• A Rădoi, M A Poca, V Cañas, J M Cevallos, L Membrado, M C Saavedra, M Vidal, F Martínez-Ricarte, and J Sahuquillo.
• Unidad de Investigación de Neurotraumatología y Neurocirugía (UNINN), Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, España.
• Neurologia (Engl Ed). 2018 Sep 1; 33 (7): 427-437.

IntroductionMild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has traditionally been considered to cause no significant brain damage since symptoms spontaneously remit after a few days. However, this idea is facing increasing scrutiny. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the presence of early cognitive alterations in a series of patients with mTBI and to link these findings to different markers of brain damage.MethodsWe conducted a prospective study of a consecutive series of patients with mTBI who were evaluated over a 12-month period. Forty-one (3.7%) of the 1144 included patients had experienced a concussion. Patients underwent a routine clinical evaluation and a brain computed tomography (CT) scan, and were also administered a standardised test for post-concussion symptoms within the first 24hours of mTBI and also 1 to 2 weeks later. The second assessment also included a neuropsychological test battery. The results of these studies were compared to those of a control group of 28 healthy volunteers with similar characteristics. Twenty patients underwent an MRI scan.ResultsVerbal memory and learning were the cognitive functions most affected by mTBI. Seven out of the 20 patients with normal CT findings displayed structural alterations on MR images, which were compatible with diffuse axonal injury in 2 cases.ConclusionsResults from this pilot study suggest that early cognitive alterations and structural brain lesions affect a considerable percentage of patients with post-concussion syndrome following mTBI.Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

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