Diagnosing “Havana Syndrome”.

Guidance for Patients and Physicians.

I created this compact version of the guidance after receiving multiple requests for a simplified version of what’s outlined in details on my webpage on TargetedJusice.com: https://www.targetedjustice.com/dr-len-ber-md.html

If you are someone who suspects to be a victim of “Havana Syndrome”, this guidance should help you and your physician in establishing this diagnosis when present.

1. Write down the symptoms you are experiencing for your physicians. Don’t rely on your memory.
   

2. If you are experiencing acute attacks (aka AHI, or Anomalous Health Incidents) describe them separately from the complaints present when you are not experiencing acute episodes (2019 CDC report describes “Havana Syndrome” as a bi-phasic disorder, with Initial phase, and Secondary Phase).

   1. It is important to describe how complaints are connected: are they occurring suddenly? simultaneously? Do you have a sense of directionality during this attack (for example, if you hear a sound, can you tell which direction it is coming from)?

   2. If you are experiencing vibrating pressure, describe it in details, - where do you feel it, what’s the intensity, and whether you can tolerate it. Sensation of vibrating pressure is called buffeting. It is uniquely linked to the exposure to EM pulses when no mechanical source is present.

   3. If you are experiencing sudden attacks, describe duration of the attacks and how often they occur, where you experience them, and whether moving to another location disrupts the attack.
      

3. Describe how you feel when you are not experience attacks. Do you have balance issues, hearing problems, vision issues, headache, problem concentrating and remembering, etc.?
   

4. If you start your journey with a general practitioner, you need to discuss diagnostic criteria as described in Hoffer 2018.

   1. Draw physician’s attention to the fact that “Havana Syndrome” is a novel medical condition because the symptoms occur simultaneously, and with a sense of directionality.

   2. General practitioner can also check for signs of concussion (although “Havana Syndrome” is not a physical trauma, but rather a non-kinetic form of brain injury due to pulses of EM energy).

   3. Blood can be checked for biomarkers of the cellular damage to the neurons and damage to the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) such as neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1). These markers are significantly elevated after a non-kinetic attack (or concussion), and change over time.

   4. Measuring for biomarkers of inflammation and glutathione in the blood could be indicative of EM assault, however, these tests are non-specific and found in many chronic inflammatory conditions.
      

5. Your next stop should be a visit to otoneurologist often called a dizziness doctor, or dizzy doc. This is where validation begins. Specific vestibular (balance) tests , and how they need to be evaluated, are described in Hoffer, 2018.
   

6. Visit to a neurologist would entail, among other things:

   1. Checking for signs of concussion. Signs of concussion may be present, even though the symptoms are experienced without a mechanical trauma to the head.

   2. Discussing results of testing for blood biomarkers of neuronal damage (after an attack, and over time).

   3. Neuro-psychological evaluation can be utilized in order to assess the degree and the pattern of cognitive impairment, when present.

   4. fMRI DTI (Diffusion Tension imaging) can be utilized. Using this method, researchers at UPenn detected statistically significant difference in white matter tracks among AHI victims versus control (JAMA 2019). Neurologist might be aware of the more recent NIH study published on the same topic (JAMA 2024). Please, inform your neurologist that the study is under investigation due to unethical coercion of patients into the clinical trial that skewed the results, making the conclusion of the study invalid (“NIH Cancels ‘Havana Syndrome’ Research”, CNN, 2024)

   5. qEEG with swLoreta is an electric neuroimaging method that can show disruption in neural networks of the brain directly (as opposed to indirectly, as in fMRI DTI). This is a supporting method. It is not required for establishing the diagnosis of“Havana Syndrome”: https://www.targetedjustice.com/qeeg.html
      
      To summarize, diagnostic criteria for “Havana Syndrome” are best described in Hoffer, 2018. Supporting methods are also described in this “compact” edition of the guidance.
      
      “Havana Syndrome” is not found in the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases). Best description of this condition is NKBI (Non-Kinetic Brain Injury). Although NKBI is not in the current classification, efforts are being made to add it to the next edition of the ICD.
      
      At this time, the following disease codes could be used:
      
      A. S06.9X0A - Brain/intracranial injury, other, unspecified, without loss of consciousness

      
      B.  G93.49** - Other specified encephalopathy. This code can be useful when the clinician diagnoses CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) due to non-kinetic EM energy exposure. It provides room for more specific descriptors.

      
      Using these codes in conjunction with “Havana Syndrome” diagnosis is important for proper tracking and analysis of this novel condition by your Health Department, and the CDC. To address inconsistencies in “Havana Syndrome” reporting, a Civilian Registry has been created by Targeted Justice. If you are diagnosed by a physician, you are encouraged to submit your case to CivilianRegistry@protonmail.com

      
      For more detailed information please visit https://www.targetedjustice.com/dr-len-ber-md.html