Sexual Assault in the Military and Its Impact on Sexual Satisfaction of Female Veterans

Sexual assault in the military and its impact on sexual satisfaction in women veterans: a proposed model. 09/05/09. Sexual assault in the military (SAIM) negative impact on sexual satisfaction in women veterans operates both directly and through its physical and mental health sequelae. Of the proposed mediators in this association, the most prominent is mental health-related quality of life; the other proposed mediators were minimally related. (Free-online) Journal of Women's Health via PubMed Central

Statin Therapy for HCV-Infected Veterans

Statin Therapy and Serum Transaminases Among a Cohort of HCV-Infected Veterans. 09/05/09. Among Hepatitis C Virus-infected patients Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransfersase (ALT) levels for those prescribed statins decreased over a 6 to 12-month follow-up period compared to patients not taking statins. Digestive Diseases and Sciences via PubMed

Summer Sports Clinic for Injured Vets

VA To Host Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego 09/03/09. Recently-injured Veterans will learn how to surf, kayak, sail and enjoy other summer sports at a rehabilitative clinic sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs. VA

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors - 2009 Edition

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors - 2009 Edition 09/03/09. The 2009 Edition of VA's Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents and Survivors booklet is available. The booklet provides the rates for certain federal payments and outlines many programs and services provided by VA and other federal agencies. It also includes toll-free phone numbers, Internet addresses and a directory of VA facilities throughout the country. VA

To Navy Veteran Dale Roe on Passing of Your Wife Rita Roe

The news of Rita's passing has just reached me.  You have my deepest sympathy to have suffered the loss of such a loving, caring spouse.  Rita, you and family have meant more to me than you can ever know.  God bless.

Rita Roe     

Behavioral and Drug Intervention of Nocturia in an Elderly Veteran Population

A multicomponent behavioural and drug intervention for nocturia in elderly men: rationale and pilot results. 09/03/09. Objective was to evaluate the number of medical and urological conditions associated with nocturia in a cohort of older men who were primary-care enrolees, and to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using a multicomponent intervention to reduce nocturia and its bother. BJU International via PubMed

Editorial From Single Topic Issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development: Pain after Spinal Cord Injury

Pain: A multidimensional problem of national priority 09/03/09. I hope that the collection of articles included in this issue will be useful and educational regarding pain after SCI. This issue will also remind the clinical and research communities involved in SCI treatment and study that persistent pain continues to be a significant problem for those with SCI and that additional efforts must be made in this area to accelerate the development of beneficial treatment strategies for SCI related pain. JRRD

Enabling Role of Informal Caregivers for Post-Stroke Veterans and Racial/ethnic Variations

Informal caregivers and racial/ethnic variation in health service use of stroke survivors. 09/03/09. We investigated the racial and ethnic variation in health service use among stroke survivors with informal caregivers in a number of Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in one Veterans Integrated Service Network in the southeastern United States. We focused on the role of caregivers as an enabling factor in the use of health services. JRRD

Racial/ethnic Variations in Stroke Recovery in a Veteran Population

Racial/ethnic variation in recovery of motor function in stroke survivors: role of informal caregivers. 09/03/09. Research documents that African American and Latinos who have experienced an acute stroke recover more slowly than Caucasians in the United States. This descriptive study examines (1) the variation in Caucasian, Puerto Rican, and African American motor function after stroke; (2) the association between caregiver attributes and motor recovery after stroke; and (3) the degree to which caregiver attributes explain the variation in motor recovery between different racial/ethnic groups. One hundred and thirty-five veterans who had been hospitalized after an acute stroke, released home, and identified an informal caregiver were enrolled in the study. Veterans and caregivers were surveyed at five time points over the course of 24 months. Results indicate that Puerto Ricans show greater impairment and African Americans show less impairment at discharge from the hospital compared with Caucasians. Caregiver characteristics mediate the racial/ethnic differences in impairment at discharge and motor recovery across time. JRRD

