Training and Medical [Archive]

buglerbilly

10-02-10, 01:48 PM

Welcome help for soldiers

The MoD has finally recognised that while more troops are surviving combat, many are left with disabling injuries

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 February 2010 12.33 GMT

Defence minister Bob Ainsworth has announced increases to the sums paid out to servicemen and women who suffer crippling injuries in the line of duty. There is no huge change: the increases are quite modest. There will also be less in the way of attempts by the Ministry of Defence to resist claims for more cash when a veteran's medical condition worsens after the award is made.

This will cost money. Even in the warfare of old, when soldiers wore little body armour (usually just a helmet), when evacuation from the battlefield was generally slow and medical care was basic by today's standards, it was normal for an army to suffer several wounded for every death. Nowadays, with modern body armour, protected vehicles, rapid air medevac and combat trauma medicine, the figures are much higher. Again, in the warfare of old, it was far more likely for a badly smashed-up soldier to be triaged as a hopeless case and allowed to die, freeing medics to work on others more easily saved.

Today, every life is fought for with the utmost tenacity. As long as a soldier's heart is beating – and, indeed, for quite a long time after it has stopped – military medics will not give up. New tools and techniques are in use from the battlefield all the way back to hospital in the UK – or wherever a soldier may need to go. One recent case, where a British infantryman suffered almost-fatal chest injuries, saw the wounded man finally saved in a specialist lung unit in Germany following involvement by several highly trained medical teams from at least four nations and crash-priority flights by two helicopters and three large US military transport planes.

But the end result of all this effort is a sobering one: far more soldiers now survive with injuries that are not just crippling – lost limbs are virtually commonplace – but almost totally disabling. Multiple limbs lost plus spinal injuries and dozens of accompanying wounds are far from unknown. At this level, the lump-sum payout exceeds half a million pounds – and most of us would agree that this is none too much. A soldier who has merely lost a leg might get an annual pension of £20,000 – to be increased to around £26,000 today.

In earlier times, these costs might have meant a serious burden on the state, when wars routinely saw scores or hundreds of thousands killed and millions injured. The present compensation stance is still influenced by that kind of thinking: the worry that fighting a war might become impossible if heavy casualties meant liabilities of many billions in payments to the wounded.

But war isn't like that these days. Deaths among our forces are in the hundreds for hard campaigns, many fewer in easier ones like Kosovo or the first Gulf war. There are more injuries – and more severe injuries – per death, but the costs are in the eight or low nine figures range at most; a small proportion of what it costs us to wage war. (The added funds given to the MoD for Afghanistan run between £3bn and £4bn annually at the moment.) When compared with the prices we routinely pay for military things that are of questionable value in this or any other war (Eurofighter, £20bn and counting; new Army supertanks – the Fres scheme – £14bn), the price of doing right by our fighting men and women looks cheap indeed. Whatever you think of the orders that put them in harm's way, the deal between them and us couldn't be more clear-cut: theirs to do any suffering that the state may require to be done; ours to be as safe and comfortable as can be arranged.

They pay in blood and limbs and lives circumscribed forever. It's our duty to pay back in money or any other help we can offer – I'm one taxpayer, for a start, who would have been happy to see today's announcements go a good bit further, and who, in the meantime, likes to top up that part of my taxes that goes on helping our military wounded with contributions to the relevant charities. There are lots of them: Help for Heroes is as good as any.

buglerbilly

11-02-10, 11:16 PM

Pentagon Wants Magnetic Muscle Makers

By Katie Drummond February 11, 2010 | 12:37 pm

The Pentagon’s scientific fringe want to fast-track the quick and easy repair of wartime wounds, by eliminating one of the most important elements of tissue engineering - and replacing it with magnetic fields.

Last year, Darpa-funded researchers successfully generated human muscle tissue, and the agency requested proposals for a device that could pump out new body parts made with adult stem cells. Now, Darpa’s next-gen military medicine mission continues: the agency’s budget for the upcoming year includes $6.5 million for the creation of a scaffold-free tissue engineering platform, which would allow the construction of “large, complex tissues in vitro and in vivo.”

Tissue engineering has been around for years, and researchers have made major progress in the last decade. They’ve created lab-grown collagen, artificial bladders and even reconstructed damaged rabbit penises. But all of the progress has taken place with scaffolds: artificial platforms that provide structural stability while cells develop their own matrix, and eventually turn into fully functional tissues, organs, muscles, and even body parts. Dozens of different scaffolding methods have been developed, but all come with inevitable drawbacks. Usually, as Darpa notes, scaffolds can’t sustain tissues larger than 2-3 square millimeters, and it can be difficult to control how cells will react to the scaffolds, especially inside a living organism.

Instead of improving on scaffolds, Darpa wants to do away with them altogether, which would be a paradigm shift for tissue engineering. It’ll also require some major innovation. Last year, a research team at the University of Missouri and Yale tried to create tissue using agarose (a gel derived from agar) rather than a scaffold. They noted “major limitations,” and doubted cell viability in a lab environment, let alone a living organism.

Rather than replacing scaffolds with another substance, Darpa’s after “non-contact forces,” like magnetic fields or dielectrophoresis. The forces would control cell placement “in a desired pattern for a sufficient period of time to allow the cells to synthesize their own scaffold.” Without the limitations of scaffolding, it would be easier to create multi-cellular tissues, both in a lab and in the human body.

Darpa’s long-term objective is to reconstruct wounds in the war-zone, without the need for intensive surgery or the implanting of a specially-designed scaffold. In the short-term, they’re looking for a research team to develop a fully functional skeletal-muscle construct, complete with blood flow and a nervous system, in an animal model.

[Photo: U.S. Army]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/02/pentagon-wants-magnetic-muscle-makers/#more-22474#ixzz0fGh6apPy

buglerbilly

21-02-10, 05:25 AM

Thousands of British troops wounded in Afghanistan

More than 1,000 British troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since 2006.

By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent

Published: 9:00PM GMT 20 Feb 2010

William and Harry with Marine Mark Ormrod (wheelchair) who was injured in Afghanistan and other wounded men at Headley Court Photo: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

Figures released by the Ministry of Defence also disclose that up until the end of 2009, 168 troops are classed as having suffered the loss of limbs, parts of limbs or eyes, in battle with the Taliban or from improvised explosive devices (IEDs)

According to a charity, at least 84 of these have lost arms or legs, including 24 who have had two limbs amputated and eight who are triple amputees.

The latest figures demonstrate the pressure facing staff at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham where the vast majority of the Afghan war injured are treated.

A recent report by the National Audit Office disclosed that such was the demand for beds by British troops that more than 200 civilians were transferred to hospitals around the country to make room for extra military casualties.

Last year was the bloodiest to date in the current campaign with 109 fatalities. A further 508 soldiers and marines were wounded in action, more than double the number of the previous year.

Government figures for this January alone show that 47 troops have been wounded in action, more than half the number for the whole of 2006, the year in which the insurgency began in Helmand, in southern Afghanistan.

The figures underline the increasing dangers troops face while serving in the country, where the use of IEDs by the Taliban now accounts for 80 per cent of injuries and fatalities suffered by British troops.

Commanders expect the number of troops being killed and injured in Helmand to increase in areas where the Taliban are still active.

The possibility also exists that insurgents may begin to move back into areas which have been seized by British and Nato troops during Operation Moshtarak.

The offensive, which has now entered its second week, managed to expel the Taliban from large parts of the central Helmand valley, although US Marines are facing tough resistance in the area of Marjah, which is infamous for the manufacture of large numbers of IEDs.

But despite the increase in attacks and the severity of the injuries, British troops now have a greater chance of surviving serious wounds than ever before.

Doctors have even begun to classify some of the most seriously injured troops as "unexpected survivors" and between 2006 and 31st July 2008, the latest date for which figures are available, 75 members of the armed forces fell into this category.

Lieutenant Colonel Tim Hodgetts of the Royal Army Medical Corps and who is also the Defence Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Birmingham, said that advances in surgery, the battlefield medical skills of soldiers and the fitness of troops, were all helping to keep severely injured servicemen and women alive.

Col Hodgetts said: "There are around 70 individuals who are classed as unexpected survivors.

"These are patients with multiple limb amputations or higher limb amputations who have dumped their blood volume at the scene (of the attack) and who arrive at the hospital moribund but alive.

"Once you get onto the cusp of what is achievable in medicine, when you are at the ragged edge of physiology, you will get some people who will survive and some people who will not.

"What we have definitely done is push the boundaries. There are soldiers surviving today who would not have done a year ago because of the advances that we are making."

In total, the number of troops injured whilst serving in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 3,408, although this includes personnel not wounded in action. Since 2001, 1,109 have been hurt in fighting, the vast majority since 2006.

The figures relating to amputations have been released by the British Limbless Ex-Serviceman's Association (Blesma).

Rates of recovery for amputees has also increased because of a growing expertise of the injuries being sustained in Afghanistan, by staff at Headley Court, in Surrey, the armed forces rehabilitation centre.

Lance Corporal Jack Ritchie looks set to return to combat duty less than 12 months after losing his leg in an IED blast in Helmand last August.

He first walked just three months after the explosion and last week began running on a carbon 'blade' prosthetic leg. He hopes to rejoin his regiment, the Scots Guards, which deploys to Afghanistan next month for a six month tour.

LCpl Ritchie said: "There's nothing to stop me going back to join the Scots Guards for the later part of the tour. The Battalion have told me that if I'm fit, there is a place for me in Afghanistan.

"I've been told that is a realistic timetable and that I am on target to achieve it."

The 21-year-old from Carnoustie told how he was hit on August 8 last year after volunteering to serve with the Welsh Guards at their base near Chah-e-Anjir.

He said: "We went to clear one compound and knew the enemy was getting very sophisticated in its use of IEDs. There was a big explosion and I got thrown about 10 feet up in the air with a load of debris.

"I tried to roll over but I couldn't move. I looked down and saw my boot with my left foot still in it at about 90 degrees to my left."

The soldier was transferred to the field hospital at Camp Bastion before being flown home to Selly Oak hospital, where he spent seven weeks before being discharged to begin his rehabilitation at Headley Court.

LCpl Ritchie said: "With the prosthetic leg I've got at the minute there is no problem getting back to Afghanistan and deploying to a forward operating base.

"Going on foot patrol is a slightly tougher challenge, but we'll see how it goes."

The latest soldier to be killed while fighting in Afghanistan was yesterday named as Lance Sergeant David “Davey” Walker.

LSgt Walker, who was 37 and a member of the 1st battalion Scots Guards, was killed by enemy fire whilst taking part in a foot patrol during Operation Moshtarak on Thursday.

