Health
Freed American prisoners Gershkovich and Whelan may face ‘disruptive’ trauma, say mental health experts
While Thursday’s release of American prisoners from Russia was marked by celebration and relief, the former captives could face future health challenges, experts say.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American veteran Paul Whelan were among those released from Russia on Thursday in a large prisoner swap.
A third U.S. citizen, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, was also released.
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A plane carrying the freed Americans landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday night, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The newly released prisoners were then flown to San Antonio, Texas, for evaluation and rehabilitation at Brooke Army Medical Center, a premier military medical facility, according to reports.
Former prisoners Paul Whelan, left, and Evan Gershkovich, right, were released by Russia on Aug. 2, 2024. (Getty Images)
Although the prisoners are safely back on U.S. soil and have been reunited with their families, they may experience mental health challenges stemming from the trauma of detainment, said experts.
“Besides the obvious threats to one’s safety and the horrifying prospect of confinement, a situation like this is fraught with uncertainty,” Dr. Norman Blumenthal, director of the Ohel Zachter Family National Trauma Center in New York, told Fox News Digital.
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“Ambiguity in and of itself induces stress — and that, coupled with their very predicament, can create a marked escalation of trauma.” (None of the experts cited here have treated the released Americans.)
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich greets colleagues at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. “It’s important that they have the space and privacy they need to process this on their own timeline,” said a mental health expert. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Dr. Karen DeCocker, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner director at Stella Centers in Chicago, noted that being held captive can lead to several types of trauma.
“This varies from person to person based on prior history and the experiences encountered during captivity,” she told Fox News Digital.
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While each person reacts differently to trauma, Blumenthal predicted that the freed prisoners would likely experience an “initial thrill and exhilaration” from their liberation.
“The celebrations and enthusiastic reunions with loved ones can temporarily overshadow the trauma,” he noted.
“Frightening flashbacks and intrusive recollections can become disruptive and destabilizing.”
“As life returns to normal and routines set in, that is often when the frightening flashbacks and intrusive recollections can become disruptive and destabilizing.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, said it is likely the prisoners experienced physical and mental abuse, sleep deprivation, dehydration, malnutrition and possibly infections.
Trauma disorders and symptoms
Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author based in New York City, said that Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva, along with the other released prisoners, may suffer from both acute stress disorder (ASD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
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ASD is a short-term mental health condition that typically occurs within a month after a traumatic experience, according to Cleveland Clinic’s website.
This image released by the White House shows Evan Gershkovich, left, Alsu Kurmasheva, right, and Paul Whelan, second from right, and others aboard a plane, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, following their release from Russian captivity. (White House via AP)
“Acute stress disorder may include flashbacks, nightmares, intense fear and high anxiety,” Alpert told Fox News Digital.
It can also include feelings of numbness or detachment.
PTSD occurs when such symptoms persist for a month or longer, and the anxiety becomes chronic, according to Alpert.
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PTSD may include many of the same symptoms as ASD, and can impair the person’s ability to function in daily activities.
The freed prisoners may also experience depression, anger and difficulty trusting others, said Alpert.
“The celebrations and enthusiastic reunions with loved ones can temporarily overshadow the trauma.”
“I’ve also seen people have trouble focusing and making decisions in light of a trauma,” he added.
It could also be challenging for the former prisoners to reintegrate into their normal environments and social groups, Alpert said.
Symptoms of trauma are “not universal,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.
One “tried-and-true method” of coping is to retell the events to supportive people who act as listeners, not solvers, according to one expert. (iStock)
“There are differences, and not everyone experiences PTSD,” he said.
“Common symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, depersonalization and derealization, anxiety and depression.”
DeCocker noted that symptoms can be both mental and physical — including the following five points.
1. Dissociation
“Individuals may experience dissociation, where they feel disconnected from their thoughts, feelings or sense of identity,” DeCocker told Fox News Digital.
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“This can manifest as feeling detached from oneself (depersonalization) or from the world around them (derealization).”
