{"id":1672,"date":"2024-03-08T15:19:27","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/08\/maine-mass-shooters-brain-tissue-showed-signs-of-traumatic-injury-but-not-cte\/"},"modified":"2024-03-08T15:19:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T15:19:27","slug":"maine-mass-shooters-brain-tissue-showed-signs-of-traumatic-injury-but-not-cte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/08\/maine-mass-shooters-brain-tissue-showed-signs-of-traumatic-injury-but-not-cte\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine mass shooter\u2019s brain tissue showed signs of traumatic injury but not CTE"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tissue samples from the brain of the man who killed 18 people during a\u00a0shooting\u00a0rampage at a bowling alley and a restaurant in Lewiston, Maine,\u00a0in\u00a0October showed evidence of traumatic brain injury but not the neurological disorder CTE, according to the Concussion Legacy Foundation. <\/p>\n

Robert Card, 40,\u00a0was a US Army reservist and certified firearms instructor who\u2019d been\u00a0hospitalized and ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation\u00a0about\u00a0three months before the shootings. He had no combat deployments, according to\u00a0records\u00a0provided by the Army. Card died of a self-inflicted gunshot, and his body was found two days after the October 25 shootings. <\/p>\n

The Concussion Legacy Foundation said in a statement Wednesday that Card is thought to have been exposed to \u201cthousands of low-level blasts\u201d in his time at an Army hand grenade training range. <\/p>\n

Low-level blast exposure has been associated with\u00a0symptoms\u00a0that can include concentration and memory problems, irritability\u00a0and slowed reaction times.\u00a0Research\u00a0has found that some people who have had low-level blast exposure, such as in the military or in law enforcement, have elevated levels of proteins in their blood that are associated with traumatic brain injury. <\/p>\n

The Maine Chief Medical Examiner\u2019s Office\u00a0requested\u00a0a postmortem study of Card\u2019s brain from the Boston University CTE Center \u201cdue to the combined history of military experience and actions,\u201d Lindsey Chasteen, the office\u2019s administrator, said in a statement in December. However, she noted that the findings wouldn\u2019t change the results of his autopsy. <\/p>\n

The study found that \u201cRobert Card had evidence of traumatic brain injury. \u2026 There was no evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),\u201d Dr. Ann McKee, director of BU\u2019s CTE Center \u2013 which frequently collaborates with the Concussion Legacy Foundation \u2013 said in Wednesday\u2019s statement. \u201cThese findings align with our previous studies on the effects of blast injury in humans and experimental models. While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card\u2019s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms.\u201d <\/p>\n

A traumatic brain injury usually results from a blow to the head or severe shaking forceful enough to shake the brain inside the skull. It can range from mild \u2013 also known as a concussion \u2013 to severe and cause symptoms including headache, dizziness, loss of balance, depression, anxiety, mood swings and behavioral changes. <\/p>\n

Repeated brain trauma or shaking can lead to\u00a0CTE, or\u00a0chronic traumatic encephalopathy,\u00a0a\u00a0debilitating neurological disorder. It\u2019s a form of dementia that\u00a0can include symptoms\u00a0of depression, anger and forgetfulness and is\u00a0formally\u00a0diagnosed\u00a0only\u00a0after death, through brain samples taken from an autopsy. <\/p>\n

The US Army said in a statement Thursday that the CTE Center\u2019s findings \u201care concerning and underscore the Army\u2019s need to do all it can to protect Soldiers against blast-induced injury.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense \u201care updating guidance on how to mitigate risks from blast overpressure,\u201d the statement says. \u201cIn the near future, the Army will begin an Army-wide blast overpressure safety campaign to increase understanding of potential risks, direct risk mitigation actions, require documentation of training environments that exceed 4 PSI, and require tracking of exposed personnel.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Concussion Legacy Foundation said Card\u2019s family is allowing study of his brain tissue to continue. <\/p>\n

\n