The death of the soldier, who was married with children, brings to 263 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.

Three British soldiers have now been killed since the start of the current offensive and more than 12 have been injured.

buglerbilly

02-03-10, 03:55 PM

New life-saving equipment for medics in Afghanistan

An Equipment and Logistics news article

2 Mar 10

UK Armed Forces medics in Afghanistan are now able to use an innovative piece of emergency kit to help save the lives of wounded personnel.

The EnFlowTM 100 Rapid Blood and Fluid Warmer quickly heats up blood and vital fluids
[Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

The state-of-the-art EnFlowTM 100 Rapid Blood and Fluid Warmer quickly heats up blood and vital fluids to ensure that they reach vital organs and injured areas fast, without affecting the patient's core temperature.

This reduces the risk of complications such as hypothermia and coagulopathy - the inability of the blood to clot after trauma.

Six sets, which are able to be used on board emergency medical helicopters, have been sent to Afghanistan as part of a £35,000 contract between the MOD and Prometheus Medical Ltd. A further two sets, for training purposes, are also included in the package.

Flight Lieutenant Fiona McGlynn is Officer Commanding of a Medical Emergency Response Team based at Camp Bastion. She said:

"Due to the nature of their injuries, many of the patients we treat are in hypovolemic shock and in need of a transfusion when we reach them. Giving them cold blood straight from our supplies can have an adverse effect on their overall body temperature and impact on their recovery.

"The EnFlow will enable us to warm the blood before we carry out a transfusion and ensure the patient arrives in hospital in the best possible condition."

Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

"We are determined to ensure that our brave personnel, who sometimes suffer the most serious injuries, receive the best possible treatment, even in the most challenging of environments. The EnFlow is yet another example of a life-saving piece of kit that has been provided to treat wounded soldiers at the point of injury."

Dr Malcolm Russell, Managing Director of Prometheus Medical Ltd, added:

"As a company with its roots in military emergency medicine, we are committed to providing the very best solutions for the Defence Medical Services for the benefit of wounded personnel on the battlefield. Hypothermia in trauma is a real killer and the EnFlow fluid warmer goes some way to redress this problem. We are delighted to be awarded this contract and look forward to fully supporting the Defence Medical Services in its outstanding efforts to provide the wounded with the best possible care."

buglerbilly

04-03-10, 01:39 AM

Pentagon Seeks Robo-EMS to Rescue Wounded Warriors

By Katie Drummond March 3, 2010 | 9:31 am

In a war zone, evacuating patients under fire is one of the most dangerous jobs there is. That’s why the Pentagon’s hoping to capitalize on recent innovations in robotics to finally create ‘bots that operate as “combat casualty extraction system[s].”

And the military doesn’t just want solo robot heroes, plucking the injured from battle and rushing them to a waiting — and human-operated — vehicle. Nope. The Pentagon’s after an autonomous EMS crew, complete with an unmanned ambulance and robodocs, who can aid fallen troops “with minimal intervention by medic or other first responder operators.”

The potential benefits are obvious. Replacing humans who now help bring medical attention to wounded soldiers would reduce the number of people at risk in rescue operations. And the Army is betting that technology in the works, with developments like free-ranging robots that have human-like movement or legs strong enough to jump 25 feet, offers a chance to swap human medics with robotic versions.

Robot-rescue research has been ongoing for years with such efforts as Israeli work to develop a robotic ambulance. But the Army wants ‘bots that are more autonomous, tough as nails and small enough to cram into an unmanned vehicle. In fact, the robots described in the Army’s small business innovation research project sound freakishly independent of their human overlords They’ll be able to plan and execute transportation routes, facilitate communication between patients and off-site human medics, coordinate “robot teams,” lift, drag or otherwise remove a troop from harm’s way, and even figure out just how serious a fallen war-fighter’s injuries are.

According to the project description, the robotic first responders will be able to “perform remote/stand-off initial casualty assessment to identify injuries sufficient to prevent further injury during robotic casualty extraction,” and “provide closed loop or semi-autonomous casualty monitoring and en route care sufficient to mitigate risk associated with ‘abandonment’ concerns.”

If the ‘bot teams are as agile as the Army anticipates, they’ll be able to extract casualties from rugged terrain, marshes or ice, and even through “enemy fire or IEDs, contamination from weapons of mass destruction, or any of numerous natural hazards.”

They also want the robots to work in conjunction with unmanned vehicles, for the creation of an all-in-one, robot rescue crew. And once the military’s satisfied with a prototype system, the ‘bot EMS could be coming soon to a hostage standoff near you. The project’s potential “dual-use” applications include “civilian emergency services for recovering injured personnel in mine, construction site and nuclear power plant accidents; chemical spills; fire fighting, terrorist, hostage situations; and in police response to situations involving armed suspects.”

Photo: plaza.ufl.edu

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/03/pentagon-seeks-robo-ems-to-rescue-wounded-warriors/#more-22983#ixzz0hADZ9APR

buglerbilly

06-03-10, 01:06 AM

DARPA Pushes for Fail-Proof Prosthetics

By Katie Drummond March 5, 2010 | 1:55 pm

Better prosthetic devices have been a major Pentagon priority for years. Now, they want to make the devices longer-lasting, more reliable and better able to integrate directly with the human brain.

DARPA, the military’s risk-taking research agency, is launching the next phase of its Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, which was started in 2000 with the goal of creating a fully-functioning, neurally-controlled human limb within five years.

Since then, the agency has made plenty of progress. They’re currently doing human trials of the DEKA Arm, a prosthetic that allows users to complete day-to-day tasks with unprecedented ease. That arm uses a joystick-style interface, with a user tapping commands with their toes to trigger movements with the arm. At Johns Hopkins, DARPA-funded researchers are still working on an arm that uses a 100-sensor neural interface to create a brain-body meld much like what’s inherent in natural limbs.

But although DARPA had hoped to have a fully-functional, neuro-prosthetic model ready by 2010, the agency’s researchers have yet to master the integration of human neural pathways with artificial platforms. For one, neural-recording interfaces are notoriously short-lived, with a life-span of around two years, and they don’t extract adequate information to yield seamless movement from brain to neurons to limbs. A seemingly simple motion, like using an arm to eat, is actually a series of thousands of movements, sensations, cues and brain-neuron communications. Right now, DARPA’s prototypes can transmit 500 events per second. According to the agency, that’s not nearly enough.

So DARPA’s launching a new program, Histology for Interface Stability Over Time, in hopes of creating not only a neurally-controlled limb, but one that has a 70-year lifespan and flawless integration with the human body.

It’s a three-year, three-phase initiative that’s first and foremost about failure. DARPA wants to know why neural-recording interfaces are apt to break down or suffer lagging performance, and how researchers can predict that failure sooner — before an amputee is stuck with an arm or leg that’s simply stopped working. They’re asking researchers to batter and overload the neural platforms, to figure out where vulnerabilities can be detected.

DARPA also wants researchers to determine which neural models are the most effective, though they already anticipates that successful prototypes will use “implanted cortical microelectrodes,” to yield the best results. In other words, brain implants that directly communicate with the nervous system. That entails another hurdle: a non-invasive method of monitoring and repairing the devices.

Revolutionizing the state of prosthetic models hasn’t been easy, and DARPA notes that “significant risk may hinder the achievement of all programmatic milestones.” Not that DARPA’s ever been scared off by risk — they’re just expecting a long, difficult effort to overcome it.

[Photo: U.S. Army]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/#ixzz0hLmI4yVy

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/#ixzz0hLmI8Uz3

buglerbilly

16-03-10, 04:56 AM

Humans could regrow body parts like some amphibians

Regrowing amputated limbs, broken backs and even damaged brains could one day be a reality after scientists discovered a gene that is key to the almost magical ability.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent

Published: 8:00PM GMT 15 Mar 2010

Researchers have found that the gene p21 appears to block the healing power still enjoyed by some creatures including amphibians but lost through evolution to all other animals.

By turning off p21, the process can be miraculously switched back on.

Academics from The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia found that mice lacking the p21 gene gain the ability to regenerate lost or damaged tissue.

Unlike typical mammals, which heal wounds by forming a scar, these mice begin by forming a blastema, a structure associated with rapid cell growth.

According to the Wistar researchers, the loss of p21 causes the cells of these mice to behave more like regenerating embryonic stem cells rather than adult mammalian cells. This means they act as if they creating rather thane mending the body.

Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provide solid evidence to link tissue regeneration to the control of cell division.

They turned off the gene in mice which had damaged ears and they regrew them. While they say it is early days, there is nothing theoretically different about applying the same process to humans.

Professor Ellen Heber-Katz, the lead scientist, said: "Much like a newt that has lost a limb, these mice will replace missing or damaged tissue with healthy tissue that lacks any sign of scarring.

"While we are just beginning to understand the repercussions of these findings, perhaps, one day we'll be able to accelerate healing in humans by temporarily inactivating the p21 gene.

"In normal cells, p21 acts like a brake to block cell cycle progression in the event of DNA damage, preventing the cells from dividing and potentially becoming cancerous.

"We propose that any future therapy would involve turning off p21 transiently during the healing process and only locally at the wound site. This might be done through locally applied drugs. This should minimise any side effects."

buglerbilly

16-03-10, 05:05 AM

From Times Online March 15, 2010

Soldier blinded by a grenade in Iraq can 'see' with his tongue

(Lewis Whyld/PA)
Lance-Corporal Craig Lundberg, whose life has been transformed by the ground-breaking technology

(Lewis Whyld/PA)
He lost his sight after being struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Basra in 2007, but has regained some 'vision' thanks to the device

A soldier blinded by a grenade in Iraq revealed yesterday how his life has been transformed by ground-breaking technology that enables him to “see” with his tongue.

Lance-Corporal Craig Lundberg, 24, from Walton, Liverpool, can read words, identify shapes and walk unaided thanks to the BrainPort device, which gives him “lingual vision”.

The Liverpool fan, who plays blind football for England, lost his sight after being struck by a rocket propelled grenade while serving in Basra in 2007.

He was faced with the prospect of relying on a guide dog or cane for the rest of his life.

However, he was chosen by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to be the first person to trial a pioneering device — the BrainPort, which could revolutionise treatment for the blind.

The BrainPort is a tiny video camera attached to a pair of sunglasses which are linked to a plastic “lolly pop” which the user places on their tongue to read the electrical pulses.

It works by converting visual images captured by the camera, into a series of electrical pulses which are sent to the tongue. The different strength of the tingles can be read or interpreted so the user can mentally visualise their surroundings and navigate around objects.

