North Vancouver brain researcher Dr. Rob Tarzwell cracks science magazine's Top 20 list

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Research by a Lions Gate Hospital doctor has drawn the attention of Discover magazine. 

      A new imaging technique can show the differences between posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, a breakthrough that’s being considered as one of the 20 most important science stories of 2015

      Dr. Rob Tarzwell coauthored two studies into the development.

      Clinical research director for mental health at Lions Gate Hospital, Tarzwell is a specialist in both psychiatry and nuclear medicine. He was invited by researchers from UCLA and Amen Clinics International to co-lead the studies about posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury.

      One, called “Functional Neuroimaging Distinguishes Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from Traumatic Brain Injury in Focused and Large Community Datasets”, is the largest functional neuroimaging study in history, with 21,143 subjects.

      Published in July 2015, in PLOS ONE, the study demonstrates how brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images accurately distinguish PTSD from TBI when compared against healthy controls and also against cohorts with a high burden of psychiatric disease.

      PTSD and TBI patients have overlapping symptoms, including amnesia, insomnia, irritability, reduced frustration tolerance, and low mood and energy. However, treatments for the two conditions are very different. By being able to distinguish between the two disorders, health professionals will be able to tailor therapy to the individual for better health outcomes.

      The research is particularly useful for combat veterans, who frequently suffer from both PTSD and TBI.

      “In situations where PTSD and TBI coexist, we want to avoid treatments for one condition which could slow down recovery of the other condition,” Tarzwell said in a Vancouver Coastal Health statement. “For instance, it is very common to use sedatives in PTSD. These are very unhelpful in TBI, because they only exacerbate the main problem: under activity in the central nervous system. However, we also know from survey data that possibly as many as two thirds of individuals with PTSD and TBI do receive sedative medication as part of their treatment.”

      The use of brain scans for better diagnoses of PTSD and TBI was selected as #19 by Discover magazine in its annual Top 100 Stories for 2015.

      “We were pleased simply to be noticed by Discover, and to be considered one of the 20 most important science stories of the year is really an almost indescribable thrill and certainly a career highlight,” Tarzwell said.

      Comments