Injuries Suffered By Troops In Afghanistan Cause More Long Term Damage Than Anyone Imagined

Business Insider
Michael Kelley

Brain injuries so subtle that they don't produce a loss of consciousness and can only be detected by an ultra-sensitive imaging test can predispose soldiers in combat to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

The study — funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation — involved 52 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans who served in combat areas between 2001 and 2008.

Approximately four years after their last tour of duty, researchers asked each veteran about PTSD symptoms, blast exposures and mild concussions in addition to measuring combat stress by asking about the intensity of deployment duties (such as dealing with human remains), vehicle accidents and combat experiences such as being ambushed or knowing someone who was seriously injured or killed.
Results showed that 30 of the 52 veterans suffered at least one mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) with seven reporting more than one, and that 60 percent of the veterans were exposed to one or more explosive blasts.

All 52 veterans had one or more PTSD symptoms and 15 met the formal criteria for PTSD, which the study notes is a "devastating psychiatric illness."

The severity of each veterans' PTSD symptoms correlated with the amount of injury to the neurons seen on the MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans — DTI is a very sensitive scan used to test damage to neurons that occurs during a concussion — but PTSD severity did not correlate with the clinical diagnosis of mild TBI.

Consequently, the findings suggest that subtle brain injury can occur without producing the loss of consciousness or amnesia that is typically associated with diagnosis of mild TBI. Furthermore, that type of under-the-radar injury can make a person more vulnerable to psychiatric illness when coupled with extreme chronic stress.

"Most people believe that, to a large extent, chronic stress from intense combat experiences triggers PTSD. Our study adds more information by suggesting that a physical force such as exposure to a bomb blast also may play a role in the genesis of the syndrome," lead author Jeffrey J. Bazarian, M.D., M.P.H., said in a press release.

The nature of the interaction between TBI and PTSD has been unclear up to this point, but the researchers believe that they are the first to find an association that can be demonstrated on living soldiers with advanced imaging techniques.

The findings will be helpful to physicians who are trying try to "untangle the symptom overlap between PTSD and mild TBI" so that they can properly treat soldiers returning from deployment at a time when suicides are occurring at the fastest pace of the decade-long war.

The Associated Press reported that there have been 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of this year (up to June 3), which is 16 percent ahead of the pace for the previous high in 2009 and about 50 percent more than the number of U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan over that time.

And in January the USA Today reported in January IED attacks hit a record high of more than 16,000 in Afghanistan last year (a pace that has continued).

"Based on our results, it looks like the only way to detect this injury is with DTI/MRI," Bazarian said. "While it may not be feasible due to costs and limited availability of some neuro-imaging tests to screen thousands of service members for brain injury, our study highlights the pressing need to develop simpler tests that are accurate and practical, that correlate with brain injury."

Scientists Looked Inside The Brains Of Troops Killed By Bombs And Made This Shocking Discovery

Business Insider
Michael Kelley

Trauma from exposure to a single improvised explosive device (IED) blast can result in long-term brain impairment, according to new research.

The study, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, is the first to examine postmortem brains of U.S. military personnel who were exposed to a blast and/or a concussive injury.
It found evidence that a single blast from a typical IED can cause traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma that leads to brain tissue death. Like TBI, which is considered to be its precursor, CTE results in psychiatric symptoms (e.g. personality changes, depression) and long-term cognitive disability (e.g. memory loss, impaired judgment, dementia).

The team of researchers — which included eminent CTE expert Dr. Ann McKee as well as leading experts in blast physics, experimental pathology and neurophysiology — investigated the brains of four military personnel with known blast exposure and compared them to brain tissue samples from four athletes who had a history of repetitive concussive injury and four comparably-aged people with no history of concussions or neurological disease.

The investigators found that the signs of CTE in the military veterans resembled those in the athletes and were consistent with brain samples from other athletes examined by McKee at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy in Massachusetts.


When examining the effects of a single blast exposure, they found that long-term impairments in brain functions were observed in mice just two weeks after exposure to a single blast.

In a press release, researchers estimated that TBI may affect 20 percent of the 2.3 million servicemen and women deployed since 2001.

More from the press release (via EurekAlert!):

"Our laboratory experiments show that blast exposure can produce both structural and functional damage that may be long-lasting and is likely to underlie the profound cognitive, memory, and perhaps mood and post-traumatic stress disorders, experienced by many soldiers," said [Dr. Patrick] Stanton, who is director of the Neural Systems Laboratory at [New York Medical College].

Researchers found that the blast wind from an IED — at a velocity of up to 330 miles per hour — as opposed to the shock wave leads to TBI and CTE, but immobilizing the head during blast exposure in mice prevented the learning and memory deficits associated with CTE.

Nevertheless, making sure the skull doesn't shake is easier said than done.

Dr. Lee Goldstein, associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine, stated that the results were encouraging to efforts concerned with the diagnosis and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries:
 

"Our study provides compelling evidence that blast TBI and CTE are structural brain disorders that can emerge as a result of brain injury on the battlefield or playing field," Goldberg said. "Now that we have identified the mechanism responsible for CTE, we can work on developing ways to prevent it so that we can protect athletes and our military service personnel."

Here's a YouTube video showing what it's like to be hit by an IED (via VideoblastViral):

So Many Military Veterans Are Going To Jail This Georgia Town Built A Vets Only Wing

Military/Defense

There are over one million veterans sitting in jails and prisons throughout America, but in towns close to military bases home to combat units, the ratio of discharged soldiers having a brush with the law is even greater.

Troops get home from combat and wartime duty eager to get out of the military and start a new life, but once they're discharged many have a hard time finding a place in the community they left behind.

The problem is so extreme that many judicial systems have set up separate trial proceedings for veterans. Philadelphia launched their separate Veterans Court nearly two years ago, and now a first-of-its kind veterans only jail dorm is open in Georgia.

Sara Pauff at the Ledger-Enquirer reports the Muscogee County Jail opened the new dormitory with the goal of providing vets treatment and services they need to transition back to civilian life: PTSD treatment, a veterans only court, mental health counseling, and even housing assistance.

County Sheriff John Darr told Pauff the dorm can hold 16 inmates, is the only one of its kind in a county jail, and is funded solely by community resources.

From the Ledger-Enquirer:

The Veterans Court offers legal help to incarcerated veterans diagnosed with a mental illness. Superior Court Chief Judge John Allen said they've found that some of the inmates they see don't identify as veterans and that sometimes, their problems can be traced back to their military service.
"There ought to be a place in our city that provides a facility where veterans can stay for a period of time while being treated, physically and mentally," Ret. Col. Roy Plummer said. Veterans typically stay in the house for three to six months, until they can manage their own affairs.

Muscogee County is home to the city of Columbus, where "The Home of the Infantry"— Fort Benning— lives and breathes.

Benning serves more than 120,000 military members and their dependents and hosts more than 15 Army infantry units as well as many specialized schools like the Army Sniper School, Jump School, and the Armor School.

Wilbert Cox, who is now in jail on theft and trespassing charges, was in the Army for 10 years and told the Ledger "This is the first time I've been in jail ... [and now] we're not just thrown into the wolves' den. There is something available to us for our service to our country."

'Each day 18 US war vets commit suicide'

Press TV

 

California-based online columnist, Allen L. Roland, says at least 18 American war veterans commit suicide every day due to psychological symptoms related to wars.

Official reports show that "close to 40 percent" of all vets have some of the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Roland told Press TV's U.S. Desk on Tuesday.

He added that the number of American soldiers suffering from PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which are the main causes of the suicides, is still increasing.

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