Lance-Corporal Lundberg explained: “It feels like licking a nine volt battery or like popping candy.

“The camera sends signals down onto the lolly pop and onto your tongue. You can then determine what they mean and transfer it to shapes.

“You get lines and shapes of things. It sees in black and white so you get a two-dimensional image on your tongue. It’s a bit like a pins and needles sensation.”

He demonstrated the device yesterday, reading correctly three letter words, such as CAT, from word cards held around a metre in front of him.

“It’s only a prototype, but the potential to change my life is massive. It’s got a lot of potential to advance things for blind people.

“One of the things it has enabled me to do is pick up objects straight away. I can reach out and pick them up when before I would be fumbling around to feel for them.”

The soldier vowed that his new-found lingual vision would not be at the expense of his beloved guide dog, Hugo.

“There is no way I’m getting rid of my guide dog Hugo, though - I love him.

“This is another mobility device, it’s not the be-all and end-all of my disability.”

The MoD said it expected to pay the US around £18,000 for the device and training to enable the trial to take place.

Unveiling the BrainPort at the MoD headquarters in Whitehall, US Major-General Gale Pollock, who worked on the scheme, said the BrainPort has 400 points sending information to the tongue connection.

She said: “I think this provides huge hope, because there has really been no clear advance for the visually impaired since we invented white canes and guide dogs.

“It’s just so exciting to finally be able to say to people: here is a tool that may help you and start to restore hope to the visually impaired community. It’s just wonderful.”

Designers plan to expand this to 4,000 points, which would vastly upgrade the clarity of the image.

Users cannot speak or eat while using the BrainPort so designers are hoping to create a smaller device that could be permanently fixed behind the teeth or to the roof of the mouth, enabling more natural use.

Lance-Corporal Lundberg, who served with 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster’s, suffered injuries to his head, face and arm in the grenade blast.

His left eye was removed and he is profoundly blind in his right eye.

The MoD said that between July 2004 and July 2008, 62 soldiers sustained eye injuries while serving in Operation Herrick in Afghanistan. Of these, 15 lost their sight in one or both eyes.

Fewer than five soldiers were blinded during Operation Telic in Iraq, the MoD said.

JimWH

16-03-10, 09:56 AM

Blimey, we were discussing this in med school last year as something which was thought could be a treatment option in about 3-4 years time...

buglerbilly

16-03-10, 10:56 AM

Blimey, we were discussing this in med school last year as something which was thought could be a treatment option in about 3-4 years time...

Which one, turning off P21 or seeing with your tongue?

buglerbilly

18-03-10, 02:10 AM

US Army overhauls fitness training for 'weak generation'

The United States Army has had to overhaul its basic fitness training for the first time in 30 years in an effort to knock into shape a more sedentary and docile generation of recruits.

By Tom Leonard in New York

Published: 9:30PM GMT 17 Mar 2010

Muscle building and zigzag sprinting have replaced five-mile runs and bayonet charges for new soldiers who have often spent for more time sitting in front of a computer than doing physical exercise.

The new training regime also reflects advice from drill sergeants who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts about what is relevant to the sort of battlegrounds where US troops are now fighting.

The new programme also includes a greater emphasis on combat experience, including basic hand-to-hand techniques.

Trainers note that many recruits have not done physical education at school and their only experience of fighting has often been in video games.

"Most of these soldiers have never been in a fist fight or any kind of a physical confrontation. They are stunned when they get smacked in the face," said Captain Scott Sewell, a training officer at the army's physical fitness school at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. "We are trying to get them to act, to think like warriors."

Much of the new programme in the 10-week basic training resembles the sort of callisthenics featured in "ab blaster" classes in civilian gyms, with the same emphasis on building up body strength, power and speed in flabby, underused bodies that have relied too much on diets heavy on sugary drinks and fast food.

"We geared all of our callisthenics, all of our running movements, all of our warrior skills, so soldiers can become stronger, more powerful and more speed driven," said Frank Palkoska, head of the fitness school.

"Soldiers need to be able to move quickly under load, to be mobile under load, with your body armour, your weapons and your helmet, in a stressful situation."

Any training exercises not seen as strictly relevant have been dropped. American soldiers have not carried bayonets on their rifles for years so that long-standing tradition was among the casualties.

The army last overhauled its physical fitness programme in 1980 when men and women soldiers started to train together.

"We have to make the training relevant to the conditions on the modern battlefield," said Lt Gen Mark Hertling, the officer in charge of reviewing all aspects of basic training.

buglerbilly

18-03-10, 02:22 AM

US army told to shape up – by duelling with pugil sticks

Military top brass switching fitness focus from five-mile runs to zigzag sprints and modern combat exercises

Sam Jones and agencies guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 17 March 2010 19.53 GMT

Military chiefs say the US army's 30-year-old training regime is becoming obsolete. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

The asymmetric reality of 21st-century warfare has taught the US military much over the last decade.

It has taught them that their enemies are relentless, technologically advanced and often invisible – and that hardware and superior numbers are no longer the guarantees they once were.

Unfortunately, it has also taught them that some of their recruits are too fat and not much good in a fight, and that a lot of their 30-year-old physical training regime is in danger of becoming obsolete.

However, the top brass has listened to Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans and is now switching the fitness focus from five-mile runs and bayonet drills to zigzag sprints and agility exercises. Battlefield sergeants believe recruits should also learn how to dodge across alleys and pull a comrade from a burning vehicle.

The new drills are also designed to educate those whose only experience of combat has been gleaned from playing computer games.

"Most of these soldiers have never been in a fistfight or any kind of a physical confrontation," said trainer Captain Scott Sewell at the army's fitness school in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. "They are stunned when they get smacked in the face. We are trying to get them to act, to think like warriors."

To that end, Sewell and his colleagues spend hours urging trainees to duel with pugil sticks until one is knocked over

buglerbilly

19-03-10, 05:12 PM

More on cell regeneration............

From Times Online March 20, 2010

'Milestone moment' as boy undergoes transplant to regenerate trachea

(PA)
The stem cells are now reconstructing the airway and ensuring it is not rejected by his immune system

Sam Lister, Health Editor

A British boy has undergone a groundbreaking operation involving the transplantation of a windpipe which is being regenerated inside his body using his own stem cells.

Scientists described the operation, carried out on Monday at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, as a 'milestone moment' in the development of techniques that could allow people to rebuild damaged or transplanted organs inside their bodies.

The replacement trachea, the bony tube that connects the nose, mouth and lungs, was stripped of the donor's cells to leave a scaffold which was then laced with the child's stem cells. The boy, aged 10, then received the transplant hours later. The stem cells are now reconstructing the airway and ensuring it is not rejected by his immune system.

The operation is the first to use stem cells with the scaffold inside the body. It is also the first entire windpipe transplant to be carried out on a child and is also the first to involve the entire length of the trachea.

The doctors who carried out the procedure said the technique reduced greatly the risk of rejection of the new trachea, as the child’s stem cells will not generate any immune response. They said the child, who is not being identified, is recovering well and is able to speak.

Professor Martin Elliott, who led the surgery at Great Ormond Street, added that the technique was a breakthrough because, once the scaffold was ready, it could be carried out in a matter of hours.

The scientists added that because the regeneration occured in the human body rather than a laboratory, it cost "tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands of pounds". They said that they hoped it would speed the course of organ regeneration, with the possibility of moving in to operations involving the larynx or oesophagus.

Professor Paolo Macchiarini, who developed the scaffold technology and is based at Careggi University Hospital, Florence, said: "This underlines how we know that the time has come to change how we focus on transplantation. Rather than wait until an organ fails we should try to use stem cells in this way. It shows how we should be working towards treating organs such as the heart and lungs with the appropriate cells to try to replace the function of that organ."

The trachea transplant was carried out by British and Italian doctors. It follows an operation carried out by doctors in Spain in 2008 when a woman received a windpipe made with her own stem cells — the first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant. However the procedure was carried out in a laboratory before the rebuilt airway was transplanted in its entirety into the patient.

The latest operation involved the stripping down of a trachea, which was donated by a woman who had died recently, to the inert collagen. Strong chemicals and enzymes were used to wash away all of the cells, leaving only a tissue scaffold made of the fibrous protein collagen.

The child recipient’s bone marrow stem cells were collected, and applied to the graft in situ in the body, to rebuild the cellular component of the trachea and make the new airway sealed and effective.

Scientists believe that breakthroughs in organ construction using stem cells will likely mean that any transplant organ could be made in this way in a matter of decades. American scientists have already successfully implanted bladder patches grown in the laboratory from patients' own cells into people with bladder disease.

buglerbilly

26-03-10, 08:23 AM

Another up-and-coming biotechnology, print your own veins and in the future your own heart! Possibly............

Scientists Use 3D Printer to Create First “Printed” Human Vein

by Brit Liggett, 03/22/10

3D Printing technology has recently leapt into a new realm — we’ve seen printers that can create entire buildings out of stone, delicious meals out of simple ingredients, and now — perhaps weirdest and coolest of them all — a printer that can build body parts from cells! Scientists working on the Organovo NovoGen printer recently created the first “printed” human vein. This technology could replace other toxic and carbon-heavy medicinal practices like using artificial parts in the human body.

The printer is meant to be used in regenerative medicine. Instead of borrowing body parts from someone else — or yourself — the printer will just make a new part for you. The printer is loaded with cartridges of “bio-ink” a substance that acts as a kind of scaffolding for the cells to retain their shape. A sophisticated computer is linked to the printer that is pre-programmed with the 3D blueprint of whatever is being made. The computer instructs the printer to lay down two dimensional layers of bio ink and cells that eventually form into the 3D body part.

With the successful printing of a human vein, the scientists are looking forward to moving on to larger organs. Though the printing of an entire lung or heart is far off, the technology has been proven to be viable. In the near future instead of using plastics or metals to fix small arteries and heart defects, doctors could use real human tissue. Instead of borrowing skin or veins from other parts of the body to fix injuries they could just print some out. Instead of borrowing a liver or heart from a cadaver they could just whip one up. All they need are some healthy organ cells and they’ve got a replacement.

Organovo NovoGen printer

http://organovo.com/

buglerbilly

29-03-10, 03:58 AM

From The Times March 29, 2010

Medical care of troops could suffer if casualties rise, MPs warn

Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor

British Forces lack a proper plan to ensure that all seriously injured troops will receive first-class medical treatment if the number of casualties from Afghanistan rises significantly, MPs have warned.

The Public Accounts Committee also voiced concern over Britain’s ability to maintain the same level of care and support to a wounded serviceman or woman after they are discharged from the Armed Forces and must rely on the NHS, particularly in the light of expected public spending cuts.

