Helping Veterans to See

Retired Optician Helps Other Veterans See ( includes video) 02/13/2010. He is on his feet - or on the go - eight hours a day, and 76-year-old Frank Montijo's bedside manner gets instant results. A retired optician, Montijo makes weekly rounds at the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "Anyone here like to have their glasses adjusted or repaired?" Montijo asks in the medical center. He's the only volunteer with a fee, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Pettersen. "I charge a handshake and a smile," Montijo said. CBS News

Special Issue: Virtual Reality Treatment for PTSD

Virtual Reality And Other Technologies Offer Hope For PTSD 02/13/2010.  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) threatens to overload healthcare and social support systems worldwide as the number of cases rises and existing treatments are not sufficiently effective. New approaches to treatment are relying on technology, such as virtual reality, to alleviate the psychologically damaging effects of PTSD, and these innovative solutions are explored in a special issue of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The special issue is available free online (http://www.liebertpub.com/cyber).  Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking via Medical News Today

New PubMed Articles 13 Feb 2010

1.

VA mental health services utilization in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the first year of receiving new mental health diagnoses.

Seal KH, Maguen S, Cohen B, Gima KS, Metzler TJ, Ren L, Bertenthal D, Marmar CR.

J Trauma Stress. 2010 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20146392 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2.

Trauma exposure and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal axis functioning in mentally healthy Dutch peacekeeping veterans, 10-25 years after deployment.

Klaassens ER, van Veen T, Giltay EJ, Rinne T, van Pelt J, Zitman FG.

J Trauma Stress. 2010 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20146391 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

3.

A comparison of OEF and OIF veterans and Vietnam veterans receiving cognitive processing therapy.

Chard KM, Schumm JA, Owens GP, Cottingham SM.

J Trauma Stress. 2010 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20146255 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

4.

Symptom Validity Test Performance in U.S. Veterans Referred for Evaluation of Mild TBI.

Armistead-Jehle P.

Appl Neuropsychol. 2010 Jan;17(1):52-9.PMID: 20146122 [PubMed - in process]Related articles

5.

Need to Improve Routine HIV Testing of U.S. Veterans in Care: Results of an Internet Survey.

Valdiserri RO, Nazi K, McInnes DK, Ross D, Kinsinger L.

J Community Health. 2010 Feb 10. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20146092 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

6.

Palliative Resection in Noncurative Gastric Cancer Patients.

Huang KH, Wu CW, Fang WL, Chen JH, Lo SS, Wang RF, Li AF.

World J Surg. 2010 Feb 10. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20145923 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

7.

Psychosocial predictors of military misconduct.

Booth-Kewley S, Highfill-McRoy RM, Larson GE, Garland CF.

J Nerv Ment Dis. 2010 Feb;198(2):91-8.PMID: 20145482 [PubMed - in process]Related articles

8.

Cataract Surgery Among Veterans 65 Years of Age and Older: Analysis of National Veterans Health Administration Databases.

French DD, Margo CE, Campbell RR.

Am J Med Qual. 2010 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20145194 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

Discussion of Killing Appears to Help Combat Veterans Cope With Stress

Study Suggests Discussion of Killing to Help Veterans Cope With the Stress of War 02/13/10. The act of killing is as fundamental to war as oxygen is to fire. Yet it is also the one thing many combat veterans avoid discussing when they return home, whether out of shame, guilt or a deep fear of being misunderstood. But a new study of Iraq war veterans by researchers in San Francisco suggests that more discussion of killing may help veterans cope with an array of mental health problems stemming from war. NYT

Estimates of PTSD Among War Zone Veterans Varies Widely

Studies' Estimates of PTSD Prevalence Rates for Returning Service Members Vary Widely 02/13/10. Summarizes analyses of existing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studies for war zone veterans, finding that the prevalence estimates vary widely and are linked to the use of different PTSD diagnostic definitions and divergent study samples. RAND

New PubMed Articles 11 Feb 2010

1.

Social Capital and Glucose Control.

Long JA, Field S, Armstrong K, Chang VW, Metlay JP.

J Community Health. 2010 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20143139 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2.

Sex differences in operating room care giver perceptions of patient safety: a pilot study from the Veterans Health Administration Medical Team Training Program.

Carney BT, Mills PD, Bagian JP, Weeks WB.

