effected by the impact of consistent wave pounding, and other such neurologically damaging events. On an individual scale, precautions include shock-mitigating suspension seats, gravitational force (G-force) sensors, speed limits, medical baselines, and prompt symptom reporting.

An Investigation into the Navy’s Response

On September 8, 2026, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer and Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs Chairman William Timmons released “Unseen Impacts.” This report capped an investigation that began last year into the Navy’s Project Odin’s Eye, which purportedly delved into potential brain injury in naval aviators who routinely endure up to nine Gs, from catapult launches and high-G turns. Navy medical officials then reasoned, in Catch-22 fashion, that with no evidence a problem existed, no study was needed. Therefore, none was done.

This secret TOPGUN program wasn’t disclosed to Navy leadership until the New York Times exposed it in 2024. Now, after examining Project Odin’s Eye, investigators have concluded that the program’s “research” wasn’t TRUE research.  Based on this new information, the Committee and Subcommittee are now urging Congress to mandate a comprehensive long-term aviator brain health study.

For more information on Project Odin’s Eye: https://tbionthehill.com/2025/09/17/navys-secret-brain-injury-study/

Parents File Lawsuit After NJ Child’s Tragedy in a “Safe Sport”, Previously Studied for TBI Benefits 

Badminton is one of the safest recreational sports, but as with all sports, it isn’t risk-free. The 2024 death of six-year-old Lucy Morgan of Stockholm, New Jersey, shows how a freak accident can turn devastating, even for spectators. On June 1, 2024, Lucy was sitting on the sideline when the aluminum shaft of a badminton racquet dislodged from its wooden handle and struck her in the head, piercing her skull. Surgeons operated to reduce brain swelling, but she died from her injuries on June 5, 2024. In August 2026, her parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the sports center, alleging the racket was defective.

Wheelchair badminton player and standing opponent reaching for shuttlecock

The federal government has long been aware that, as with all sports, badminton can cause injury. In 1990, the National Library of Medicine published a report that found for those who suffered a badminton injury, 1.8 percent had a head injury. Decades later, the government examined the benefits of badminton: in 2022, an NLM-published review of 27 studies that related to “’badminton AND health’ and ‘badminton AND benefits’” The analysis was that “compared with other types of physical sporting activities, badminton offers, for the most part, better outcomes pertaining to the three types of health (physical, mental and social), with benefits also seen for disabled individuals and even in visual health.”

Guidance is consistent about when and to what level a brain-injured individual should begin playing sports again, including badminton, advising that you should only start a sport or exercise once you’ve had medical clearance by a doctor. After that, the recommendation is that you progress slowly, while you enjoy its benefits.

Cook Brainfood With the Right Pan

Fried egg with colorful sautéed vegetables in a skillet

Every time you fry an egg or sauté a vegetable, the nonstick pan’s coating exposes you to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAs). In fact, these “forever chemicals” reportedly are detectable in more than 99% of people. Research increasingly ties this seemingly inescapable PFA injection increasingly ties them to neurological risk.

A 2026 University of Miami study in Environmental Research report on the findings of this study drew wide attention last month, July 2026: Higher blood levels of the PFAS compound PFHxS were associated with roughly 53% greater odds of multiple sclerosis, climbing to about 56% in women, with the most-exposed participants more than 3.5 times as likely to have MS. MS is a widely known possible consequence of brain injury. [Scientists caution, though, that this evidence is associational, not proof of cause.]  Animal studies have provided further evidence that PFAS can build up in the brain tissue and disrupt learning and memory.

Irrespective of these concerns, nonstick pans remain valuable, as they make it easier to cook low-oil foods like eggs, salmon, walnuts, and leafy greens that nourish the brain. So, to protect yourself, recommendations include: (1) avoid overheating pans, (2) never preheat pens empty, (3) ventilate your kitchen, (4) use wood or silicone utensils, and (5) replace scratched or pre-2015 pans.