A total of 565 military personnel have been seriously injured, such as losing one or more limbs or suffering brain damage, in Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001, the MPs indicated. Their report examined the Ministry of Defence’s treatment of those who were wounded or fell ill on military operations. A further 1,700 reported mental health conditions and 125,000 suffered minor injuries and illnesses.

The MPs applauded the level of care in the military wing of Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, where the most seriously injured Service personnel are taken first, saying that they were more likely to survive than civilians treated for major trauma by the NHS. The group urged the MoD, however, to ensure that other hospitals were properly prepared to take wounded Forces if Selly Oak became full.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the committee, said: “What concerns us is the extent to which the MoD would continue to be able to provide that high standard of care if the casualty rate were to increase significantly.”

Civilian patients are sent elsewhere if the military wing of Selly Oak is full but this contingency lasts only for five days.

Other hospitals in the area are able to take military patients but the committee is concerned that there is not a guarantee that the same level of support will be provided.

MPs said that a plan to expand the number of beds by up to 30 at Hedley Court, the rehabilitation centre where troops with serious and complicated injuries are sent, is sufficient to deal with expected demand.

However, they issued a warning about preparations to look after injured veterans after they leave the Armed Forces, to ensure that they have a successful transition to civilian life.

The MoD “recognised that effective transition is a real challenge and was concerned that society at large has not yet grasped the scale of the longer-term care seriously injured troops will need”, the report said.

The Department of Health is working with the MoD to ensure that the same quality of support, for example the provision of prosthetic limbs, is given to former soldiers.

However, the committee said it was “concerned that future cuts in funding to the public sector, including the NHS, may affect the care that injured troops receive once they have left the Armed Forces”.

The committee also noted that the number of casualties so far from the latest, major operation in Afghanistan, Operation Moshtarak, had been lower than estimated.

buglerbilly

12-04-10, 04:51 AM

MoD rejecting Gulf war syndrome pension claims, say veteransGroup says many Gulf veterans giving up on war pensions after repeatedly having disabilities challenged and claims rejected

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 11 April 2010 15.18 BST

Shaun Rusling after a high court victory in 2003. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Reuters

Hundreds of ailing Gulf war veterans are still going through drawn-out and distressing appeals to get war pensions, a charity said today.

Those left ill from the 1990-91 conflict must seek compensation for each individual symptom because the Ministry of Defence refuses to recognise Gulf war syndrome as a medical condition, according to the National Gulf Veterans and Families Association (NGVFA). Many give up after repeatedly having their disabilities challenged and their claims rejected, it said.

The Hull-based group says 9,700 British veterans have suffered from a cocktail of Gulf war-related health problems, typically including chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, depression, unexplained fatigue, rashes and breathing problems. Nearly 20 years after the conflict to drive Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, many are still battling to receive war pensions.

Shaun Rusling, an NGVFA trustee, said the veterans had been treated in an "absolutely despicable manner" and accused the MoD of "putting up fences" to stop them getting their due. Describing the veterans as "forgotten heroes", he claimed they were not getting the medical care they needed because Gulf war syndrome was not recognised.

Rusling said: "Nine times out of 10, Gulf war veterans' applications for war pensions are rejected. The veterans obviously claim for Gulf war syndrome. They turn around and say, 'no such condition'. The veterans have to apply for every sign and symptom. We have asked them [the MoD] to accept Gulf war syndrome so the veterans don't have to go through further distress. What we have asked them to do is just pension them for Gulf war syndrome. They don't want to accept that."

He said he and other soldiers invariably broke down when they had to go through the "distressing" war pensions appeals process. "The veterans, ill as they are, just give up because of the stress that they're put through at the tribunals," he said.

Rusling, 51, a former Parachute Regiment medic who served in the Gulf, won a groundbreaking ruling in May 2002 when a pensions appeal tribunal officially recognised Gulf war syndrome as a disease. Last year, a landmark study for the US Congress concluded that troops' ill-health was caused by them being given nerve gas pills and exposed to pesticides during the conflict.

The MoD's official position remains that Gulf war syndrome is a useful "umbrella term" but comprises too many different symptoms to be characterised as a syndrome in medical terms.

Rusling said more Gulf veterans were coming forward to seek compensation now, as those who were young men in 1991 found themselves "hitting a wall".

"I've seen these young men absolutely mentally and physically shattered. They're now applying for war pensions," he said. "It adds insult to injury and further distress to an ill and confused soldier who has done nothing more than his duty. They deserve proper recognition and acceptance of what they have done to us."

An MoD spokesman said: "Any UK veteran who suffers from ill-health as a result of their service is compensated accordingly. Often veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict have submitted claims for more than 20 different conditions or symptoms at a time, which means it can take time to consider all the evidence and conclude a claim or an appeal. All cases are dealt with as quickly as possible."

buglerbilly

20-04-10, 03:17 AM

Seeing Tongues, Spray-On Skin, Transplanted Hands: Top Officer Encounters Military’s Extreme Medicine Wing

By Noah Shachtman April 19, 2010 | 7:52 pm

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — First stop: the spray gun that shoots out skin cells. Next, the blind man who “sees” by using his tongue. Finally, a shake of a marine’s transplanted hand.

The nation’s top military officer today took a look at some of the Pentagon’s wildest research projects to heal the badly wounded. Once the bordering-on-sci-fi demonstrations at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were over, however, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen voiced some concerns. The technologies and techniques seemed promising. But when would they be available, really, to help wounded veterans? And why did the corporal with the replacement hand have to rely on his girlfriend’s mom in order to find out about his revolutionary treatment?

In 2008, the Department of Defense and academia set aside $250 million to set up a consortium to fund bleeding-edge research into the science of rebuilding human muscle, tissue, and minds. Today, that Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) project is beginning to show results. Whether those results will come in time for the tens of thousands of wounded veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq remains an open question.

“That’s the challenge you always have with research: How do you get research to full production levels,” Mullen said. “I’m satisfied we can. I’m not satisfied we’re doing it rapidly enough. And one of the things I take away from this trip is to go back and see if I can push from where I am to roll this out more rapidly.”

One of the researchers here, Dr. Douglas Kondziolka, mentioned it might be another decade before his treatment of transplanted brain cells might be wildly available to troops who have suffered in war. The research was proceeding methodically. And approval for large-scale tests on human brains takes forever to obtain. Mullen seemed less than enthused. ‘”10 years doesn’t satisfy any of us,” he later said.

Konziolka’s colleague Dr. Peter Rubin is using fat tissue and fat stem cells to reconstruct damaged faces; the first of Rubin’s 20 trial patients underwent the procedure this month. Dr. Donald Marinelli has built a custom Wii game to test for traumatic brain injury. Corporal Isaias Hernandez has regrown most of a blown-apart quadriceps, thanks to a biologic scaffold developed here. He flexed it for the Admiral.

Dr. Alain Corcos took a silver rod, tipped with a glowing blue light. He pointed the rod at an easel of white paper, and squirted it with a fine blue mist. When the spray gun is loaded with a compressed air and solution of stem cells and epidermal progenitor cells, it can be used to assist the badly burned. The cells start to divide, eventually covering and healing an area far greater that a traditional skin graft. On one patient, a patch of spray-on skin the size of a postage stamp grew to repair an entire arm. The military has identified 40 troops for future trials, and 40 more civilians have been picked, as well.

Even more striking was white-haired Clarence “Butch” Schultz, who last served in the Navy in the 1950s. Since then, he lost sight in both of his eyes. But a device under investigation here has enabled his brain to route around his damaged eyes. The Brainport uses a digital video camera, housed on a pair of sunglasses, to collect visual data. The data is transmitted to a handheld unit, which converts the data to electrical impulses. Those impulses are then sent to an electrode array that’s placed on the tongue (saliva is a great electrical conductor, and the tongue offers densely packed nerves to collect and transmit the impulses to the brain). The device then converts the data to pixels — and allows Schulz to experience the world. “I can actually see the difference between light and dark, between cement and black top, between the lawn and the driveway,” Schultz said.

With Mullen and his wife and staff watching, Schultz put down his cane. He shuffled down a laboratory hallway, side-stepping a swivel-chair and a small garbage pail. He’s planning a much longer walk this summer: a 1000-mile trip to his home in Florida.

Mullen was then introduced to Corporal Josh Maloney, an Iraq veteran who lost his right hand during a training exercise in 2007. He tried a couple of different prosthetic limbs as replacements. He couldn’t deal with any of them – “worthless,” he said. A little more than a year ago, doctors here gave him a transplanted hand from a cadaver. It’s a tricky operation that not only involves the connection of tissue, muscle, nerves, and bone. It also means giving the patient an immunosuppressive cocktail, including cells from the donor’s bone marrow, so that the new limb won’t be rejected by its new host. In Maloney’s case, it worked. “At eight months, I really started to get feeling [in the hand]. At nine months, I was playing Playstation again. Now I kick everyone’s butt,” he said.

But Maloney only found out about the Pentagon-backed effort to perform hand transplants through dumb luck. His girlfriend’s mom worked at a hospital, and happened to pick up a brochure on the military’s new regenerative medicine push. Otherwise, he’d still have only one hand.

“It shouldn’t be incumbent on patients to find health care, like we heard with Josh,” Mullen health and medicine aide Colonel Christian Macedonia said afterwards.

And if military researchers can’t figure out how to help large numbers of troops, those scientists may have trouble keeping their supply of Pentagon funds. The Department of Defense bankrolls thousands of promising science and technology programs every year. Most of them never make it beyond the lab. During the Pentagon’s massive expansion after 9/11, the military could afford to keep all those projects on the books. Mullen said that might not be as possible in the years to come. The Pentagon’s budget will inevitably shrink, as the America’s troops come home from Iraq and Afghanistan. “So how do you protect what’s important in an incredibly different budget environment and a different political environment, especially when it’s stuff people don’t quite understand yet?” he asked. No one answered.

[Photo: Noah Shachtman]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/spray-on-skin-and-seeing-tongues-top-officer-meets-militarys-extreme-medicine/all/1#ixzz0lbBXsvlc

buglerbilly

23-04-10, 03:37 AM

Troops given compulsory psychiatric tests under Tories

Every serviceman leaving the Armed Forces will be forced to take compulsory psychiatric checks as part of plans to tackle rising mental health problems, the Tories will announce today.

By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent

Published: 7:30AM BST 22 Apr 2010

Announcing their commitment to “rebuild the military covenant”, the Conservatives will institute a wide-ranging programme to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other mental illnesses suffered as a result of horrors witnessed Iraq and Afghanistan.

