Traumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for 22% of total casualties in the current conflicts and 59% of the injuries where servicemembers are exposed to blasts. That makes research on the relationship between TBI and dementia later in life especially critical for the future of the VHA.

WILKES-BARRE, PA — For staff and residents, life in a dementia-care unit often becomes a dance of frustration. The constant struggle to interpret the world around them upsets patients; the inability to keep residents from “acting out” exhausts staff members.

Minneapolis – A routine primary-care visit typically includes weighing-in, blood-pressure monitoring and a body-temperature check. In some cases, the physician may also listen to patients’ heart and breathing rhythms, look down their throats or check their ears.

Please read this article and participate in this month's online opinion poll: Should cognitive screening become part of a routine primary-care office visit at VA?

SAN FRANCISCO — Research into PTSD has accelerated exponentially over the last decade. Where once it was understood as little more than a loose collection of symptoms, now researchers are beginning to define the pathology of the disease as well as what effects it might have on other bodily systems. And, as patients with PTSD age, more is being understood about how PTSD will affect health the rest of their lives.

Patients with chronic traumatic encephalopathy are sometimes diagnosed as suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias until post-mortem brain examination proves otherwise. CTE, a preventable form of dementia believed to be caused by repetitive mild head injuries, has been identified in former boxers and football players. Now researchers are turning their attention to former soldiers with mild head injuries to determine whether CTE could cause future dementia development.

BETHESDA, MD—A new study into the biochemical mechanisms that control memory has added to the hope that someday scientists will be able to strengthen a person’s ability to remember through chemical intervention.

WASHINGTON, DC—A simple $76 toolkit with items typically found at any neighborhood hardware store has shown promise in increasing home safety for Alzheimer’s disease patients and reducing the strain on overburdened caregivers.