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TUSCALOOSA VA CLAIMS BRAIN INJURY TREATMENT NICHE --

Center will soon be at the forefront in medical treatment of

traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Tuscaloosa VA

For more about veterans and PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
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Story here... http://www.tuscaloosanews
.com/article/20080419/LATEST/741085591

Story below:

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VA med center claims brain-injury treatment niche

Symposium and new program attract field’s leaders to Tuscaloosa

By Lydia Seabol Avant
Staff Writer

TUSCALOOSA -- The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center will soon be at the forefront in medical treatment of traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

On May 1, the Tuscaloosa medical center will open a specialized psychological program for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.

The need for such programs is acute. According to a national study by the Rand Corp., about 19 percent of U.S. troops who have been deployed to the Middle East since 2001 have received brain injuries.

The number of troops returning home with brain injuries stems from the prevalence of roadside bombs in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Injuries ranging from mild concussions to severe head wounds have become common, and just a small bump can have an effect on the brain, doctors say.

“Blast injuries are a signature wound for this conflict,” said Dr. Lori Davis, chief of research and development and a professor of psychiatry at the Tuscaloosa VA medical center. “It’s obvious there is a national need to address the issue.”

Nationwide, only four centers specialize in treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, but they are bogged down with the most severe cases, Davis said. The Tuscaloosa medical center will be one of the first in the nation to specifically treat mild to moderate cases, the ones that can go untreated while patients languish on waiting lists.

Needed niche “We are really breaking new ground,” said Alan Tyler, director of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.

The center will have a treatment team of specialists, including rehabilitation psychologists, neuropsychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and social workers. The center will focus on treating veterans so they can return to normal lives.

The center will also focus on vocational rehabilitation to get veterans back to their jobs and will also include specialists working with the families of veterans.

“We are really looking at a systematic approach,” Tyler said.

Some of the nation’s top experts on traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder will be in Tuscaloosa this week for a symposium on the subject hosted by the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.

Event organizers knew there would be regional interest because of the increasing number of brain injury cases in veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but underestimated how much. Registration for the symposium was completely booked within a week. About 200 people will pack the Northport Civic Center for the event, and another 50 are on a waiting list to get in.

“People are coming from across the country for this,” Tyler said.

Dinoff said organizers are already planning another TBI/PTSD symposium next year.

Diagnosis, treatment

Although severe brain injuries are easy to identify, mild to moderate traumatic brain injury can often share symptoms with post-traumatic stress disorder, which is also prevalent among returning troops. Sometimes, a veteran can suffer from both, Davis said, but the two must be treated differently. Sometimes medication for post-traumatic stress disorder can hinder recovery of traumatic brain injury. And sometimes therapy for traumatic brain injury will have no effect on post-traumatic stress disorder.

For optimal recovery, a person needs to be treated within two years after an injury occurred, said Beth Dinoff, rehabilitation psychologist at the Tuscaloosa VA. If a veteran doesn’t seek treatment for a brain injury, the effects could worsen and hinder a person’s ability to function for the rest of their lives, Dinoff said.

“Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation,” said researcher Terri Tanielian, who conducted the study.

The Rand study surveyed 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the armed forces and includes those still in the military as well as veterans who have left the armed services. The report, titled “Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Inquiries, Their Consequences and Services to Assist Recovery” was done by researches from Rand Health and Rand National Security Research Division.

Very few veterans with brain injuries are evaluated by a physician, the study found. About seven percent of the study’s respondents reported both a probable brain injury and current post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries. Only 53 percent of service members with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression sought help over the past year. Those who didn’t cited, as reasons not to seek medical treatment, concerns about the effects of medication and the feeling that their friends and family could help them with their problem.

Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at lydia.seabol@tuscaloosanews.com  or 205-722-0222. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

INJURED, ILL VETS According to a recent Rand Corp. study, of the 1.6 million military personnel deployed for conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan since late 2001:

320,000 Reported possible traumatic brain injury while deployed.

7% Reported both a probable brain injury and a current post-traumatic

stress disorder or major depression.

43% Reported being evaluated for their head injuries.

53% Of those with PTSD or depression sought help in the past year.

SOURCE: Rand Corp., “Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery.”

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posted by Larry Scott
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