With one in three combat veterans reporting some form of mental disorder and five per cent suffering PTSD from Iraq the Tories say addressing the issue is critical.

Sufferers will be given special support through a network that will include the NHS and the voluntary and public sectors. Priority will be given to those who have served on operations.

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the issue needed to be addressed as there was a mental health "time bomb" in the Forces.

"Too many personnel are slipping through the net so this is about trying to prevent human tragedy rather than dealing with its consquences."

The Tories will also announce the establishment of Britain’s first state-funded PTSD treatment programme for veterans. Those with less serious illnesses will be referred to psychiatric nurses.

While the Labour government instituted priority treatment for those with service-related injuries the Tories have criticised the lack of routine assessment for troops returning from operations.

“Early intervention and rapid diagnosis is proven to help prevent serious problems later on,” said the paper titled ‘A new covenant for our Armed Forces and their families.”

“When we send our Armed Forces to war, we have a duty as a nation to offer the best help we can to support their readjustment to civilian life.”

The late diagnosis and treatment of sufferers has lead “huge financial and human cost” with disproportionately high criminal offending, drug abuse and suicide among ex-Servicemen.

Col Tim Collins, a former infantry commander in Iraq, said: “People have to realise the pace, intensity and sheer horror of the fighting that has gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The last person who knows about their mental illness is the victims themselves. Also the statistics show that the jailing and suicide rate in veterans is far too high so whether the blokes like it or not this proposal is very sensible.”

Andy McNab, the SAS soldier-turned-author who lost a number of colleagues to post-service suicides, said: “Men are notoriously bad at going to the doctors, even if it involves testicular cancer, and there is still a stigma over what the blokes call ‘jellyheads’. So this proposal is a great idea as it will force people to acknowledge problems, it will give the them potential solutions out there and will also provide a proper health record for future use.”

A spokesman for Labour said they had already set up six pilots military mental health sites across the country and had an agreement for NHS rather than MoD funding.

buglerbilly

28-04-10, 02:41 AM

Pentagon: Boost Training With Computer-Troop Mind Meld

By Katie Drummond April 27, 2010 | 1:13 pm

The Pentagon is looking to better train its troops — by scanning their minds as they play video games.

Adaptive, mind-reading computer systems have been a work-in-progress among military agencies for at least a decade. In 2000, far-out research agency Darpa launched “Augmented Cognition,” a program that sought to develop computers that used EEG scans to adjust how they displayed information — visually, orally, or otherwise — to avoid overtaxing one realm of a troop’s cognition.

The Air Force also took up the idea, by trying to use EEGs to “assess the operator’s actual cognitive state” and “avoid cognitive bottlenecks before they occur.”

Zeroing in on brainpower is a strategy that reflects the changing tactics of fighting wars: today’s troop needs to be as cognitively ready as they are physically — if not more. They’ve also got to spend more time on the ground in urban settings, interacting with locals and canvassing for information. That’s where virtual cultural trainers often come in handy. Troops are prepped in language, social norms and cultural sensitivity, before they even leave their base.

The trainers are quickly becoming more sophisticated. As Danger Room pal Peter Singer notes, the Pentagon is already using “three-dimensional experiences that hit multiple senses,” including, in one case, a wearable collar that emits key odors.

Now, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is soliciting small business proposals for an even more immersive trainer, one that includes voice-recognition technology, and picks up on vocal tone and facial gestures. The game would then react and adapt to a war-fighter’s every action. For example, if a player’s gesture “insults the local tribal leader,” the trainee would “find that future interactions with the population are more difficult and more hostile.”

And, most importantly, the new programs would react to the warrior’s own physiological and neurological cues. They’d be monitored using an EEG, eye tracking, heart and respiration rate, and other physiological markers. Based on the metrics, the game would adapt in difficulty and “keep trainees in an optimal state of learning.”

The OSD isn’t ready to use neuro-based systems in the war zone, but the agency does want to capitalize on advances in neuroscience that have assigned meaningful value to intuitive decision-making. As the OSD solicitation points out, troops often need to make fast-paced decisions in high-stress environments, with limited information and context. Well-reasoned, analytic decisions are rarely possible — which would make intuition, if it were reliable, an ideal tool to give American troops the upper hand.

That’s where neuroscience comes in. OSD wants simulated games that use EEGs to monitor the cognitive patterns of trainees, particularly at what’s thought to be the locus of neurally based, intuitive decision-making — the basal ganglia. In his seminal paper on the neuroscience of intuition, Harvard’s Matthew Lieberman notes that the ganglia can “learn temporal patterns that are predictive of events of significance, regardless of conscious intent … as long as exposure is repeatedly instantiated.”

By using neural monitoring to supervise a trainee’s progress in their simulated world, the military could bolster the odds that snap decisions in the real-world will be based on more than just a gut feeling.

Photo: Jeff Corwin Photography/Boeing

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/pentagon-boost-training-with-computer-troop-mind-meld/#more-24015#ixzz0mLokgwHA

buglerbilly

30-04-10, 02:29 AM

Military Wants to Super-Charge Troop Smarts

By Katie Drummond April 29, 2010 | 8:07 am

The Pentagon’s been trying to get ahead of the curve on neuroscience for years, toying with ideas like mind-reading whether people are lying and performance-degrading drugs for enemy combatants. Now, it’s launching a major effort to harness neuroscience in a way that might better prepare soldiers for the mental rigors of modern warfare.

In a series of small business solicitations released last week, the Office of the Secretary of Defense outlined plans for a new “Cognitive Readiness Technology” program with the aim of “making our warfighters as cognitively strong as they are physically strong.”

Neuroscience is at the locus of the program. Before they can super-charge cognition, Pentagon scientists need to understand exactly how it works. So they’re launching “Neuromorphic Models of Human Social Cultural Behavior” (HSCB) to accurately model human cognition, including how we perceive, learn and retain information. HSCB models already exist, and are used by troops and decision-makers to predict the outcome of a choices during a mission. But the models “are only as good as the fidelity of the human behavior representations (HBR) that form them.” Right now, those representations are based entirely on empirical observation, which the military wants to swap out for a model that can tap into “the functions of the brain that give rise to actual human cognition.”

It’s not the first time the Pentagon has tried to map the human mind. Last year, research agency Darpa requested proposals for systems that would synchronize neural brain waves to optimize the mind’s storage capacity and memory recall. The agency has also tried to create synthetic versions of living brains, complete with “neuroscience-inspired architecture.”

The military wants cognitive mapping to help assess troop readiness in a war-zone. Their small-business solicitations include a request for embeddable body sensors that could automatically determine mental preparedness, which can be influenced by factors like fatigue, cognitive overload or stress, based on physiological and neural data. The sensors would do more than just analyze the cognitive status of their wearer — they’d be combined with the data from other team members, to instantly identify just how performance-ready a given unit actually is.

But no matter how cognitively capable troops become, they’ll still rely on computers to handle much of their workload. Humans, the solicitation notes, “are quick to arrive at initial decisions,” but computers can more quickly calculate pros and cons of different tactics. That’s why the military also wants neuroscience to “bridge the human-machine systems gap” and turn troops and computers into collaborative units. Their “neuro-cognitive control of human machine systems,” would tap into the neural signals that indicate desired actions, then transmit them to a computer to determine the optimal approach and carry it out.

And a training program that emphasizes brawny brains over bodies reflects a trend across Pentagon departments: Just last month, the Army announced a redesign of their physical-fitness program to accommodate troops spending more time behind computer screens than they do on their feet.

Photo: U.S Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/military-wants-to-super-charge-troop-smarts/#more-24082#ixzz0mXT3nYuW

buglerbilly

01-05-10, 02:54 AM

Pentagon Scientists Inject Necks to ‘Cure’ PTSD

By Katie Drummond April 30, 2010 | 3:31 pm

Finding an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder has been a top Pentagon priority for years. And with an estimated one in five veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from PTSD, the military’s been willing to consider anything and everything, including yoga, dog therapy and acupuncture, to alleviate symptoms.

But a small new study out of Walter Reed Army Medical Center might offer more than temporary relief — with nothing more than a quick jab to the neck.

It’s a procedure called stellate ganglion block (STB), and involves injecting local anesthetic into a bundle of nerves located in the neck. The bundle are a locus for the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates the body’s “fight-or-flight” stress response.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Sean Mulvaney, Pentagon scientists gave STB injections to two soldiers, one on active duty and another who’d been suffering from PTSD symptoms since serving in the Gulf War nearly two decades ago. Their study reports that both men “experienced immediate, significant and durable relief” after the 10-minute procedure, and no longer exhibit symptoms that would qualify them for a PTSD diagnosis.

Seven months later, both had successfully stopped using antidepressant and antipsychotic medications with the guidance of a psychiatrist.

While the research out of Walter Reed only tested two patients, a Chicago-based doctor named Eugene Lipov is already conducting his own double-blind trial on war-vet volunteers. One of his patients, 28-year-old John Sullivan, found little relief with prescription anti-anxiety meds. But the former Marine Corps Sergeant told ABC News that the STB injection completely eliminated his nightmares, flashbacks and ongoing anxiety.

“[It was] not painful and the results were within five minutes — I felt more relaxed and calmed down. It’s been great.”

Lipov has also conducted before-and-after brain scans on patients. Those suffering from PTSD usually exhibit characteristic “hot spots” that light up when a patient is exposed to violent imagery. After an STB treatment, the brains of PTSD patients no longer displayed the abnormal reactions.

But STB treatments, which have been used for decades to treat a handful of illnesses, including Raynaud’s Syndrome, aren’t without risks. Injuries to the nervous or vascular system are the most common, usually from a misplaced needle. Still, STB is likely to be met with more enthusiasm from the Pentagon than another potential PTSD treatment. MDMA, the key ingredient in ecstasy, was in the spotlight last week after successful results of a study on 21 veterans. But according to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, who sponsored the study, the Department of Veterans Affairs has thus far refused to collaborate on future research.

[Photo: Uniformed Services University]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/04/pentagon-scientists-inject-necks-to-cure-ptsd/#more-24211#ixzz0mdPhiq1L

buglerbilly

06-05-10, 03:07 AM

Air Force Treating Wounds With Lasers and Nanotech

By Katie Drummond May 5, 2010 | 12:06 pm

Forget stitches and old-school sutures. The Air Force is funding scientists who are using nano-technology and lasers to seal up wounds at a molecular level.

It might sound like Star Trek tech, but it’s actually the latest in a series of ambitious Pentagon efforts to create faster, more effective methods of treating war-zone injuries.

