THE Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that weapons systems used by the British army are causing brain damage in soldiers in a landmark admission.
According to an investigation by ITV News, thousands of serving British soldiers may be suffering from brain damage due to being exposed to harmful blast waves from weapons used by the army.
The MoD’s leading expert on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) confirmed to the broadcaster that repeated exposure to blasts generated by some army weapons can injure the brain and lead to life‑long health conditions.
Those most at risk are those who have regularly been exposed to heavy weapons, such as mortars, some shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, 50-calibre rifles and machine guns, or explosive charges.
Lt Col James Mitchell told ITV News that previously in early campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was believed that the main cause of TBI and concussion among British soldiers were large munitions and impact blasts.
However, experts now believe that soldiers are suffering from brain injuries due to their own weapons systems.
“Over especially the last five to 10 years, we're starting to appreciate the role of what we call low-level blasts,” Mitchell explained.
He said these low level blasts were predominantly being caused by “the exposure of our service personnel to blast over-pressure from their own weapons systems”.
Mitchell added that while exact figures are not known, “thousands” of serving personnel have been exposed to harmful blasts.
It is believed that the figure is potentially even higher for veterans who may have been affected.
Heavy weapons used by British soldiers create explosions which produce a wave of overpressure, which effectively causes a spike in the surrounding air pressure above normal atmospheric levels.
These blast waves can create a force so strong that it penetrates the skull and transfers energy to the brain which can cause microscopic damage to blood vessels and neurons.
Experts believe repeated exposure can overwhelm the brain's ability to heal itself, leading to serious long-term neurological damage.
It can be difficult to diagnose as symptoms of blast-related TBI overlap with those of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and can include severe headaches, visual disturbances, sensitivity to noise and light, memory loss, and a sense of personality change.
Scientists around the UK are now hoping to explore the potential causes of TBI, with financial support from the MoD.
The University of Birmingham has partnered with the MoD as they aim to study mild TBI and estimate what kind of brain damage veterans may have.
Professor Lisa Hill, a neuroscientist at the University of Birmingham, explained that when the brain is damaged, it releases biomarkers, biological clues that can help scientists understand what and where the damage is happening.
“If somebody gets injured, it changes the structure and function of the brain, but it also releases chemicals that you wouldn’t normally see,” she said.
“So if we can measure things in blood or in their saliva, that can tell us how potentially bad their injury has been and what symptoms they might go on to get.”
