Brain scans can detect post-traumatic disorder sooner

Scientists using imaging scans on soldiers have identified brain patterns that signal post-traumatic stress, a finding they will say today could eventually help diagnose the disorder sooner.

The scans of 42 US soldiers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan in the recent past showed that, compared with healthy veterans, those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had marked differences in some areas of brain activity.

The study, to be presented at the World Psychiatric Association Congress in Italy, suggests identifying certain brain patterns could one day help diagnose the disorder before symptoms appear, according to researchers. This, they said, would help track treatment better.