Scientists have begun to understand the full impact bomb blasts have on the brains of those who live through them. Over the past decade, scores have been killed and maimed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and now new US research compares the survivors to concussed athletes.
Unfortunately the symptoms mimic and often overlap with those of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – and that is now a big problem for the Australian Defence Force.
It literally just goes right through the head in a period of microseconds… It causes direct damage to the blood vessels and the parts of the nerve that transmit electrical signals in the brain.
Dr Lee Goldstein