Off-label Use of Antipsychotic Meds in the Veteran Population

Off-label use of antipsychotic medications in the department of Veterans Affairs health care system. 09/03/09. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of prescribing antipsychotics to adults without schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and to identify factors associated with such off-label use.(Free Online) Psychiatric Services via PubMed

GOP Says VA's "Your Life, Your Choices" Booklet Encourages Veterans to "Hurry Up and Die." but Experts Disagree

GOP calls VA pamphlet a 'death book.' Experts say it isn't 09/03/09. While Republicans are calling a Department of Veterans Affairs health planning booklet a "death book" that encourages veterans to kill themselves or forgo care, ethicists and legal and medical experts say it's a reasonable attempt to help America's veterans plan for the end of their lives. McClatchy

Estimation of Preference-weighted Health Status Associated with PTSD and Common Co-occurring Mental Disorders in a Sample of Veterans

Preference-weighted health status of PTSD among veterans: an outcome for cost-effectiveness analysis using clinical data. 09/03/09. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent, chronic, disabling but treatable condition. Preference-based measures (for example, health utilities) are recommended for and useful in cost-effectiveness analyses and for policy decisions because they reflect a population's valuation of the desirability of disease states. However, no such measures exist for PTSD. This study aimed to estimate preference-weighted health status associated with PTSD and common co-occurring mental disorders in a sample of veterans by transforming health-related quality-of-life data into preference-weighted health status scores (PWHS scores), develop a usable regression model to predict PWHS scores from other data sets, and compare preference-weighted health status of PTSD with that of another chronic disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). (Free Online) Psychiatric Services via PubMed

Viagra No Better Than Placebo in Treating PTSD Related Erectile Dysfunction

Safety and efficacy of sildenafil citrate in treating erectile dysfunction in patients with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder: a double-blind, randomized and placebo-controlled study. 09/02/09. Sildenafil (Viagra) is no better than placebo in treating PTSD-emergent erectile dysfunction (ED). Further randomized clinical trials are warranted in combat veterans and other populations with PTSD to better elucidate the role of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in treating PTSD-emergent ED. BJU International via PubMed

Psychological Manifestations of Neurotrauma Resulting From TBI

Neuropsychiatric sequelae of traumatic brain injury. 09/02/09. The prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is increasing, particularly in the population of veterans. Many times, the motor and sensory consequences of TBI are addressed, but the post-TBI neuropsychiatric sequelae, which may be as, or even more devastating than the motor and sensory deficits, are left unattended. Cognitive, mood, anxiety, thought, impulse, and substance disorders, and a variety of personality disorders can be seen following TBI. The neuropsychiatric sequelae of TBI not only interfere with day-to-day function, but can severely impede rehabilitation efforts. To date, there have been few large-scale studies looking at the effectiveness of the various treatment modalities, including psychotherapeutic and pharmacological interventions. Seminars in Neurology via PubMed

Mortality Following Heart Attacks Declining Within VA Hospitals

Declining mortality following acute myocardial infarction in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System. 09/02/09. Mortality following acute myocardial infarction within the Veterans Health Administration has declined significantly since 2003 at a rate that parallels that in Medicare-funded hospitals (Free full-text). BMC Cardiovascular Disorders via PubMed

Macular Edema and Ethnicity in Veterans

Ethnicity, race, and clinically significant macular edema in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT). 09/02/09. OBJECTIVE: To determine risk factors in clinically significant macular edema (CSME) and if increased CSME in minorities is due to ethnicity or other factors in the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of CSME in the VADT is associated with ethnicity as well as diastolic BP, amputation, and retinopathy severity. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice via PubMed

Squalene Exposure not Related to Gulf War Syndrome

Antibodies to squalene in US Navy Persian Gulf War veterans with chronic multisymptom illness. 09/01/09. Since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, there have been reports of unexplained, multisymptom illnesses afflicting veterans who consistently report more symptoms than do nondeployed veterans. One of the many possible exposures suspected of causing chronic multisymptom illnesses Gulf War veterans is squalene, thought to be present in anthrax vaccine. We examined the relationship between squalene antibodies and chronic symptoms reported by Navy construction workers (Seabees), n=579. 30.2% were deployers, 7.4% were defined as ill, and 43.5% were positive for squalene antibodies. We found no association between squalene antibody status and chronic multisymptom illness (p=0.465). The etiology of Gulf War syndrome remains unknown, but should not include squalene antibody status. Vaccine via PubMed

