Scans on US diplomats in Cuba show 'something happened to the brains'

Brain scans of about 40 US diplomats injured in mysterious circumstances in Cuba reveal visible differences compared to those in a control group, researchers who analyzed them said Tuesday.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and led by professors at the University of Pennsylvania, does not draw any conclusions about the cause of the symptoms suffered by the diplomats from late 2016 into May 2018.

But the MRIs of the patients confirm that "something happened to the brains of these people," Ragini Verma, a professor of radiology at UPenn and co-author of the study, told AFP.

"It's not imagined," she said. "All I can say is that there is a truth to be found." Verma added: "Whatever happened was not due to a pre-existing condition, because we test for that." From late 2016, diplomats posted in Havana and some of their family members suffered unexplained symptoms ranging from poor balance and vertigo to lack of coordination, unusual eye movements, anxiety and what victims called a "cognitive fog."
A State Department spokesman welcomed "the medical community's discussion on this incredibly complex issue. The Department's top priority remains the safety, security, and well-being of its staff."
Verma said it was vital to follow the diplomats and their families over time "to see whether these changes evolve or change."
Valdes-Sosa told reporters that the study "does not show, contrary to what has been speculated... that the group of diplomats suffered brain damage during their stay in Cuba."