Blood Flow Velocity in Veterans: The Case of Eastern Ukrainian Syndrome

In the article, questions are considered regarding the development of Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity (CBFV) in veterans of modern wars. Blood flow abnormalities were found in the brains of veterans of modern wars long after the war, and in some cases, their condition worsened. In the spring of 2014, the war in the Donbas region of modern Ukraine gained momentum, linked to the escape of President Yanukovych V. F. This war, according to international organizations such as the United Nations, claimed the lives of 7,000 people and resulted in tens of thousands of injuries. It is now possible to talk about the so-called eastern Ukrainian syndrome–soldiers who fought in the east, upon returning home, faced a deterioration in their internal health. The aim of this study was to compare resting cerebral blood flow velocity of unmedicated patients in the acute phase of Eastern Ukrainian syndrome with resting values of healthy control subjects. Nine unmedicated Eastern Ukrainian syndrome patients were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The patients and 10 healthy age-matched control subjects were then evaluated at rest using transcranial doppler ultrasonography (TCD). For TCD, the anterior, middle, and posterior cerebral arteries were viewed bilaterally in all patients. Compared with healthy agematched control subjects, acute unmedicated Eastern Ukrainian syndrome patients showed a significant increase in cerebral blood flow velocity bilaterally in the middle and anterior cerebral arteries, and unilaterally in the left posterior cerebral artery. Cerebral blood flow velocity in the right middle cerebral artery correlated positively with the item "Irritability and temper tantrums" on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), whereas the pulsatility index in the posterior cerebral artery bilaterally and in the left middle cerebral artery correlated negatively with the item "Psychogenic amnesia." Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography aligns well with validated psychometric methods. If follow-up studies confirm our findings, TCD could allow for an objective assessment of the mental state of Eastern Ukrainian syndrome patients and reliably differentiate them from normal control subjects.