Traumatic Brain Injuries Of Some Veterans

Traumatic Brain Injuries Of Some Veterans.
The brains of some veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who were injured by homemade bombs show an unique model of damage, a small muse about finds. Researchers speculate that the damage - what they call a "honeycomb" pattern of broken and proud nerve fibers - might help explain the phenomenon of "shell shock". That name was coined during World War I, when trench warfare exposed troops to constant bombardment with exploding shells example. Many soldiers developed an array of symptoms, from problems with eyesight and hearing, to headaches and tremors, to confusion, desire and nightmares.

Now referred to as blast neurotrauma, the injuries have become an signal issue again, said Dr Vassilis Koliatsos, the senior researcher on the new study read more here. "Vets coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to a range of situations, including blasts from improvised touchy devices IEDs ," said Koliatsos, a professor of pathology, neurology and psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

But even though the acknowledgement of shell shock goes back 100 years, researchers still be versed little about what is actually going on in the brain. For the new study, published recently in the paper Acta Neuropathologica Communications, his team studied autopsied brain tissue from five US feud veterans. The soldiers had all survived IED bomb blasts, but later died of other causes. The researchers compared the vets' mastermind tissue to autopsies of 24 settle who had died of various causes, including traffic accidents and drug overdoses.

The soldiers' brains showed a dissimilar pattern of damage to nerve fibers in key regions of the brain - including the frontal lobes, which hold the whip hand memory, reasoning and decision-making. He said the "honeycomb" motif of small lesions was unlike the damage seen in people who died from head trauma in a car accident, or those who suffered "punch-drunk syndrome" - planner degeneration caused by repeated concussions.

Before their deaths the five vets did show signs of "neuropsychiatric" problems, such as dent and anxiety. One died of a gunshot shoot to the head, and three died of methadone overdose. Those overdoses could have been accidental, since the dose is prescribed for severe pain. It's not clear whether any of the soldiers' symptoms can be blamed on the brain devastation seen in this study, according to Koliatsos.

But "you have to raise the question, 'Could the neuropsychiatric problems be related to this frontal lobe dysfunction?'" Another adroit said it "provides preliminary evidence to support structural and material changes associated with blast brain injuries. I think this is an important next track in our understanding of how blast injuries can impact military personnel and veterans, even if we can't easily 'see' the injuries using well-known medical techniques," said Craig Bryan, executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City.

Both he and Koliatsos said further studies are needed to reinforce these findings, and to be conversant with what this brain damage "signature" means. "My hankering is that research such as this will eventually lead to better diagnostic tests that can detect and identify otherwise hidden injuries much sooner". It could also primacy to more refined treatment, according to Koliatsos.

For example, if damage to the frontal lobes is causing some blast-injured veterans' symptoms, then healing might include medications that stimulate the frontal lobes. But that's for time to come studies to figure out. "It's premature to say what this means for veterans rectify now". The most important thing is for blast-exposed vets to seek treatment for any slow symptoms sex store mharathe gavte. "If you're having problems, talk to your family and talk to your doctor".