One knockout is not enough

Accident victims who suffer a severe head injury are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder if they are conscious during their ordeal, according to a study published by BMC Psychiatry this week.

Judith Glaesser and her colleagues at the University of Konstanz, Germany, found that unconsciousness probably protects people from post-traumatic stress disorder by preventing them from forming memories of their experience.

While The Diary finds the policy implications worrying enough, she is more concerned that the researchers want to repeat the study using a larger number of volunteers.