Tag Archives: Senate Appropriations Committee

Veterans’ Brain-Injury Cases Surge as Research Funding Falls

Graph showing surge in confirmed veterans brain injury cases from 2018 to 2022 with key contributing factors

New data from the VA’s Traumatic Brain Injury Veterans Health Registry reveals that 556,502 veterans entered the registry between September 2001 and September 2025. (This 26 percent jump in just four years averages more than 28,000 new cases annually since 2021.) This data was make available in July 2026, just as the federal funding for TBI research has dropped from $175 million to $40.5 million. (Of course, this drop does not apply to state funding.)

In a joint statement, Disabled American Veterans National Commander Coleman Nee and Invisible Wounds Foundation CEO Shannon Connell urged Congress “to increase funding and direct greater focus toward service member and veteran-centered TBI research. The response from Congress has echoed this and crossed party lines. In a May 2026 hearing reviewing that budget, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins blasted proposed budget reductions targeting the National Institutes of Health.” Rep. Mike Levin (CA) called the current level “a drastic cut from prior years” and pledged to fight for more funding.

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.