JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHIATRY 15 Postconcussional Disorder: Time to Acknowledge a Common Source of

It is estimated that 2 million persons in the United States suffer closed head injuries annually and that of these injuries, 500,000 are serious enough to require hospital-ization. Although most head injuries resulting in uncon-sciousness are rated as “mild ” (that is, when first assessed at the site of injury such persons achieve Glasgow Coma Scale1 [GCS] scores of 13 or better), it is also now recog-nized that long-term, perhaps even permanent sequelae frequently complicate even such “mild ” head injuries.2 Even head injuries without loss of consdousness5 or “whiplash ” have been shown to produce persistent symptoms and cognitive impairment.6 Although the majority of individuals who sustain a mild closed head injury (CHI) see their posttraumatic symptoms resolve within 3 months,37M several studie