Older veterans who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) are significantly more likely than their peers to have been diagnosed with neurologic conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, stroke or epilepsy even before the injury occurs, according to a new retrospective cohort study.
Exposure to high-level blasts from incoming explosive devices or land mines appear to increase the risk for veterans to later develop conditions affecting a range of body systems, according to a new study.
Military service is considered one of the most consistent risk factors for the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Yet, not much research has been done to determine which characteristics make servicemembers more or less likely to develop the rare, progressive disease characterized by the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Neurologists rarely address hematology and oncology audiences directly, but at the Association of VA Hematology/Oncology (AVAHO) annual meeting in Austin Sept. 11-13, Tammy L. Smith, MD, PhD, made the case that they should listen more closely to what the nervous system is telling them.
For decades, standard care for most primary brain tumors changed little: Surgery to remove what could be extracted safely, radiation when surgery wasn’t option or following surgery and a short list of chemotherapies that were often nearly as hard on patients as the tumors themselves.
The VA should reexamine systemwide policies to increase the use of cystometrography (CMG ) for veterans with supra-sacral spinal cord injury or disorder (SCI/D) , as recommended in many global guidelines.
Intermittent hypercapnia, a condition of abnormally elevated carbon-dioxide levels in the blood, could replicate the clearing of unwanted brain protein that occurs during sleep, which could benefit patients with neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study.
For decades, clinical guidelines have cautioned against the use of high-risk central nervous system (CNS)—active medications because of the increased risk of delirium, falls and hospitalizations, especially for older adults with cognitive impairment.
Veterans with Gulf War illness who followed a low glutamate diet for one month experienced significant improvements in migraine symptoms, according to new research presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting.
Physicians and healthcare leaders across the Military Health System have developed a new clinical practice guideline for the management of exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER), a dangerous condition that occurs when the muscles work too hard and begin to break down.
Accurate identification of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE)—a severe form of epilepsy in which seizures continue despite treatment with multiple medications—is essential for improving outcomes. Yet, because DRE is not explicitly coded in medical records, many patients who could benefit from specialized care go unrecognized.
According to veterans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their advocates, staffing and budget cuts at VA have created delays in care that could result in fatal complications for someone with the terminal neurodegenerative disorder.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) might manifest differently, with some patients experiencing persistent, debilitating symptoms while others recover more rapidly, according to a new study.
For decades, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a devastating brain disease—has been linked primarily to contact sports like football and boxing.
A new study revealed a surprising link between brain injury and political engagement.
Headaches are an almost universal experience, affecting approximately 96% of people globally at some point in their lives. Migraines, with a lifetime prevalence of 12.9% to 15.2%, consistently rank among the top three leading causes of disability for both men and women.
A disorder related to military service in the 1991 Gulf War (GW), Gulf War illness (GWI)/Chronic Multisymptom Illness (CMI), includes symptoms such as fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction.
Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans have significantly smaller brainstem volumes compared to healthy civilians, and damage to the brainstem structure of these veterans could potentially lead to sleep disturbances and chronic pain, according to a recent study.
Some researchers have postulated for years that systemic infections are associated with development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent studies on the relationship between herpes zoster (HZ) and PD have been conflicting, however.
Gulf War and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans have significantly smaller brainstem volumes compared to healthy civilians, and damage to the brainstem structure of these veterans could potentially lead to sleep disturbances and chronic pain, according to a recent study.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population age 65 and older and an estimated 110, 000 U.S. veterans.
Why do Black/African-American (AA) individuals have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than white non-Hispanic persons of European ancestry (EUR)?
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) often are identified using a list of claims codes and a fixed lookback period of three years of data.
While many clinical studies have reported brain lipidomic abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that affect glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and fatty acids, no consensus exists about those abnormalities and whether they relate to disease progression.
The blood pressure medication prazosin might dramatically reduce the occurrence of headaches following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), according to a new study by researchers at VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.
A new international study is raising concerns about neurologic effects on U.S. airborne warfighters and Space Force guardians alike.
What is the effect of baseline cognition on gait outcomes after a treadmill training program for Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients?
Despite changes in physical training routines and equipment designed to reduce musculoskeletal injuries in servicemembers and veterans, veterans experience back and joint pain at a higher rate than their contemporaries who have never served.
Migraine is a commonly treated condition at the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA), with more than half-million veterans being diagnosed during a 12-year study period, according to a recent study.
Military servicemembers and veterans are at high risk for head injury compared with civilians. More than 369,000 U.S. veterans have at least one mild traumatic brain injury, and many report the onset or worsening of headache within three months of their injury.