WASHINGTON, DC—As more data is emerging on the short and long-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI), researchers are discovering that the injury affects women differently than it does men. Most notably, there seems to be a differential pattern of post-concussive symptoms among female compared to male OEF/OIF veterans with deployment–related TBI.

WASHINGTON, DC—Last summer, DoD issued a policy designed to speed detection of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) on the battlefield. Now, using new technologies to make the process as efficient as possible, the policy is being implemented in theater, according to DoD officials.

WASHINGTON, DC—VHA and DoD have already recognized that they serve the same patients, just at different times during their lives. But it is only during the last few years that the two departments have thought of themselves as a true continuum of care, at least as far as mental health care is concerned, and have endeavored to ease the transition for patients from one system to the other.

WASHINGTON, DC—Active duty servicemembers with combat-related PTSD who have not experienced improvements in their condition in outpatient care have a new option for treatment.

WASHINGTON, DC—Building resilience in servicemembers must start when they enter basic training and must include their families, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm Michael Mullen.

WASHINGTON, DC—When VA Secretary Eric Shinseki took his post nearly two years ago, he learned that veterans lead the nation in homelessness, depression, substance abuse, and suicide.

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WASHINGTON, DC— The Army Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4) electronic medical record systems are being upgraded to help providers better document mild TBI patient data in theater.

BETHESDA, MD—Where do you find resiliency as a healer and a soldier? As the role of combat medics becomes more and more important to the increasing survival rate of combat casualties, that is a question that military psychiatrists are asking.

BETHESDA, MD—It was two years ago that Ira Katz, MD, PhD, then chief of VA’s mental health services, told researchers at the VISN 20 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) in Portland, OR, that they should begin focusing some of their research on TBI.

WASHINGTON, DC—When seeking psychological support for mental health issues after deployment, servicemembers and veterans most often turn to their minister.