Understanding the Risks and Finding Solutions for Veterans: The connection between RHI, mTBI, blast exposure, and mental illness.

Recent studies by the VA have linked veteran psychiatric conditions to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), primarily focusing on combat and PTSD.

The Importance of Awareness

Despite mounting evidence, the connections between repeated head injuries (RHI), mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), repeated blast exposure (RBE), and mental illness remain largely unrecognized. The Mac Parkman Foundation is dedicated to illuminating these critical links while exploring and advocating for essential treatments to address brain injuries, particularly within military and veteran communities.

By increasing awareness, encouraging proactive assessments, and championing targeted interventions, we aim to mitigate the profound impacts of RHI and RBE, fostering healthier futures for both our children and our veterans.

 

Problem #1: Repeated Head Injuries in Children and Adult Athletes

Despite robust scientific evidence, the implications of Repeated Head Injuries (RHI) are largely overlooked by parental, medical, and psychological communities. This oversight results in millions of children engaging in contact sports without proper consideration of associated risks, leading to long-term suffering. RHI, often incurred during contact or high-risk sports activities, includes seemingly innocuous hits like heading a soccer ball or tackling in football. While these impacts typically lack immediate concussion-like symptoms, they trigger microcellular changes such as synaptic death, demyelination, and vascular irregularities, affecting vital brain structures. Over time, this damage, particularly concerning developing brains, can manifest as mental illnesses and cognitive dysfunction.

The lack of effective mitigation for subconcussive trauma compounds the issue, as any violent head movement can potentially cause harm. Without trained professionals, children are misdiagnosed and mistreated, leading to a cycle of suffering and dysfunction that may persist into adulthood. Mental illness, often the first indicator of RHI damage, is frequently misattributed to other causes like childhood trauma or ADHD, resulting in inadequate treatment focused solely on symptoms rather than the underlying brain injury. This failure to address the primary cause of mental illness perpetuates the suffering and dysfunctional behaviors in affected individuals.

Problem #2: Repeated Blast Exposure in Military and Veterans

Repeated Blast Exposure (RBE), a newer diagnosis emerging within military and veteran communities, results from recurrent exposure to explosive blasts. Analogous to RHI, continuous exposure induces brain damage, potentially leading to mental health disorders. Yet, RBE remains largely unrecognized outside research circles, leaving many veterans with undiagnosed brain injuries, exacerbating issues like PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). High-intensity training involving repetitive blasts from explosives, artillery, high-caliber weaponry, breaching, parachuting, and more happens off battlefields just as it does during combat situations.

Veterans with significant RBE from combat and training often experience mental health challenges without adequate acknowledgment or treatment. Without proper diagnosis and treatment options that address brain damage, veterans can spiral into further mental health issues, leading to violence, marital and financial problems, emotional and behavioral issues, as well as suicidal and homicidal ideation and incarceration. Proper assessment and treatment for RBE are critical to providing veterans with the care they need to improve their mental health and quality of life.

 

Recognizing these risks helps veterans understand their impairments from a causal perspective, reducing fear and stigma. Awareness is the first step towards effective treatment and recovery.

Did you know?

57%

The veteran suicide rate is 57% higher than the national average.

50%

More than 50% of American do not believe the federal government has been effective in addressing veteran suicide prevention.

120k+

Over 120,000 veterans have died by suicide since 2001. 

Repeated Head Injuries (RHI) and Their Impact on Brain Health

Repeated Head Injuries (RHI), often incurred during contact or high-risk sports activities, encompass seemingly innocuous hits like heading a soccer ball or tackling in football. Despite typically lacking immediate concussion-like symptoms, these impacts trigger microcellular changes such as synaptic death, demyelination, and vascular irregularities, affecting vital brain structures. Over time, this damage, particularly concerning developing brains, can manifest as mental illnesses and cognitive dysfunction. The lack of effective mitigation for subconcussive trauma compounds the issue, as any violent head movement can potentially cause harm.

This damage is of primary concern when it comes to children as their brains are particularly susceptible because they are developing and maturing every year until the age of 25. Significant developmental processes taking place during childhood, like myelination and synaptogenesis, if impacted by RHI, result in damage associated with mental illness. Furthermore, the different densities of the brain’s white and grey matter can lead to shearing or tearing of axons and synapses, while long-term exposure to neuroinflammation can degrade brain structure. Children with extensive RHI exposure will suffer progressive brain damage that can result in mental illness.

The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that there is no known way to mitigate subconcussive trauma/RHI, as the brain is suspended in liquid within the skull, making it vulnerable to any violent head movement. Mental illness is often the first indicator that a child or adult may be suffering from brain damage due to RHI exposure. While doctors and psychologists can quickly diagnose mental illness, many have not been adequately educated on the linkage to RHI. This lack of education or training in the medical community can result in misdiagnosed patients who are treated for mental illness without addressing the primary cause, which is brain injury. Consequently, treatment options that follow, such as drugs and therapy, do not adequately address the root cause of mental illness, leading to continued suffering and dysfunctional behaviors.

Repeated Blast Exposure (RBE) Overview

Repeated Blast Exposure (RBE), a newer diagnosis emerging within military and veteran communities, results from recurrent exposure to explosive blasts. Analogous to RHI, continuous exposure induces brain damage, potentially leading to mental health disorders.

Yet, RBE remains largely unrecognized outside research circles, leaving many veterans with undiagnosed brain injuries, exacerbating issues like PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

High-intensity training involving repetitive blasts from explosives, artillery, high-caliber weaponry, breaching, parachuting, and more happens off battlefields just as it does during combat situations. Like RHI, RBE is not well known outside the research population. There is a high probability that hundreds of thousands of veterans who may have been diagnosed with adjacent disorders like PTSD and GAD have not been assessed for the effects of RBE on their brains. Thus, they are not appropriately treated, as the only two options available, therapy and pharmaceuticals, do not treat brain damage.

Veterans who are unaware they may have brain damage can continue to spiral from the lack of treatment. Unfortunately, this can lead to violence, marital and financial problems, emotional and behavioral issues, as well as suicidal and homicidal ideation and incarceration. Understanding RBE and its effects is critical, as a veteran with mental illness needs proper consideration for RBE to receive improved treatment to address the issue of a damaged brain. Proper assessment needs to be a consideration for all veterans, regardless of the situation they find themselves in: mental health clinics, suicidal hotlines, substance abuse facilities, jail/incarceration, homelessness, etc.

Stay Informed and Connected as We Work to Enhance Brain Health in the Military Community.

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