Blood Changes 20 Years After Sulfur Mustard Exposure

Serum levels of GM-CSF 20 years after sulfur mustard exposure: Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study. 09/08/09. Sulfur Mustard (SM) is highly toxic for various organs. The eyes, skin, respiratory tract, as well hematopoietic and immune systems are the main organs affected by SM. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a potent cytokine that plays an important role in the hematopoietic and immune system. The aim of this study was to determine the serum levels of GM-CSF and its relation to blood cell count and other inflammatory cytokines 20 years after SM exposure. The association of GM-CSF with the clinical severity of pulmonary, ophthalmic and dermatologic complications has also been studied. In this historical cohort study named as Sardasht-Iran Cohort Study (SICS), 369 SM exposed male participants and 125 unexposed volunteers were studied. International Immunopharmacology

Neuroevolutionary Time-depth Principle and PTSD

Posttraumatic stress disorder in war veterans: A discussion of the Neuroevolutionary Time-depth Principle. 09/08/09. Trauma is a universal phenomenon. Violence is a type of trauma and war is one of the ways in which violence is expressed. The "Neuroevolutionary Time-depth Principle" of innate fears, based on prevalence data, suggests that high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after combat exposure can be due to the fact that this fear-stress response appeared as a reaction to inter-group male-to-male and intra-group killings after the rising of population densities in the Neolithic period. Journal of Affective Disorders

Canine Program for Disabled Vets

VA Canine Program on Track After Delays 09/08/09. Finally, about eight years after the program began, many hope it will start finding homes for the four-legged companions that can help disabled veterans be more independent, better deal with post traumatic stress syndrome and to just be a friend. The VA is now working on improving the program and in Washington, increasing funding for such programs is getting bipartisan support. Military.com

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