- A new study found no evidence of brain damage in U.S. diplomats and government employees experiencing a mysterious health problem known as Havana syndrome.
- Symptoms, including headaches, balance problems and cognitive impairment, were first reported in Cuba in 2016.
- Participants with Havana syndrome also reported higher levels of fatigue, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and depression.
A series of sophisticated tests showed no brain damage or degeneration in U.S. diplomats and other government employees suffering from a mysterious health problem once called “Havana syndrome,” researchers reported Monday. did.
A nearly five-year study by the National Institutes of Health found that headaches, balance problems, and problems with thinking and sleeping were first reported in Cuba in 2016 and subsequently reported by hundreds of U.S. employees in multiple countries. Symptoms such as difficulty are not explained.
But that contradicted some of the earlier findings that brain damage is possible in people experiencing what the State Department now calls “unusual health events.”
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“These people do have symptoms and are going through a very difficult time,” said study leader Dr. Leighton Chan, director of rehabilitation medicine at the NIH. “They can be very serious, disabling and difficult to treat.”
January 4, 2023 at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba. Researchers reported Monday that a series of sophisticated tests showed no brain damage or degeneration in U.S. diplomats and other government employees suffering from a mysterious health problem known as “Havana syndrome.” It is said that he was unable to do so. (AP Photo/Ismael Francisco, File)
But advanced MRI scans have compared patients with Havana syndrome to healthy government workers in similar jobs, including at the same embassy, and found significant differences in brain volume, structure, and white matter (signs of damage or degeneration). was not detected. There were also no significant differences in cognitive function or other tests, according to the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers can’t rule out the possibility that there was temporary damage when symptoms started, but the good news is that no long-term markers typical after trauma or stroke were detected in brain scans. He said that.
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Louis French, a neuropsychologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and a co-author of the study who treats Havana syndrome, said this “should provide some reassurance to patients.” “This allows us to focus on the here and now and get people back to where they belong.”
A subset of Havana syndrome cases (approximately 28%) were diagnosed with a balance problem called persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD). It is associated with inner ear problems or severe stress, and occurs when certain brain networks are not damaged but fail to communicate properly. The French call this a “maladaptive response,” similar to how someone who leans forward to relieve back pain ends up having postural problems even after the pain subsides.
Participants with Havana syndrome reported more fatigue, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and depression.
The discovery is the latest in efforts to solve a mystery that began when U.S. embassy staff in Cuba began seeking treatment for hearing loss and tinnitus after reporting sudden strange noises.
Initially, there were concerns that Russia or other countries might have used some form of directed energy to attack Americans. But last year, U.S. intelligence agencies said there was no indication that a foreign enemy was involved and that most incidents appeared to have a variety of causes, from undiagnosed illnesses to environmental factors.
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Some patients have accused the government of ignoring their disease. And in an editorial in Monday’s JAMA magazine, one scientist called for more research to prepare for the next such health mystery, adding that the NIH’s research program, which adds to the limitations of existing medical technology, has few He warned that he may have missed clues.
Dr. David Relman of Stanford University said, “Some may suspect that nothing is happening or that nothing serious is happening in these incidents. This is unwise.” ing. In 2022, he was part of a government-appointed committee that could not rule out the possibility that pulsing energy could explain some cases.
The NIH study began in 2018 and involved more than 80 Havana syndrome patients, but it was not designed to investigate the possibility of any weapons or other triggers causing Havana syndrome symptoms. Chan said the findings are consistent with intelligence agencies’ conclusions.
Even if some “external phenomenon” was behind the symptoms, “no persistent or detectable pathophysiological changes occurred,” he said.
