VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.






Be sure to get all four
VA Watchdog dot Org
RSS feeds --
Daily VA
News Flashes
House CVA
Veterans' News
Senate CVA
Veterans' News
VA Press
Releases
 

Download your
free copy of the
2008 VA benefits
handbook here...
 

Printer-Friendly Version

IS VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY DoD's "CURE" FOR PTSD? --

In one study, 16 of 20 patients no longer showed signs

of PTSD after 10 VR sessions. Veteran says he

felt as if he had been cured.

Cmdr. Scott Johnston, a Navy psychologist at the San Diego Naval Medical Center, was the primary investigator for two recently completed studies that used virtual-reality technology to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. (photo: NANCEE E. LEWIS / Union-Tribune)

Could virtual reality therapy be the "cure" for PTSD that DoD and VA are looking for?

It sure would be convenient, wouldn't it?  A few video game sessions and "You're all patched-up, Son."

For more about virtual reality therapy, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q
=virtual+reality&op=ph

For more, specifically, about Virtual Iraq, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch
.php?q=virtual+iraq&op=ph

For more about the search for the elusive "cure" for PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q
=ptsd+cure&op=and&strt=0

Story here... http://www.signonsandiego.co
m/news/military/20080909-9999-1n9virtual.html

Story below:

-------------------------

Virtual reality goes to war vs. stress disorder

Computer therapy soothes symptoms in combat veterans, two studies show

By Steve Liewer
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Iraq war veteran Patrick Barnes strides warily through a desert town, dodges bullets and grenades, and zaps enemy fighters with bursts from his M-4 rifle – all without leaving the San Diego Naval Medical Center.

Barnes, a Navy corpsman, is one of several dozen local veterans using virtual reality to vanquish post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers are impressed with results from a pair of recently completed clinical trials at the medical center and at Camp Pendleton. Symptoms were reduced sharply in up to 80 percent of the patients, researchers said.

“It was very effective,” said Barnes, 26. “I don't have the flashbacks. I've gotten almost back to a normal level.”

In one of the studies, 16 of 20 patients no longer showed signs of PTSD after 10 sessions with the “Virtual Iraq” computer simulation, said Albert “Skip” Rizzo, a psychologist who developed the program at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies.

In the second, comparably sized study, 75 percent of those who completed treatment reported similar improvement, said Jim Spira, a civilian psychologist formerly employed at the Naval Medical Center.

Researchers were surprised to find that symptoms in veterans who had suffered traumatic brain injuries diminished or disappeared.

“It's gone beyond my expectations,” Rizzo said. “I'm afraid people are going to be skeptical because the results are so good.”

Virtual-reality therapy is being tested on PTSD patients in about 20 other places nationwide.

The simulation adds a technological twist to a common PTSD treatment called prolonged-exposure therapy in which patients recall in graphic detail the traumatic events that set off their illness. For many sufferers, retelling and discussing the bad memories with a therapist can take away the sting.

Supporters of virtual reality hope that adding computer graphics will make prolonged-exposure therapy more vivid than relying on imagination alone. They also hope to reach a new generation of veterans familiar with video and computer games.

“To get them into any treatment can be a challenge. For some patients, the interaction with technology can be a little bit easier,” said Cmdr. Scott Johnston, a Navy psychologist at the San Diego Naval Medical Center and the primary investigator for the two recently finished studies.

Researchers also hope virtual reality will prove useful enough that they can take it to war zones and treat troops right after they come off the battlefield. Studies show that PTSD treatments work best when given soon after trauma and without removing troops from the comforting presence of their combat buddies.

Rizzo presented his group's findings in August at an American Psychological Association meeting in Boston. He'll highlight them this week at an international conference in Portugal.

Spira presented results from the other study three weeks ago at a Marine Corps combat stress conference in San Diego.

The Office of Naval Research spent $3 million on the two clinical trials, Johnston said, and the medical center has just been awarded funding for a follow-up study.

“The results are quite impressive,” said Jeffrey Matloff, senior PTSD psychologist for the VA San Diego Healthcare System. “But I think it needs to be widened to see if it can be used on a mass scale.” Matloff is not affiliated with the virtual-reality studies.

Prolonged-exposure therapy eliminates PTSD symptoms in 60 percent to 65 percent of patients, Spira said, compared with about 40 percent for behavioral therapy and 20 percent for antidepressants.

He said the goal of virtual reality is to reach an 80 percent success rate.

During a “Virtual Iraq” session, patients strap on a pair of virtual-reality goggles and earphones. They cradle a mock M-4 rifle and immerse themselves in animated war scenarios, such as riding in a Humvee convoy on a desert road or conducting a foot patrol through a crowded neighborhood.

Therapists use a “Wizard of Oz” control panel to crank up stressors such as gunfire, grenades and bomb blasts, and to create a more authentic combat atmosphere with scents resembling sweat and smoke. They monitor the patient's heart rate, breathing and skin temperature to keep anxiety from getting too high.

“We can start them at a low level of chaos and ramp it up to something that pretty much approximates what they actually went through,” said Dr. Dennis Wood, a researcher in one of the studies.

The two recently completed clinical trials vary somewhat. One study encourages service members to talk about their traumas during the computer sessions. The other protocol teaches relaxation techniques patients can use when confronted with high-stress situations.

PTSD turned Barnes, a petty officer second class, into a recluse by the time he finished two tours in Iraq with Marine Corps ground units.

He tracks his PTSD to an incident during the first deployment. While on patrol west of Baghdad, his squad was ambushed. Barnes dodged enemy fire and rushed to treat a Marine whose leg had been severely wounded.

The ambush, Barnes said, “was the main trigger that started the PTSD runaround.”

Back home, Barnes retreated into his barracks and became short-tempered, depressed and withdrawn, brooding about friends who didn't make it home. Nightmares plagued him.

The symptoms grew worse after his second tour. Last year, he suffered a flashback that unsettled his combat-hardened housemates. That's when he knew it was time to ask for help.

Barnes sought out counselors at the San Diego Naval Medical Center, where he had been assigned between combat tours since 2004. He was channeled into one of the virtual-reality studies.

Barnes said he felt better after the first session. After 10 weeks, he felt as if he had been cured.

Since completing his treatment in April, Barnes spends more time with his friends and has taken up sailing. He is voluntarily telling his story to the public to encourage other combat veterans to pursue PTSD treatment.

Barnes transferred to a Camp Pendleton infantry unit last month and will return to Iraq sometime next year. Armed with his coping techniques and free of PTSD symptoms, he said he is ready, even eager, to go back and take care of his Marines.

“It's what I want to do,” Barnes said.

The local PTSD researchers said they have many more questions to explore, including when and how to use virtual reality for maximum effectiveness. They also are working on Afghanistan and Vietnam war scenarios for veterans of those conflicts.

“We're pretty convinced now that virtual reality gives added benefit,” Spira said.

Steve Liewer: (619) 498-6632; steve.liewer@uniontrib.com

-------------------------

-------------------------
TIPS FOR COMMENTING:
Comments should be about the story on this page.  Post your comment once only.  Respect others who have posted.  If you have a question for VA Watchdog... go here...

-------------------------

posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org

Don't forget to read all of today's VA News Flashes (click here)

Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage

email Larry

(go back to VA Watchdog dot Org Home Page)

       
Military Medical Malpractice 
Legal Network               

VA Watchdog Stuff...
cups, hats, shirts...
click on item to order
and support the site.