Last year, the military’s research agency, Darpa, requested proposals for instant injury repair using adult stem cells, and Pentagon scientists are already doing human trials of spray-on skin.

Massachusetts General Hospital researchers Irene Kochevar, Robert Redmond and dermatologist Sandy Tsao are behind the nano-tech project, which has been funded by various agencies within the Department of Defense for eight years. They’ve successfully tried out the nano-sutures in lab experiments and a clinical trial of 31 patients in need of skin incisions.

The process would replace the sutures and staples traditionally used to repair wounded skin. Instead of being sealed up with a needle and thread, a patient’s wound would be coated in a dye, then exposed to green light for 2-3 minutes. The dye absorbs the light and catalyzes molecular bonds between the tissue’s collagen.

The bonds instantly create a seal that’s watertight, which prevents inflammation or risk of infection, and speeds up the formation of scar tissue.

“It’s so simple, but such an improvement on current processes, and that’s what’s really remarkable,” Kochevar told Danger Room. The process uses a hand-held laser device that’s about a foot long and a few inches wide.

Penetrating eye wounds, like shrapnel injuries, could also benefit from a patch version of the treatment. A biological membrane stained with dye would be applied over the eye, and quickly sealed using the laser until a soldier could undergo more intensive surgery.

“We’re so close to these processes being used,” Kochevar said. “But FDA approval is still a real hurdle.”

Next up, the researchers want to try out the procedure in more invasive surgeries and conduct more extensive testing on people, in hopes of fast-tracking war-zone use. They’ve applied for funding to conduct human trials on nerve repair.

“Superficial wound healing is impressive, but a continuous molecular seal of a nerve or in a corneal implant would be a profound leap,” Kochevar said.

[Photos: Paramount; Irene Kochevar]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/air-force-researchers-heal-wounds-with-lasers-and-nanotech/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WiredDangerRoom+%28Blog+-+Danger+Room%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz0n6hS4SmR

buglerbilly

08-05-10, 07:43 PM

Pentagon Turns to Brain Implants to Repair Damaged Minds

By Katie Drummond May 7, 2010 | 8:29 am

An estimated 10 to 20 percent of troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, which afflict 1.7 million Americans each year. Now the Pentagon’s rolling out a revolutionary initiative to treat the condition: brain implants that one researcher likens to “replacement parts” for damaged gray matter.

“When something happens to the brain right now, there’s so little that the medical community can do,” Krishna Shenoy, associate professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at Stanford University, told Danger Room. “Our goal is to understand — and then be able to change — how a brain responds to trauma.”

No surprise that military extreme science agency Darpa is behind the project, which is called REPAIR, or Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recovery. Yesterday, they announced an initial two-year round of $14.9 million in funding for four institutions, led by Stanford and Brown universities, that will collaborate on the brain-chip project. All in, it’ll involve 10 professors and their research teams, working in neuroscience, psychiatry, brain modeling and even semiconductors.

Significant progress has already been made in understanding brain injury. Scientists can create conceptual, mathematical models of brain activity, and are also able to record the electrical pulses emitted by individual neurons in the brain, which offers insight into how those neurons communicate. That knowledge has spurred rapid progress in neural-assisted prosthetic devices, a program that Shenoy collaborated on with Geoffrey Ling, the same Darpa program manager behind REPAIR.

But what experts can’t yet do, Shenoy said, is alter those electrical pulses to turn brain circuits on or off. His team will use optogenetics, an emerging technique that involves emitting light pulses to precisely trigger neural activity, to develop an implanted TBI treatment device.

“Before this, emitting light into the brain would be like hitting it with a hammer,” Shenoy said. “What we’re doing now is pin-pointing a single neuron, and that neuron will naturally change its activity depending on the cue.”

The implants developed by the project will likely be composed of electrodes or optical fibers, and will sit on the surface of the brain. They’ll read electrical signals from neurons, and deliver appropriate light pulses to stimulate other brain regions in response. The implants would allow the brain to operate normally, by acting as substitutes for areas that were damaged or “unavailable.”

First up for Shenoy and company are optogenetic tests on mice, rats and eventually monkeys, to better understand how different regions of the brain interact. For example, how one area of the brain knows which signals to send to other parts. Once they’ve got that down, the researchers hope to develop chips that essentially mimic those interactions, so that an implant can “read a signal from region A, bypass damaged area B, and get that signal to C,” Shenoy said.

And while Darpa’s interested in ailing vets, the implants could have broad civilian application, including help for those who’ve suffered a stroke or undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor. If all goes according to plan, Shenoy expects implants for lab animals within four years.

Photo: National Science Foundation

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/pentagon-turns-to-brain-implants-to-repair-damaged-minds/#more-24419#ixzz0nMROKSK9

buglerbilly

13-05-10, 09:46 AM

One in seven soldiers driven to alcohol by war horror

British forces who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to have serious alcohol problems than post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a major new study.

By Alastair Jamieson

Published: 8:16AM BST 13 May 2010

Regular soldiers who had spent time in either Iraq or Afghanistan were 22 per cent more likely to misuse alcohol than full-time troops who had not been deployed Photo: EPA

You send a bunch of young guys into a War zone with high risk of severe injury or death, and THEN you wonder when they drink too much when they get back home?!!! WHY did they need to study this...........??? Are people so bereft of commonsense and basic understanding of the human reaction to stress, any stress, that they fail to understand even basic responses...............mind boggling in its utter lack of comprehension.

The research, funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), showed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan did not raise the risk of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but troops sent there were more than a fifth (22 per cent) more likely to have alcohol problems which risked their health.

Some 9,990 troops answered a questionnaire about their experiences of deployment and their health and from their responses, researchers believed one fifth (20 per cent) showed symptoms of common mental health problems and 376 (four per cent) showed probable PTSD.

Overall, 13 per cent – almost one in seven – said they were drinking alcohol in quantities defined by researchers as hazardous according to the World Health Organisation's Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) That equates to as many as 23,000 members of the Armed Forces.

Regular soldiers who had spent time in either Iraq or Afghanistan were 22 per cent more likely to misuse alcohol than full-time troops who had not been deployed.

The study, led by King's College London, found the prevalence of mental health disorders including anxiety and depression among UK troops remained stable between 2003 and 2009 with rates of PTSD remaining between 3-4%.

The research findings, published in medical journal The Lancet, found regular troops in combat roles were almost twice as likely as those in support roles to report signs of probable PTSD and were also more likely to develop alcohol problems.

The research report's authors included Dr Nicola Fear, of the Academic Centre for Defence Mental Health, at King's College London, and Professor Simon Wessely, of the Institute of Psychiatry, at King's College London, who said the study suggested that the mental health of the UK armed forces had not changed since their initial study in 2006 which focused on troops who had spent time in Iraq.

"This finding, although reassuring, is also surprising because the war in Iraq turned out to be a prolonged deployment, and UK military personnel in southern Iraq began to be exposed to increased levels of combat. Many UK military personnel have now had multiple deployments to either or both operational locations, yet we noted that multiple deployments were not associated with mental health disorders.

"This finding might be partly explained by selection or the so-called healthy warrior effect, in which those who were unwell as a result of previous deployment have less chance of subsequent deployment, whereas those who are more psychologically robust have an increased chance of deployment."

An MoD spokeswoman said the ministry takes problem drinking very seriously and offers counselling and support, including early intervention programmes designed to explain the potential harm, and specialist treatment in more serious cases.

buglerbilly

14-05-10, 12:37 AM

Pentagon Virus Detector Knows You’re Sick Before You Do

By Katie Drummond May 13, 2010 | 3:12 pm

Imagine knowing you’ll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat. Now imagine that preemptive diagnosis being transmitted to a national, web-based influenza map — simply by picking up the phone.

That’s the impressive potential of an ongoing Pentagon-funded research project, spearheaded by geneticists at Duke University. Since 2006, they’ve been hunting for a genetic signature that can accurately assess, well before symptoms appear, whether someone’s been infected with a virus. Eight months into a $19.5 million grant from Darpa, the Pentagon’s out-there research agency, the expert behind the program is anticipating a tool with implications far beyond military circles.

Dr. Geoffrey Ginsburg, director of Duke’s Institute for Genome Science & Policy, is collaborating with a team of colleagues to create a gadget that can detect viral infection hours before the sniffles. Between 2006 and 2009, his team made rapid strides in identifying 30 genetic markers, found through blood samples, that are activated by a virus.

They’ve since moved to human trials, testing 80 people in four studies. Healthy participants were exposed to three different viral strains. Their blood, saliva and urine were then tested for “viral specific signatures,” that would characterize illness.

“Traditionally, we’ve diagnosed these conditions by testing for the actual pathogen, but that’s a slow process and it’s not effective until you’re already symptomatic,” Ginsburg told Danger Room. “To look at the actual host response instead is a really novel approach.”

It’s an approach that Darpa sees as a tactic to boost war-zone performance. By checking soldiers for genetic markers of illness before they’re deployed, the military hopes to optimize the outcome of a given mission. The idea would also prevent an outbreak of illness in close military quarters, by quarantining troops before they have a chance to infect others.

But what Ginsburg and company didn’t anticipate was just how widespread the benefits of the Darpa initiative would be. Not only have they found a specific genetic signature that indicates viral infection, but the team has concluded that viruses and bacterial infections trigger different genes. Which means physicians could one day know whether to prescribe antibiotics, which can treat bacteria but not viruses. The drugs are so overused and wrongly prescribed, experts at a recent congressional hearing warned that Americans face “a post antibiotic era.”

“This would eliminate the ‘default’ of giving antibiotics, which is a significant public health concern,” Ginsburg said. “So what we’d have, essentially, is a tool to drastically improve clinical judgment in a day-to-day setting, which wasn’t a Darpa goal, but a corollary benefit because we had a chance to find these specific signatures.”

And Ginsburg has a more elaborate vision for the devices, which he hopes to see shrink down from “suitcase size” to that of “a diabetic glucometer,” which would use a finger pinprick to test for illness.

“Imagine a sensor attached to your telephone, that instantly diagnoses viral agents and transmits that to a central community database,” he said. “Google used searches to beat the CDC at tracking H1N1 — this would be surveillance that could take that to the next level.”

Ginsburg anticipates a suitcase-sized device in the war-zone within “a couple years,” and says the devices are already showing excellent accuracy 24 hours before an infected patient becomes symptomatic. In an effort to validate the results in a real-world setting, his team has turned to Duke’s campus, using crowded dorms — already human petri dishes of infection — as improvised research labs.

Now, Ginsburg’s biggest concern is that the devices will be ready before the Food and Drug Administration, who’ve yet to establish regulatory benchmarks for genetic tests, knows what to do with them.

