WASHINGTON — A shortage providers and the perceived stigma attached to mental-health care may prevent troops from seeking services. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can help fill the gaps, according to a recent webinar on integrative health options for military healthcare.

With as many as 212,000 servicemembers suffering a TBI over the last decade, military clinicians are searching for the most effective neuroimaging methods to diagnose and treat the injuries.

WASHINGTON — A recent report on federal government plans to curb drug abuse puts added emphasis on the active-duty military and the veteran population. It also focuses more attention on misuse of prescription drugs and, as far as recovery efforts go, on mental health.   

PTSD could be linked to a compromised immune system in war veterans, according to preliminary results of a study.

WASHINGTON — While VA has quickly rolled out its new caregiver-assistance program for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, speed may have come at the expense of transparency and consistency. Or, so said caregivers who report trouble understanding the limitations of the act, as well as disparities in how VA determines the size of the caregiver stipend.

With an influx of women veterans entering the VA system in higher numbers than ever before, the department has given women’s health care high priority. One step in addressing this growing population is assessing what women are looking for in a VA health-care experience.

An Army private, who recently was sentenced by a military court to 12 ½ years in prison for the murder of an Afghan detainee, walked into a cell at a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan and shot the sleeping prisoner, according to prosecutors. Army doctors later found that the soldier was suffering from schizophrenia and PTSD.

WASHINGTON — Could repeating a mantra and meditating help alleviate symptoms of combat-related PTSD and improve quality of life in veterans suffering from the malady? A new pilot study suggests the answer is “Yes.­­”

WASHINGTON — Sexual health and intimacy problems are important issues for those who have sustained a brain injury, and providers need to be able to address the topics with TBI patients, researchers said at the Federal Interagency Conference on Traumatic Brain Injury held in Washington.

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.