Troops risk undetected brain injury

[leftchick]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-06-brain-damage-main_x.htm

Thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may be risking permanent brain damage by returning to combat with relatively minor but undiagnosed concussions, often caused by bomb blasts, military researchers say.

Doctors say they are only now understanding the scope of the problem. Researchers screening returning soldiers and Marines at four military bases found that about 10% suffered at least a minor brain injury during combat. About 20% of troops in front-line infantry units suffered such injuries.

The injuries frequently go undiagnosed because troops have no visible wounds or may not know they suffered a concussion, doctors say. Medics and field doctors often aren't aware of what happened during fighting.

FROM MILD TO SEVERE: Injuries to brain adding up

More than 500,000 soldiers and Marines have served in or near Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001, sometimes more than once.

"This blast group is going to be potentially huge," says Angela Drake, a neuropsychologist with the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a research arm of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Pentagon. "We're looking at thousands of potential patients."

[donsu]

1. and our health care has crashed and is burning & Doctor shortage

'ring around the rosie
pocket full of posies
ashes, ashes
we all fall down'

[Roland99]

2. And the undeclared costs of this war continue to skyrocket

[Bigmack]

3. Anybody who sends troops onto...

a 21st century battlefield has to know that the effects of DU, concussive blasts, and PTSD all add up to thousands and thousands of casualties. Look at the Gulf War... about 160,000 on disability. Bushco knows and doesn't care.

A country can't "win" a war these days. The best the US can get is a bloody tie.

Perhaps the US needs to look into.... oh... I dunno..... diplomacy maybe! :sarcasm:

[MadHound]

4. Of course Bushco knows, and they do care,

Just not about the troops. Instead they care about the bottom line, which is why they've made it a priority to cut funding to VA Hospitals and other medical treatment for returning soldiers.

Another reason for the US to get out of Iraq, NOW.

[uppityperson]

5. Concussions can be nasty things, can have major impacts

First concussion just hurts your brain, the second one in a short time (before brain can fully heal) can easily cause permanent damage. Memory loss, inabilty to deal with more than 1 thing going on at a time, decreased concentration, behavior changes, all can result. And I'm not talking from blast your head open injuries, just good whacks on the head.

Combine a good head whack with peer pressure/group mentality/need to get back and help my friends/ shove them back into battle NOW mentalities and you have problems.

[brentspeak]

6. Some troops have lost their sight because of these types of injuries

[Faryn Balyncd]

7. Great Interview on Al Franken Show ...

...of Bob Meaders, founder of Operation Helmet, which has sent over 6500 anti-ballistic helmet upgrades free of charge to our troops

http://www.operation-helmet.org/media.html

[sabra]

8. Pentagon holds brain injury data (injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-06-07-brain-injuries_x.htm

Pentagon holds brain injury data

The Pentagon is refusing to release data on how many soldiers have suffered brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. It says disclosing the results would put the lives of those fighting at risk.
The data come from screenings of 1,587 soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and 9,000 at Fort Carson in Colorado. Army Medical Command spokesman Jaime Cavazos said Wednesday that the results of the tests represent "information the enemy could use to potentially make soldiers more vulnerable to harm." He declined to elaborate.

FROM MILD TO SEVERE: Brain injuries add up

Pentagon scientists and other health officials have already made public similar data from other installations. Those results show that about 10% of combat troops — and 20% in front-line infantry units — suffered concussions during their tours. The injuries frequently go undiagnosed; multiple concussions can lead to permanent brain damage.

The screening is done with a questionnaire prepared by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, a research arm of the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments. The questionnaire is used at four military bases, and center director Deborah Warden has urged that it be used throughout the military. So far, the Pentagon has declined to do so because it questions whether troops can accurately answer the questions in the screening.

[Poll_Blind]

9. Wow, they fight the truth tooth and nail.

Those guys are coprophages.

PB

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. dung-eaters!

I had to look it up. :)

very accurate!

:rofl:

[Rose Siding]

11. All purpose explanation. I'm going to try it myself.

Honey, I can't make dinner tonight so as not to potentially make soldiers more vulnerable to harm.

[Ice4Clark]

12. I found this report and thought some may want to read it

I strongly encourage any and all to help Operation Helmet. The government is once again failing the troops and they need are help. Upgrades are authorized, but dollars to fund our slow. They need them NOW. Leave NO Soldier behind..........

There are links to 2 reports in the article, that contain streaming video.

The Signature Wound of the Iraq War


SNIP

Specialists in brain injury know all too well that people can suffer brain problems without losing consciousness. One of the most frightening aspects of brain injury is that brain-injured people often lose the ability to know something is wrong.

Dr. Harriet Zeiner, a VA psychologist and brain injury specialist, was recently on a conference call with medical officials at several military treatment facilities including hospitals in Iraq. "One of the things commanders are trying to determine," she says, "is that after someone has been exposed to five and six concussive blasts are they still battle ready? Frankly, that floored us. You could have very significant effects from one exposure, and now they're trying to figure out if people who've been exposed five and six times should be going back into battle."

To follow up on those comments, I called the Pentagon several times to request an interview with someone who would explain the policy of what field commanders do to determine if troops are suffering brain injury, and what is the policy for returning them to duty. My requests were denied repeatedly.

But beyond that problem, as we have been reporting, the toll of brain injury in this war is enormous. Almost 18,000 troops have been wounded according the Department of Defense. The VA doctors say that two-thirds of them have been injured by IED blasts and two-thirds of those exposed to blasts suffer some brain injury -- ranging from a mild concussion to permanent damage. Brain injuries -– thousands of them –- could be the legacy of this war just as much as post-traumatic stress and problems from exposure to Agent Orange persisted among many of the troops who served in Vietnam.