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- Researchers see eyes as a window into brain injuries
Researchers studying brain injuries in veterans and athletes believe eye tests could be used to help detect and monitor treatment of neurological damage caused by explosions, diseases and sports injuries. An estimated 20% of the 2.4 million U.S. troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan were exposed to explosions, data show. Dr. Randy Kardon, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss, developed ways of assessing retinal thickness and other metrics that can shed light on what clinicians can't see. "By measuring things in the eye, perhaps we have a barometer for what might be happening in the brain," he said. The Seattle Times
(5/5)
| Military Health System
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- Pentagon intervenes to speed referrals in Tricare West
The Defense Department granted a temporary waiver to Tricare West region customers allowing them to obtain specialty care without authorization from UnitedHealthcare, which assumed responsibility for the region last month under a new contract. Customers have complained of experiencing massive delays in getting authorization for referrals since the switch, which UnitedHealthcare blamed on high volume. Customers have until May 18 to seek specialty care without authorization and still avoid penalties. It's possible the government will seek reimbursement from the company. Army Times
(5/2)
, Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.)/Bloomberg News
(5/2)
, Bloomberg
(5/7)
| Veterans Health Administration
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- VA emphasizes efforts to meet female veterans' health needs
The Department of Veterans Affairs is working to improve training and placement of women's health providers at its facilities nationwide, expediting access to mental health care services and providing resources to help female veterans understand what services are available to them. The number of female veterans getting VA treatment more than doubled between 2001 and 2010, and the trend is expected to continue. Politico (Washington, D.C.)
(5/1)
- Study finds link between CT utilization, PTSD among veterans
A review of 76,812 new veterans finds a link between CT utilization and PTSD, shedding light on signs of PTSD as well as ways to ensure appropriate resource utilization, according to research from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health. Certain symptoms such as headaches and gastrointestinal discomfort were connected with CT utilization and PTSD, the study found. "[T]he presence of such symptoms in a returning veteran should raise the clinical suspicion for PTSD or the possibility that such symptoms may be somatic in nature in patients with known PTSD," researchers wrote. HealthImaging.com
(5/3)
| Health and Medical Research
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- Decompression surgery relieves chronic post-concussion pain
Decompression surgery successfully relieved chronic headaches in a 16-year-old who sustained a serious concussion at age 12. The surgery, which releases muscle around specific nerves, is "like unbuttoning your shirt and tie," said plastic surgeon Dr. Ivica Ducic, who performed the surgery. "It's freeing up that area, enlarging the space around the nerve." The blow that causes a concussion may leave patients with whiplash-like nerve compression, Ducic says. ABC News
(5/3)
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