Shell shock can result in the formation of honeycomb patterns within neurons of the brain, new research reveals. Medical researchers believe they may have detailed the damage done when soldiers are exposed to traumatic events, such as the explosion of improvised explosive devices (IED's).
Diffuse axonal injury - a condition in which long nerve fibers in the brain are damaged - was found in four out of five soldiers who suffered severe mental issues from a blast or other traumatic event. Changes in the fibers appeared to occur in honeycomb patterns, the new study reveals.
"Three of the five veterans died from an opiate overdose. People without a military background who died from an overdose also showed this nerve fibre damage, as did people who had suffered other types of brain injury, such as from a traffic accident - albeit without the honeycomb pattern," National Health Service officials in the United Kingdom, said.
Examinations of brains were carried out on five soldiers who suffered from shell shock, and later died from unrelated causes. Three of the deaths occurred due to overdoses of opiates, one from a gunshot wound, and one from multiple organ failure. These organs were compared to brains of 24 people from all walks of life.
Brain damage with a honeycomb pattern formed in regions of the brain responsible for memory, reasoning, and decision-making. That portion of the organ was large, and shaped like a bulb in car accident victims without a history of being in the military.
Microglia, brain cells involved in the process of inflammation, were found near the axons on soldiers who had experienced symptoms consistent with the condition. This suggests that the damage was formed well before death.
Shell shock was first widely noted during the First World War, as German and American soldiers pounded entrenched positions with barrages that lasted for months. Symptoms can include extreme anxiety, nightmares and facial ticks, among other disorders. Today, the condition is termed blast neurotrauma.
Researchers utilized the latest technology to examine an issue that has puzzled medical researchers for a century - the underlying cause of shell shock.
"We identified a pattern of tiny wounds, or lesions, that we think may be the signature of blast injury. The location and extent of these lesions may help explain why some veterans who survive IED attacks have problems putting their lives back together," Vassilis Koliatsos of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said.
American soldiers coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq often exhibit symptoms of the conflict, including sleeplessness, depression, and post-traumatic stress.