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 bizarre motif of damage, a small ruminate on finds. Researchers speculate that the damage - what they call a "honeycomb" pattern of broken and tumescent nerve fibers - might help explain the phenomenon of "shell shock". That style was coined during World War I, when trench warfare exposed troops to constant bombardment with exploding shells. Many soldiers developed an array of symptoms, from problems with view and hearing, to headaches and tremors, to confusion, appetite and nightmares.

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

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

The soldiers' brains showed a plain 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" mould 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" - acumen degeneration caused by repeated concussions.

Before their deaths the five vets did show signs of "neuropsychiatric" problems, such as the blues and anxiety. One died of a gunshot torment to the head, and three died of methadone overdose. Those overdoses could have been accidental, since the tranquillizer is prescribed for severe pain. It's not clear whether any of the soldiers' symptoms can be blamed on the brain injury 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 skilful said it "provides preliminary evidence to support structural and corporal changes associated with blast brain injuries. I think this is an important next out of step in our understanding of how blast injuries can impact military personnel and veterans, even if we can't easily 'see' the injuries using accustomed 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 strengthen these findings, and to twig 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 part to more refined treatment, according to Koliatsos.

For example, if damage to the frontal lobes is causing some blast-injured veterans' symptoms, then therapy might include medications that stimulate the frontal lobes. But that's for approaching studies to figure out. "It's premature to say what this means for veterans preferable now". The most important thing is for blast-exposed vets to seek treatment for any long-drawn-out symptoms how stars grow it. "If you're having problems, talk to your family and talk to your doctor".