2. Survivor’s guilt
Some trauma survivors may feel a sense of guilt for having survived a traumatic experience when others did not, or for putting themselves or others in situations that led to captivity, DeCocker said.
They may also feel guilty about the stress and anxiety that family members and loved ones experienced during their imprisonment.
3. Interpersonal and relationship issues
“Issues with trust, intimacy and personal relationships often occur with survivors and their families,” DeCocker told Fox News Digital.
Former prisoners Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan were on the phone with President Biden on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (The White House)
“The impact of their captivity often comes from their inability to relate the experience to others.”
4. Self-esteem and identity issues
Trauma survivors may experience feelings of shame, worthlessness or confusion about their identity, according to DeCocker.
“In this case, where there was an exchange of prisoners, there may be added complexity,” she said.
5. Cognitive distortions
It’s not uncommon for trauma survivors to have negative beliefs about themselves or the world, according to DeCocker.
“Generalizations about the world being unsafe or out of their control can occur,” she said. “Threats are often seen in everyday experiences.”
Tips for overcoming trauma
Given the high-profile release, Gershkovich and Whelan will likely receive a large amount of media attention, Alpert noted — “but it’s important that they have the space and privacy they need to process this on their own timeline.”
DeCocker agreed, stressing the importance of taking extensive time to heal and recover.
“There is no rush to reintegrate,” she told Fox News Digital. “Time is best devoted toward rest and restoring a sense of balance and normalcy.”
Embracing daily routines and structure can help with that, DeCocker said.
Former prisoner U.S.-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva runs to her daughters as she arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Aug. 1, 2024. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
The freed prisoners may also want to avoid spending too much time on social media and the news in the early days to avoid retriggering discussions and events, she advised.
One “tried-and-true method” of coping is to retell the events to supportive people who act as listeners, not solvers, according to Blumenthal.
“Putting the experience into words can help with healing and adjusting to the more mundane aspects of life and routine,” he said.
“In the case of a severe trauma, such as being held prisoner and wrongly convicted, symptoms may not surface right away.”
If symptoms are interfering with day-to-day functioning, Alpert recommends seeking professional help.
“In the case of a severe trauma, such as being held prisoner and wrongly convicted, symptoms may not surface right away,” he pointed out.
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“It can be helpful to get ahead of it and speak to a specialist.”
All forms of professional help are useful, DeCocker noted. Those include talk therapy, psychiatric support, interventional treatment modalities specific to treating trauma, and physical treatments and therapies to heal the body.
If symptoms are interfering with day-to-day functioning, mental health experts recommend seeking professional help. (iStock)
Other treatments may include cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation techniques, and medications such as beta blockers, antidepressants and potentially psychedelics, according to Siegel.
Support from loving family members and friends is also key, the doctor added.
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Most people do have an “inherent resilience and capacity to hope,” Blumental said.
“These and other freed hostages may, on their own, mobilize and harness strength and heroic reformulations of their recent incarceration to go on and resume normal functioning.”
Scott McDonald of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge.
That’s according to new research from the University of California San Diego, which found that a specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk.
The researchers analyzed blood samples from 2,766 participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study in the late 1990s, according to the study’s press release.
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The women ranged from 65 to 79 years of age and showed no signs of cognitive decline at the start of the study.
After tracking the participants for up to 25 years, the researchers concluded that the biomarker phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) was “strongly associated” with future mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
A new blood test could determine a woman’s dementia risk as early as 25 years before symptoms emerge. (iStock)
Women who had higher levels of p-tau217 at the beginning of the study were “much more likely” to develop the disease. The findings were published today in JAMA Network Open.
“The key takeaway is that our study suggests it may be possible to detect risk of dementia two decades in advance using a simple blood test in older women,” first author Aladdin H. Shadyab, a UC San Diego associate professor of public health and medicine, told Fox News Digital.
“These biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia.”
