(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Navy Seals suicide deaths, resulting from brain damage of shock blasts from own weapons not PTSD [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-07-01 The New York times (NYT) published this today. Pattern of Brain Damage Is Pervasive in Navy SEALs Who Died by Suicide It is an article from Dave Philips, a journalist who is specialized in writing on the military. Here is a summary: (The article has a few personal stories of the Navy seals in question, it is well written the below summary is more a summary of facts) Exposure to repeated blasts can lead to brain tissue damage Only visible with the right assessment techniques. The Defense Department laboratory in Maryland gathered the brains of 8 Navy seals who died of suicide. All were repeatedly exposed during their military careers to blast waves. Most frequent exposure happened during training. And not necessarily to one big blast, but to subsequent explosions from their own guns and other weapons. All of them had brain tissue damage, Six of them showed a similar pattern, 2 a different type of tissue damage. The damage specific to people exposed to shock waves was not visible on CT scans (Computer Tomography (an x-ray technique, good for showing dense tissue defects) But with the examination of the brains after death under a microscope the brain tissue damage** is obvious and specific for blast damage. This* Harvard study of 30 U.S. Special Operations Forces (all alive) published March 22, 2024 had similar findings. MRI scans (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), a technique with strong magnetic fields good for imaging brain tissue did show a direct association between the quantity of Blast exposure and tissue damage. E.g increased cortical thickness (potentially scarring) in the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) a widely connected brain region that modulates cognition and emotion, alterations associated with a lower quality of life. * cwww.pnas.org/… **interface astroglial scarring. What does the Navy know about it? Rear Adm. Keith Davids, the commander of Navy Special Warfare which includes the SEALs, is informed about the Harvard study and reacted :“the Navy is trying to limit brain injuries “by limiting blast exposure, and is actively participating in medical research designed to enhance understanding in this critical field.” The link with the Seals who died of suicide, however was not made. Artillery & Mortar crews and Navy Seals after years of being operational suffered with problems with sleep, concentration, memory, headaches,psychosis, memory, failing recognition, mood swings, impulsiveness, anxiety,depression and paranoia and sometimes dangerous violent behaviors. Small brain tissue damage over time adds up to a critical level until compensation mechanisms no longer work and people run into serious problems. Often mistaken for psychiatric problems without recognizing the underlying brain tissue damage from blast waves. The Harvard study clearly distinguished that the blast damage is associated with dysfunction, independent of PTSD*. *Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which has partially similar presentations but occurs after a traumatic experience or more often a series of traumatic experiences such as witnessing the death of a brother/sister in arms. What does the Navy do about it? A first step is of course acknowledging the scientific findings that repeated blast exposure leads to brain tissue damage. As the rear admiral did. About developing programs to save the SEALs and other SOF and artillery crew from serious Mental Health consequences of brain tissue damage the Rear Admiral did not specify anything yet. Obviously the research needs to develop into: 1) Restricting damage from blast exposure during training* and if possible combat. 2) Identifying a threshold of risk for blast exposure damage and rotate crew out and rest them long enough to be able to recover or possibly like with radioactivity do not exceed that threshold because of accumulation of damage. 3) Set up a program to identify veterans with symptoms from a lowered quality of life due to blast exposure and set up a rehabilitation program with and for them. *May be trainees should wear sensors measuring their exposure. Like technicians working with nuclear powered subs or nuclear arms wearing sensors for being exposed to radioactivity. Concluding: According to the NYT the Navy had not been informed of the findings of the brain damage from the Navy SEALS who died of suicide. Well I guess this article from Dave Philips has changed that. And we can see how this will work out. post scriptum: The article is also contains in a short video that explains the physics of a shock wave. Which you can watch on the NYT homepage (no subscription needed). [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/7/1/2250130/-Navy-Seals-suicide-deaths-resulting-from-brain-damage-of-shock-blasts-from-own-weapons-not-PTSD?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=community_spotlight&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/