“The major uncertainty, in my mind, is the regulatory atmosphere,” he said. “These are such a new diagnostic tool, the FDA is still trying to figure out not only how to supervise them, but whether they even need to.”

Which is a barrier for the doctor’s office, but not necessarily the war-zone.

“There’s a lot of motivation within the Pentagon to get this going,” he said. “So they might have a way around the rulebook.”

[Photo: CDC]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/pentagon-virus-detector-knows-youre-sick-before-you-do/#more-24767#ixzz0nqryzUVd

buglerbilly

16-05-10, 04:32 AM

Georgia may Put PTSD Diagnosis on Licenses

May 10, 2010

Stars and Stripes

I uderstand the intent behind this but this sort of info could be widely abused by Employers who may require a copy of the licence as part of their identification for HR (to make sure the person is who they say they are) and/or qualification to drive company vehicles............

Current and former servicemembers living in Georgia could soon add a new piece of information to their driver's license: a PTSD diagnosis.

Under a law recently pushed through the state legislature, post-traumatic stress disorder would be noted on the license in the same way that a person's license might indicate corrective lenses are required for vision, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Adding the information would be voluntary and require a sworn statement from a doctor. If signed by the governor, the bill would become law on July 1.

Sen. Ron Ramsey, the bill's sponsor, told the paper that the bill came at the suggestion of a former servicemember with post-traumatic stress disorder, who told him he feared a violent encounter with police officers.

"He said, ‘God forbid anybody put handcuffs on me. I'd go berserk'," the senator said.

Sen. John Douglas, an Army veteran who co-sponsored the bill, said the information on the license would let police know they might deal with a person differently.

"The police officer would know that a sudden move [by the motorist] wasn't necessarily an offensive move," Douglas told the Journal-Constitution.

But the bill's detractors question whether someone would put such personal information on their driver's license.

"Why would I want to put out there on my license – hey, I'm a nut job," said Marvin Myers, president of the Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance Inc.

And Lea R. Flowers, an assistant professor in Georgia State University's Department of Counseling & Psychological Services, wonders about the precedent it would set.

"But it could be a slippery slope," she said. "Will we offer that for bipolar? Schizophrenia?"

buglerbilly

24-05-10, 03:53 PM

Pentagon to Troop-Killing Superbugs: Resistance is Futile

By Katie Drummond May 24, 2010 | 8:11 am

A super-germ that’s become a lethal threat to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may have met its match in a novel technique that kills entire bacterial colonies within hours.

Today’s troops have a 9 in 10 chance of surviving their battle injuries. But wounds and amputation sites leave them vulnerable to infection, especially by Acinetobacter — an opportunistic pathogen nicknamed “Iraqibacter” for its prevalence in war-zone medical facilities. As Wired Magazine reported in 2007, the bacteria has infected at least 700 American troops since 2003, and killed at least 7 people exposed to it in military clinics.

Iraqibacter was once treated with common, easy-to-access antibiotic drugs. But in the last few years, the bacteria have developed a powerful resistance to all but one medication, called Colistin, that’s got a bit of a nasty side effect: potentially fatal kidney damage.

And since the illness afflicts relatively few people, Big Pharma companies aren’t exactly lining up to develop new drugs.

But a Pentagon-funded research team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, along with small biotech firm PolyMedix, are making rapid strides toward a new line of Iraqibacter treatments — and the medications could spur the development of antibiotics that can fend off other drug-resistant ailments.

“We didn’t set out to create a mechanism that could be applied to other illnesses,” Dr. Gregory Tew, the UMass scientist behind the project, told Danger Room. “But it’s an impressive and exciting bonus that’s come of our work.”

The scientists have already used the new type of antibiotics to effectively treat Staph infections, which kill thousands of Americans each year. Common antibiotics work by attaching to a specific molecule (like an enzyme) inside bacterial cells. With some minor adaptive changes, bacteria can alter their cell structure to prevent antibiotic binding, thereby becoming resistant to the drugs. Some infections even develop “persister cells,” which stop growing when the antibiotics are administered, and then turn back on once a round of meds is completed.

But Tew and co. have developed antibiotics that work from the outside to quickly destroy bacterial cells. The drugs work by poking holes in bacterial membranes, killing the cells instantly. Within a few hours, the antibiotics are able to kill off entire colonies of bacterial pathogens. And resistance is futile: because the meds don’t enter the actual cell, it’s impossible for the bacteria to fight back via structural adaptation.

The method has already proven effective in clinical trials for treating staph infections, and the Pentagon is betting it’ll be effective in combating Iraqibacter too. In 2009 alone, they doled out nearly $8 million to UMass and PolyMedix, to “study its antibiotic compounds for other biodefense applications and bacterial infections.”

Right now, the group is starting animal studies of Iraqibacter antibiotics, though Tew anticipates that human application is several years off. The scientists are also involved in preliminary research on using the membrane-puncture method to address other strains of bacteria.

But a means of mitigating antibiotic-resistant bacteria can’t come a moment too soon. Just last month, federal health officials warned that if resistance keeps growing, Americans could soon be living in “a post antibiotic era.”

[Photo: Wired Magazine]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/pentagon-to-troop-killing-superbugs-resistance-is-futile/#more-25131#ixzz0or3kkjUS

buglerbilly

24-05-10, 04:53 PM

Smiths Detection Launches Portable HazMatID 360 For Advanced Analysis of Unknown Chemicals

Previous Versions Upgradable To Maximize Utility and Cost Effectiveness of Current HazMatID Systems

08:21 GMT, May 24, 2010 Danbury, CT | Smiths Detection today launches HazMatID 360, the latest version of its portable and rugged HazMatID chemical identification system, providing fast and comprehensive in-field analysis of unknown solids, gels and liquids to emergency responders, military personnel and other users.

The HazMatID 360 offers a combination of new features to enable comprehensive data scrutiny and faster decision-making. These include optimized mixture algorithms, larger substance libraries, chemical hazard classification for not-in-library substances, easy-to-connect Bluetooth wireless communications, and integrated PEAC-WMD software by Aristatek providing critical information management and decision support. Previous generation HazMatID systems can be upgraded to leverage these new capabilities.

Tim Picciotti, Vice President, Smiths Detection, said: “As the roles and responsibilities of emergency responders evolve, so too must the tools they need to safely do their jobs. Smiths Detection has a long history of providing advanced and trusted security solutions based on customer need. Our HazMat ID 360 combines enhanced identification technology and cutting-edge data handling to provide a 360 degree view of a potential threat and help users maximize the tools they already have.”

Building on the most widely deployed ruggedized Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) chemical identifier worldwide, the HazMatID 360 features the largest spectral library of its kind, more than doubling the previous standard. The system is capable of identifying more than 32,000 solids, liquids and gels in less than a minute including unknown powders, explosives, homemade precursors, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs). It also incorporates industry-leading PEAC decision support software providing an additional layer of information management and guidance.

The system’s optimized mixture analysis allows effective chemical assessment of a broader range of samples including those that may have been contaminated with more than one material, like water or dirt. The HazMatID 360 can also provide on-screen chemical hazard classification of not-in-library substances to alert responders to the type of threat they are dealing with if definitive identification is not possible.

Additionally, the HazMatID 360 doubles its wireless communications range and incorporates easy-to-connect functionality into its remote command capabilities. By increasing the ease of use of its wireless connection feature, test results can be readily sent from a potentially harmful environment to a command center, eliminating the time needed for the system to be decontaminated before retrieving results.

With thousands of original HazMatID systems in use across the world, the HazMatID 360 allows users of the original system to upgrade and enhance the device’s capabilities, maximizing the usefulness and cost effectiveness of the identifier.

Dustin Levy, Product Manager, Smiths Detection said: “Because original systems can be upgraded, users can leverage the technology they’ve already got without having to become trained to operate the device again. We’ve already heard from some of our customers, and they are eager to upgrade their HazMatID systems so they can make faster and more informed decisions that enable rapid incident mitigation.”

buglerbilly

26-05-10, 04:57 PM

Extreme Medicine Gets Pentagon Push; Human Trials Rushed

By Katie Drummond May 26, 2010 | 9:00 am

Some of the most debilitating war injuries, from lost limbs to mangled muscle tissue to permanent burn scars, could soon benefit from cutting-edge regenerative procedures.

Human clinical trials of the latest in extreme regenrative medicine — including bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds — are being fast-tracked, thanks to an extra $12 million in funding from the Department of Defense.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are working on some of the most promising Pentagon-backed medical research projects. Just last month, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen visited the university’s labs to see the science firsthand. And despite the looming threat of a shrinking Pentagon budget, he told them that “10 years doesn’t satisfy any of us,” where clinical trials were concerned.

And that’s exactly what this funding infusion is going to address. Dr. B.J. Costello, the lead researcher behind the university’s bone cement project, told Danger Room that the Pentagon’s contract is meant “to catapult us forward.” Costello’s program was expected to be in human clinical trials in 5-7 years. With the new grant, it’ll be more like 12 months to 2 years.

“We needed more help with the process of FDA approval and associated expenses, which a company would pay for if they were planning to produce and market this science,” he said. “Instead, the Department of Defense is picking up that slack.”

Costello, whose program involves the creation of an injectable compound designed to repair cranio facial bone damage or spur normal bone growth, expects to start trials on 20 patients, most of them veterans, within a year. If those trials go well, they’ll expand to test more people or explore using the cement for different, more serious procedures.

“Right now, we’re looking at mild to moderate injuries,” he said. “But eventually this could treat long bone injuries, or have civilian applications.”

And those applications would be widespread. The bone cement could replace metal plates, repair bone damage from car accidents or assaults, and even regrow entire portions of a human skull.

Costello’s hoping the grant will also help them move forward on manufacturing facilities, where the product can be mass produced in a sterile environment.

The Pentagon grant will also hasten clinical trials for muscle tissue regeneration and a novel method of treating burn injuries. Costello is confident that all three procedures are ready for human use.

“The Department of Defense did their homework, and these projects are the cream of the crop,” he said. “This isn’t pie-in-the-sky research. We’re ready to roll.”

[Photo: Noah Shachtman]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/extreme-medicine-gets-pentagon-push-human-trials-rushed/#more-25280#ixzz0p31AonJJ

buglerbilly

29-05-10, 03:05 AM

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Awarded $12 Million Contract to Support Human Studies of Novel Treatments for Battlefield Injuries and Scars

PITTSBURGH, May 25 – A two-year, $12 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Technology Transition (OTT) will jumpstart human trials of three innovative research programs that aim to replace scars and defects with healthy, functional tissues, announced officials of the University of Pittsburgh and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine today at the Institute’s Second Annual Open Session, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Oakland.