“Our findings show that the blood biomarker p-tau217 could help identify individuals at higher risk for dementia long before symptoms begin,” he added.
This long lead time could open the door to earlier prevention strategies and more targeted monitoring, rather than waiting until memory problems are already affecting daily life, according to Shadyab.
A specific biomarker protein associated with early pathological processes of Alzheimer’s disease was “strongly linked” to future dementia risk. (iStock)
“As the research advances, these biomarkers may help us identify who is at greatest risk and develop strategies to delay or prevent dementia,” he said.
This risk relationship wasn’t the same across the board, however. Women over 70 with higher p-tau217 levels had “poorer cognitive outcomes” compared to those under 70, as did those with the APOE ε4 gene, which is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
The study also found that p-tau217 was a stronger predictor of dementia in women who were randomly assigned to receive estrogen and progestin hormone therapy compared to those who received a placebo.
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“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” said senior author Linda K. McEvoy, senior investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute and professor emeritus at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, in the release.
“Blood-based biomarkers like p-tau217 are especially promising because they are far less invasive and potentially more accessible than brain imaging or spinal fluid tests,” a researcher said. (iStock)
“This is important for accelerating research into the factors that affect the risk of dementia and for evaluating strategies that may reduce risk.”
Blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease are still being studied and are not recommended for routine screening in people without symptoms, Shadyab noted.
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More research is needed before this approach can be considered for clinical use prior to cognitive symptoms.
Future studies should investigate how other factors — like genetics, hormone therapy and age-related medical conditions — might interact with plasma p-tau217, the researchers added.
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“The study examined only older women, so the findings may not necessarily apply to men or younger populations,” Shadyab noted. “We also examined overall dementia outcomes rather than specific subtypes such as Alzheimer’s disease.”
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For women over 60, muscle strength plays a critical role in longevity, a new study confirms.
Researchers at the University at Buffalo, New York, followed more than 5,000 women between the ages of 63 and 99, finding that those with greater muscle strength had a significantly lower risk of death over an eight-year period.
The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.
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Muscle function was measured using grip strength and how quickly participants could complete five unassisted sit-to-stand chair raises.
These are two tests commonly used in clinical settings to evaluate muscle function in older adults, the researchers noted.
A recent study shows that stronger muscle strength in women over 60 is linked to a lower risk of death over eight years. (iStock)
“In a community cohort of ambulatory older women, muscular strength was associated with significantly lower mortality rates, even when we accounted for usual physical activity and sedentary time measured using a wearable monitor, gait speed and blood C-reactive protein levels,” study lead author Michael LaMonte, research professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo, told Fox News Digital.
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less.”
Many earlier studies did not include those objective measurements, making it difficult to determine whether muscle strength itself was linked to longevity, according to LaMonte. “Our study was able to better isolate the association between strength and death in later life,” he added.
Even for women who don’t get the recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, which is at least 150 minutes per week, muscle strength remained important for longevity, the researchers found.
Women with greater muscle strength were more likely to live longer, even if they did not meet the recommended amount of aerobic exercise. (iStock)
“The findings of lower mortality in those who had higher strength but were not meeting current national guidelines on aerobic activity were somewhat intriguing,” LaMonte said.
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Federal guidelines recommend strengthening activities one to two days per week, targeting major muscle groups.
Resistance training does not have to require a gym membership, LaMonte noted. These exercises can be performed using free weights, resistance bands, bodyweight movements or even household items, such as soup cans.
Experts recommend working major muscle groups one or two days a week using weights, bands or bodyweight exercises. (iStock)
“Movement is the key — just move more and sit less,” he said. “When we can no longer get out of the chair and move around, we are in trouble.”
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LaMonte acknowledged several limitations of the study. The researchers assessed muscle strength in older age but did not explore how earlier levels in adulthood might influence long-term health outcomes.
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“We were not able to understand how strength and mortality relate in younger ages,” he said, noting that future research should explore whether building strength earlier could have an even greater impact on longevity.
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