Cardiac Response to Hostility in Women With PTSD

Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Status and Covert Hostility on Cardiovascular Responses to Relived Anger in Women with and without PTSD. 09/01/09. Previous literature has found greater heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) responses during relived anger, and a positive association between covert hostility and relived anger, in male veterans with PTSD. This study investigated hostility and cardiovascular responses to a relived anger task in 120 women (70 with PTSD and 50 without PTSD). Women with PTSD reported greater hostile beliefs and covert hostility than non-PTSD controls, reported greater anger and anxiety during the anger recall task, and had higher resting HR. In general, the relationship between PTSD and cardiovascular response was moderated by covert hostility, which was associated with greater baseline diastolic BP and greater HR during relived anger and anger recovery among women with PTSD, but not among non-PTSD controls. Results suggest that the relationship between PTSD and cardiovascular response is moderated by hostility. Biological Psychology via PubMed

Timely Follow-up of Positive Fecal Occult Blood Tests Strategies Associated With Improvement.

Improving Follow-Up for Positive Colorectal Cancer Screening 09/01/09. Screening programs aimed at early diagnosis have proven to reduce both the incidence and mortality related to colorectal cancer (CRC). The fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is used for most VA patients screened for CRC. Investigators in this study sought to determine the impact of an electronic reminder on the timeliness and proportion of patients referred to gastroenterology (GI) for evaluation after a positive FOBT (Free full-text). American Journal of Preventive Medicine via Health Services Research & Development Service (HSR&D)

New Chat Service for VA Suicide Prevention Program

VA’s Suicide Prevention Program Adds Chat Service 09/01/09. The Suicide Prevention campaign of the Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its outreach to all Veterans by piloting an online, one-to-one “chat service” for Veterans who prefer reaching out for assistance using the Internet. VA

Computer Coding Error to Blame for Lou Gehrig’s Disease Scare

VA blames coding error for fatal disease scare 09/01/09. The Veterans Affairs Department on Aug. 27 blamed computer coding error for letters it wrongly sent to about 620 veterans last week informing them they had the fatal Lou Gehrig’s disease. The VA mailed letters to 1,864 veterans on Aug. 13 informing them of a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. About a third of the letters were sent erroneously, the VA said in a statement released Aug. 27. The VA now is faulting computer coding for the problem. Federal Computer Week

Virtual World Help for PTSD

Veterans suffering from PTSD can visit virtual Chicoma Island for help 09/01/09. Combat veterans rarely talk about their most searing hidden emotions and thoughts caused by their experiences in battle, a reticence that can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. The Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles is near completing Coming Home, a virtual world in Second Life that its creators hope will help break down the barriers to PTSD treatment, said Jacquelyn Morie, a project leader at ICT. NextGov

Chiropractic Care in Military and Veteran Populations

Chiropractic practice in military and veterans health care: The state of the literature (free full-text). 08/31/09. OBJECTIVE: To summarize scholarly literature that describes practice, utilization, and/or policy of chiropractic services within international active duty and/or veteran health care environments. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Index to Chiropractic Literature were searched from their starting dates through June 2009. REVIEW METHODS: All authors independently reviewed each of the articles to verify that each met the inclusion criteria. Citations of included papers and other pertinent findings were logged in a summary table. RESULTS: Thirteen articles were included in this study. Integration of chiropractic care into military or veteran health care systems has been described in 3 systems: the United States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Canadian Forces. CONCLUSION: Chiropractic services seem to be included successfully within military and veteran health care facilities. However, there is a great need for additional written evaluation of the processes, policies, practices, and effectiveness of chiropractic services in these environments. J Can Chiropr Assoc. via PubMed Central