Bomb Blasts Linked to Accelerated Brain Aging in American Soldiers

A group of researchers have conducted a study on the conditions of the American soldiers who were exposed to bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Benjamin Trotter, lead author of the study, said "Generally as we age, the connections in the brain starts to deteriorate. But with those people with blast exposure it appears as though it's happening faster".

These statements were backed by intense research, and the article was published in Brain: A Journal of Neurology.

The main objective of the research was to examine the conditions of the soldiers who have been exposed to the bomb blasts.

To conduct this, the research team analyzed about 256 veterans and service members, aged between 19 and 62. Among them, 195 had experienced an explosive blast at a distance of less than 110 yards, while the remaining 61 had endured no blasts in that range. Among the 195 members, 69% were diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.

However, the traumatic brain injury diagnoses raise fears that a large group of Americans could get Alzheimer's or dementia ten years earlier than expected. "This would have tremendous consequences for the society. We would have to figure out on a much larger scale ways of taking care of people", says a study co-author.