Qual Saf Health Care. 2010 Feb 8. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20142406 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

3.

Testing for vitamin d deficiency in veterans-is there a seasonal bias?

Peiris AN, Bailey B, Manning T, Kuriacose R, Copeland R, Garrett L.

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2010 Feb;11(2):128-31. Epub 2010 Jan 12.PMID: 20142068 [PubMed - in process]Related articles

4.

All-Cause Mortality Rates of Hip Fractures Treated in the VHA: Do They Differ from Medicare Facilities?

Lapcevic WA, French DD, Campbell RR.

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2010 Feb;11(2):116-9. Epub 2010 Jan 6.PMID: 20142066 [PubMed - in process]Related articles

5.

Assessment of a hepatitis educational group for veterans with substance use disorders.

Hagedorn H, Leighton T, Heim L.

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2010 Jan;36(1):57-60.PMID: 20141398 [PubMed - in process]Related articles

Greyhounds Tx for PTSD

Greyhounds Trained To Help Veterans With PTSD 02/11/10. As the economy tumbled, many race tracks went out of business, leaving many greyhound racing dogs out of a home, but a new program is retraining the animals to help serve military veterans.
Steve Manning, a former Marine who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), said a prescription of lithium xiproxene dithicote and Prozac can't help fix his emotional problems, but his dog Cowgirl can. CBS13/CW31

New PubMed Articles 10 Feb 2010

1.

Hospital Safety Climate and Safety Outcomes: Is There a Relationship in the VA?

Rosen AK, Singer S, Zhao S, Shokeen P, Meterko M, Gaba D.

Med Care Res Rev. 2010 Feb 5. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20139397 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2.

Vision-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Complete Homonymous Hemianopia Post Stroke.

Chen CS, Lee AW, Clarke G, Hayes A, George S, Vincent R, Thompson A, Centrella L, Johnson K, Daly A, Crotty M.

Top Stroke Rehabil. 2009 Jan 1;16(6):445-453.PMID: 20139047 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

3.

Eye tracking and visual attention to threating stimuli in veterans of the Iraq war.

Kimble MO, Fleming K, Bandy C, Kim J, Zambetti A.

J Anxiety Disord. 2010 Jan 7. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20138463 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

4.

Survey of employee knowledge and attitudes before and after a multicenter Veterans' Administration quality improvement initiative to reduce nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections.

Burkitt KH, Sinkowitz-Cochran RL, Obrosky DS, Cuerdon T, Miller LJ, Jain R, Jernigan JA, Fine MJ.

Am J Infect Control. 2010 Feb 3. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20137828 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

5.

Random forest can predict 30-day mortality of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage with remarkable discrimination.

Peng SY, Chuang YC, Kang TW, Tseng KH.

Eur J Neurol. 2010 Feb 3. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20136650 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

New Issue of VA Research Currents

VA Research Currents February 2010. In this issue: VA has key role in 80-site blood pressure study; Brain scans yield potential biomarker for PTSD; Robotic system may put more tasks within wheelchair users’ reach; Mental diagnoses tied to higher use of non-mental VA care in OEF/OIF study; Low-carb diet edges out weight-loss drug for lowering blood pressure; New gene technique could speed drug discovery; Artificial lens may help cataracts; Can hypertension drugs thwart Alzheimer’s?; Study compares surgery antiseptics. VA Research Currents

Veterans Not Getting Adequate Treatment for PTSD

Many veterans not getting enough treatment for PTSD 02/10/10.  Although the Department of Veteran Affairs is rolling out treatments nationwide as fast as possible to adequately provide for newly diagnosed PTSD patients, there are still significant barriers to veterans getting a full course of PTSD treatment. The study is published in the latest issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress.
     More than 230,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans sought treatment for the first time at VA healthcare facilities nationwide between 2002 and 2008. More than 20 percent of these veterans, almost 50,000, received a new PTSD diagnosis. Treatments that have been shown to be effective for PTSD typically require 10-12 weekly sessions. VA follows these recommendations, however, fewer than ten percent of those Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with newly diagnosed PTSD complete this recommended "dose" of PTSD treatment. When the timeframe was expanded to a year rather than four months, fewer than thirty percent of the veterans completed the recommended course of treatment. Journal of Traumatic Stress via Eurekalert!

