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TBI and PTSD in Military & Veteran Health

TBI and PTSD frequently co-occur in military veterans and trauma survivors. GLIA Diagnostics’ primary development programme remains focused on TBI — and GLIA is also exploring collaborative research opportunities examining whether its PoC platform could ultimately extend to other validated miRNA biomarker panels, including PTSD.

The TBI–PTSD Diagnostic Challenge

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently co-occur in military veterans, first responders, and survivors of physical trauma. Both conditions share overlapping symptoms — including cognitive difficulties, sleep disturbance, irritability, and emotional dysregulation — making accurate differential diagnosis extremely challenging using clinical assessment alone.

The frequent co-occurrence of TBI and PTSD creates significant diagnostic complexity. Both conditions share overlapping symptoms, and in many veterans both are present simultaneously — making it important to assess and address each condition rather than assume one excludes the other. Objective biological markers that reflect brain injury may help clinicians better characterise the neurological component of a presentation, complementing psychological assessment.

The Scale of the Problem

~20%

Historical studies estimated probable deployment-related TBI in approximately 20% of returning OEF/OIF service members

33–39%

In large OEF/OIF Veteran studies, approximately 33–39% of those with probable mild TBI also had probable PTSD

~90–95%

of patients scanned following mild TBI show no intracranial injury on CT — leaving diagnosis reliant on symptom reporting

Significant

healthcare costs associated with TBI-PTSD comorbidity in veteran populations — accurate diagnosis supports more targeted and effective care

The Clinical Problem

Why TBI and PTSD Are So Difficult to Distinguish

Both TBI and PTSD can produce headaches, memory problems, concentration difficulties, and mood changes. Standard neuroimaging is often normal in mild TBI, and there is no validated blood test currently approved to confirm mTBI in the context of PTSD co-occurrence. Clinicians must rely on patient history, symptom checklists, and neuropsychological testing — all of which can be confounded by the presence of both conditions simultaneously.

GLIA’s miRNA biomarker platform offers a potential pathway to greater objectivity — providing a biological signal of neuronal injury that may complement psychological assessment and symptom reporting. Objective biological assessment of TBI may ultimately assist clinicians where overlapping symptoms complicate assessment, subject to further clinical validation. This remains under development and requires further clinical validation before any diagnostic application.

GLIA’s Approach

Objective Biomarkers for the TBI–PTSD Overlap

Biological Signal of TBI

GLIA’s miRNA panel is being developed to provide an objective neurological injury signal that is independent of psychological symptom reporting — potentially helping clinicians assess TBI in the presence of PTSD.

Rapid Point-of-Care Testing

GLIA’s platform is being developed for use in VA clinics, military health facilities, and community settings without specialist laboratory infrastructure.

Longitudinal Monitoring

Serial biomarker testing may enable tracking of neurological changes over time, potentially distinguishing ongoing TBI-related biological changes from PTSD symptom fluctuation.

Reducing Diagnostic Uncertainty

An objective biological result may reduce the diagnostic ambiguity that leads to treatment delays, misallocation of care, and frustration for patients and clinicians alike.

Supporting Treatment Decisions

Better characterisation of the neurological component of a presentation may support more targeted treatment pathways — helping ensure veterans receive appropriate neurological and psychological care for co-occurring conditions.

Exploring Platform Versatility

GLIA is exploring collaborative research opportunities examining whether the versatility of its PoC platform could ultimately extend to other validated miRNA biomarker panels, including PTSD — without diluting its primary TBI focus.

Explore further

Bringing Clarity to Complex Diagnoses

GLIA Diagnostics is working to give clinicians the objective tools they need to support TBI assessment — and exploring how that science may ultimately benefit veterans living with the TBI–PTSD continuum.

Explore Our Biomarkers