SAN ANTONIO, TX - Ten years ago, many of the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing with major lower body injuries would likely have spent the rest of their lives in a wheelchair. A new - and far more positive - set of expectations have been established, however, because of 12 years of experience with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) gained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON — The use of trained dogs has been accepted therapy since the 1960s for persons with visual, hearing and mobility impairments. Only recently, however, have service dogs been trained to assist men and women suffering from mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

BOSTON - PTSD and TBI are frequently co-morbid in veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan - so frequently that physicians are surprised when they find one without the other. And yet the two injuries are still mostly thought of as isolated conditions and are treated separately, even though symptoms of the two injuries are so interwoven they sometimes cannot be differentiated.

WASHINGTON — All branches of military service now are mandated to set up special units to investigate allegations of sexual assault crimes, which will go through a dedicated court-martial process.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military continues to use improper processes to diagnose significant numbers of servicemembers with pre-existing personality disorders (PD) and then discharge them, according to government documents obtained by an advocacy group.

SAN FRANCISCO — New VA research suggests that lifetime exposure to stressful events, such as those which cause PTSD, is linked to greater levels of inflammation in patients with cardiovascular (CV) disease. Higher inflammation generally leads to worse outcomes for patients.

WASHINGTON — Veterans with PTSD are more likely than others to be prescribed opioids for post-injury pain, and that can lead to an increase in adverse mental and physical effects, according to a recent VA study.

The use of Tranexamic Acid (TXA) with blood component-based resuscitation following combat injury results in improved measures of cuagulopathy and survival, a recent study has concluded, leading to the use of the agent in casualty care for U.S. troops.

WASHINGTON — According to VA statistics, four out of 10 veterans with mental-health challenges seek assistance from clergy — more than all other types of mental-health providers combined.

WASHINGTON — Continuing a pattern of easing the way for Gulf War veterans to seek care and compensation, VA has extended the presumptive period for them to file claims for benefits for previously undiagnosed illnesses.