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Lobby for Veterans' Rights

Veterans' advocates hit the Hill 02/10/10. A group advocating the rights of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are on the Hill this week to press lawmakers on issues ranging from disability care to high rates of unemployment. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the largest organization for veterans of the wars, will host a series of events as a part of their Storm the Hill campaign this week, culminating in Thursday’s release of their legislative agenda for 2010. Politico

New PubMed Articles 09 Feb 2010

1.

Disparate prevalence estimates of PTSD among service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan: Possible explanations.

Ramchand R, Schell TL, Karney BR, Osilla KC, Burns RM, Caldarone LB.

J Trauma Stress. 2010 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20135699 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2.

A pilot study of prolonged exposure therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder delivered via telehealth technology.

Tuerk PW, Yoder M, Ruggiero KJ, Gros DF, Acierno R.

J Trauma Stress. 2010 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20135675 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

3.

Submaximal Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Predicts Complications and Hospital Length of Stay in Patients Undergoing Major Elective Surgery.

Snowden CP, Prentis JM, Anderson HL, Roberts DR, Randles D, Renton M, Manas DM.

Ann Surg. 2010 Feb 3. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20134313 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

4.

Mortality follow-up of veterans who participated in military chemical and biological warfare agent testing between 1962 and 1972.

Kang HK, Bullman T.

J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2009;72(23):1550-2.PMID: 20077228 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5.

Clinical characteristics and predictors of mortality in patients with Enterobacter aerogenes bacteremia.

Chang EP, Chiang DH, Lin ML, Chen TL, Wang FD, Liu CY.

J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2009 Aug;42(4):329-35.PMID: 19949757 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related articlesFree article

6.

Clinical manifestations of Japanese encephalitis in southern Taiwan.

Chen KM, Tsai HC, Sy CL, Lee SS, Liu YC, Wann SR, Wang YH, Mai MH, Chen JK, Wu KS, Chen YJ, Chen YS.

J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2009 Aug;42(4):296-302.PMID: 19949752 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related articlesFree article

7.

Risk factors for falling among community-based seniors.

Fletcher PC, Berg K, Dalby DM, Hirdes JP.

J Patient Saf. 2009 Jun;5(2):61-6.PMID: 19920442 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles

VA Beckons Employees to Provide New Ideas for the VA Health IT Program

VA solicits health IT innovations from employees 02/09/10. The Veterans Affairs Department has launched a competition among its employees to see who can come up with the best ideas for how to use health IT to improve the agency’s healthcare practices and treatments. Government Health IT

DVA Official Has Idea to Speed VA Claims

Vets group offers idea to speed VA claims 02/09/10. Veterans could receive disability benefits faster, with fewer errors, if new Veterans Affairs Department employees worked exclusively on simple claims and experienced employees handled everything else, says a Disabled American Veterans official.  Federal Times

New PubMed Articles 07 Feb 2010

1.

Association of ALS with head injury, cigarette smoking and APOE genotypes.

Schmidt S, Kwee LC, Allen KD, Oddone EZ.

J Neurol Sci. 2010 Feb 1. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20129626 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

2.

Health Literacy Among Patients Diagnosed With Movement Disorders: A Pilot Study.

Armistead-Jehle P, Cifu DX, Wetzel R, Carne W, Klanchar LA.

PM R. 2010 Jan;2(1):43-47.PMID: 20129512 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

3.

Upper Limb Nerve Entrapment Syndromes in Veterans With Lower Limb Amputations.

Pyo J, Pasquina PF, Demarco M, Wallach R, Teodorski E, Cooper RA.

PM R. 2010 Jan;2(1):14-22.PMID: 20129508 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

4.

A Signature Wound of War.

Snell FI, Halter MJ.

J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2010 Jan 27:1-7. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20100108-02. [Epub ahead of print]PMID: 20128521 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]Related articles

5.

Usefulness of brain natriuretic peptide level at implant in predicting mortality in patients with advanced but stable heart failure receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy.

El-Saed A, Voigt A, Shalaby A.

Clin Cardiol. 2009 Nov;32(11):E33-8.PMID: 19816874 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles

6.

Strongyloides hyperinfection syndrome in British veterans.

Robson D, Beeching NJ, Gill GV.

Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 2009 Mar;103(2):145-8.PMID: 19208298 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Related articles