The OTT mission emphasizes the rapid translation of preclinical research into human studies to bring successful therapies more quickly to everyday practice, said Alan Russell, Ph.D., director of the McGowan Institute, a joint effort of Pitt and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), and leader of the new program.

“This initiative provides fiscal support and also represents a shared commitment to the goal of helping soldiers return to the lives they have put on the line for us,” he said. “All these projects could deliver much-needed solutions for the ills that plague our wounded warriors. They are designed to give back what has been lost or taken away: normal tissues that function properly, adapting to our changing biological environment to keep us healthy and whole.”

In particular, the OTT initiative will focus on efforts to:

Replace muscle tissue through extracellular matrix, a protein- and growth factor-rich biological scaffold that appears to recruit stem cells and other precursors to injury sites; primary investigators Stephen Badylak, D.V.M., M.D., Ph.D., deputy director, McGowan Institute and J. Peter Rubin, M.D., Pitt School of Medicine

Bring to clinical testing an injectable, porous bone cement for the repair of craniofacial bone defects and restoration of normal bone growth and remodeling; primary investigators Bernard J. Costello, D.M.D., M.D., Pitt School of Dental Medicine; Prashant N. Kumta, Ph.D., Edward R. Weidlein Chair, Pitt Swanson School of Engineering; and Charles Sfeir, D.D.S., Ph.D., Pitt School of Dental Medicine

Evaluate the injection of human fibroblasts, a type of connective tissue cell, into contracted burn scars to soften the skin and allow greater freedom of movement; primary investigators J. Peter Rubin, M.D., Pitt School of Medicine, and Paul Kemp, Ph.D., founder, chief scientific officer and executive director, Intercytex

Battlefield mortality has decreased from 30 percent in World War II to less than 10 percent in the conflicts of the present day, partly due to advances in medicine, surgery and trauma care. Still, injured soldiers are returning home with life-changing wounds, including finger and limb amputations that have doubled in rate since WWII.

The OTT Initiative is funded by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO). The projects, if successful, could ultimately lead to interventions that also benefit civilians, noted Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and dean, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.

“Muscle loss, bone damage, and severe scarring that restricts natural movement are not uncommon consequences of traumatic accidents or surgeries that require a large amount of tissue removal,” he said. “We must find more ways to help individuals who are struggling with the aftermath of these potentially devastating problems.”

About the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine was established by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and its clinical partner, UPMC, to realize the vast potential of tissue engineering and other techniques aimed at repairing damaged or diseased tissues and organs. The McGowan Institute serves as a single base of operations for the university’s leading scientists and clinical faculty working to develop tissue engineering, cellular therapies, biosurgery and artificial and biohybrid organ devices.

About the Office of Technology Transition, U.S. Department of Defense
The Office of Technology Transition (OTT) resides within the Office of Advanced Components and Prototypes within the Research Directorate under the Director of Defense Research and Engineering. OTT consists of five major programs: Defense Production Act, Manufacturing Technology, Technology Transition Initiative, Technology Transfer, and North American Technology and Industrial Base Organization. OTT has the capability to shepherd technologies into product-based acquisition by leveraging resources, stimulating behavior, and acting as a catalyst for change. OTT facilitates the establishment of a viable, economically secure supplier base and stimulates market-based activities to address warfighter capability gaps.

About JIEDDO, U.S. Department of Defense
The Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) is the Department of Defense's lead counter-IED organization, dedicated to winning the fight against IEDs using all available resources. Working hand-in-hand with military, government, academia, industry, and international partners, JIEDDO is rapidly finding, developing, and delivering emerging capabilities to counter the IED as a weapon of strategic influence.

buglerbilly

31-05-10, 03:07 AM

Back against brick wall of bureaucracy

DAVID HUMPHRIES

May 31, 2010

Career soldier ... Matina Jewell at Patrol Base Khiam, Lebanon. Photo: Phil Barling

Matina Jewell's story raises the question of who is taking care of those who serve, writes David Humphries.

In 15 years of army service, Matina Jewell worked alongside US Navy Seals blockading the Persian Gulf, took command positions beyond her years and dodged Israeli bombs while a United Nations peacekeeper in the 2006 Lebanon war.

She is no shrinking violet but nor is she a grandstander. She had to be lured - kicking and screaming - to publicly tell her story. In doing so, she again illuminated the gulf between political lip service about national debt owed to those who sacrifice so much, and the tenacity of officialdom in not giving an inch on that debt.

Gaining adequate health cover from the Department of Veterans Affairs is so difficult and protracted, she says, "that many veterans simply give up or find it too much of a struggle" and "simply walk away".

Her tale, told in the second instalment on ABC TV's Australian Story tonight, was a hapless saga of bungling and brickwalling from the time she sustained a career-ending injury four years ago.

A 1997 graduate of Duntroon, Jewell returned to the Middle East in 2005 - she had commanded soldiers aboard HMAS Kanimbla in the Gulf in the late '90s - with the United Nations. When her contract was nearing its end, Hezbollah ambushed an Israeli army vehicle, killing three soldiers and abducting two.

Israel responded with typical force, bombing Hezbollah positions around the UN Patrol Base Khiam. Rather than evacuate its peacekeepers, now that war had replaced truce, the UN maintained its presence and failed to secure an Israeli pause while some of the UN crew, including Jewell, made a dash for the southern Lebanese port of Tyre.

What should have been a two-hour journey turned into a two-day nightmare. The territory was mined and roads bombed. Near journey's end, the UN vehicle crashed and Jewell's back was crushed. In excruciating pain, she spent two days on a hospital floor, "thrashing around … losing my vision and my speech".

In the meantime, Patrol Base Khiam had been destroyed by bombing and her teammates killed. Says Bob Breen, an Australian National University military historian and Jewell's confidante: "Matina's situation is a real testament to the inadequacy of the UN at the time. They weren't able to cope."

Evacuated to Cyprus, she and Clent Jewell, her then boyfriend, now husband, were left without guidance in the ambulance. "Where to?" asked the driver. That led to a local hospital where she was left without care for three hours, while her boyfriend eventually learnt from the UN that they were at the wrong hospital.

The UN clearly was unable to meet its duty to arrange Jewell's repatriation to Australia, so Australia stepped in.

An MRI revealed back injuries beyond surgery's help. "Even today, nearly four years after my injury, I still have three physio sessions a week and a chiropractor once a week just to maintain mobility in my back," she says.

Earlier however, Jewell was admitted to hospital once a fortnight with episodes of pain that would leave her crippled on the floor and unable to breathe. Anxiety and depression were getting to her. It turned out that, while serving in the Solomon Islands during the political crisis in 2003, Jewell had ruptured her diaphragm but it was not diagnosed until the Lebanon injury exacerbated it.

Promoted to major, she was unable to complete a new command role and knew medical discharge was inevitable. The army wanted her out on medical grounds but the Department of Veterans' Affairs did not want to acknowledge the abdominal injury was service-related. It was a stand-off resolved - only partly - when Matina sued for healthcare entitlements.

It wasn't the only brick wall. Says Breen: "She felt entitled to have her service in Lebanon - and certainly at the time she was injured - recognised as war service, with the appropriate medal and benefits."

Defence agreed with her, Veterans' Affairs did not. The latter prevailed, until the government learnt of ABC plans to publicise her dilemma.

Somebody should be flogged for this ferkin disgraceful case! No doubt some purile little Clerk and Case Officer in Veteran Affairs..............insulting doesn't even begin to describe it!

JimWH

31-05-10, 08:51 AM

About the only good parts of that story is that Army and DoD tried to do the right thing (find her a job she could do, and when that wasn't possible discharge her on medical grounds with entitlements), predictable that DVA would behave like motherless bastards. Also utterly predictable that the UN wasn't able to meet the obligations for servicemen and women in it's employ, I don't think it;s a stretch to say that they'd have difficulty organizing a piss-up in a brewery.
Generically I would suggest that this highlights the importance of JP2060P3 being delivered in a timely fashion and being properly funded. The funding seems to have been sorted in the White Paper, but the project was pushed back by 18 months IIRC, and that could well slip more if DMO don't give it some human resources. JP2060 Phase 3 is supposed to re-equip our deployable medical assets, and in JHC we're hoping that'll mean a substantial improvement in the quality and range of kit we have.
So, for example, at present the best deployable medical imagining modalities the ADF has is some middle of the road ultrasound and film based x-rays. Which isn't enough to deal with complex trauma cases in anything other than a rudimentary fashion. The wish list for JP2060P3 is headed by a mobile CT scanner, which would at least allow us to determine the position and extent of much 'anatomical' trauma*. To put it into the perspective of this case, with prompt casevac to a tertiary in-theatre trauma centre a CT scan might have demonstrated the likely sites of cord compression (e.g. WRT clinically significant significant fractures), which would have allowed an appropriately qualified ortho/neuro surgeon to have gone in and attempted to decompress the cord. It might still have ended badly, but there's at least a chance that we would have been able to avoid Maj Jewell's lasting disability.

*Though the preferred modality in civy practice is MRI. But to the best of my knowledge there is no such thing as a mobile MRI, it's just too damned heavy and and energy intensive and complicated to be mobile.

buglerbilly

02-06-10, 03:54 AM

Darpa Comes Down to Earth, Plans Online Medicine Portal

By Katie Drummond June 1, 2010 | 10:10 am

Darpa, the Pentagon’s wild science division, is known for its shapeshifting robots, its telepathic monkeys, and its zombie pigs. Now, they’re trying to tackle something more down to Earth: online counseling for PTSD.

The psychological toll of war is going underdiagnosed among today’s troops; experts cite access and stigma as the two major barriers to effective treatment. But the Pentagon’s also bogged down with rising healthcare costs, which now account for 9 percent of their annual budget.

How to offer more effective care and do it on the cheap? The same agency that laid the foundations for the Internet thinks the web can do the job. Darpa’s requesting proposals for a new project, “Healing Hands,” that’ll act as an online portal for telehealth services, message forums and referrals for everything from yoga classes to family physicians. And they want the project to zero in on depression, PTSD and the psychological impact of traumatic brain injuries.

“Online resources and activities, interactive media, and social networking have great potential to supplement and enhance traditional healthcare options,” the Darpa solicitation reads. That could be particularly true for ailing troops, many of whom opt out of psychological treatment because of associated stigma.

It’s a worthwhile pursuit, of course. But Darpa usually pursues projects that are much more ambitious than the military version of WebMD. Is this what a blue-sky research agency is supposed to do? And are these really the best brains to run an online counseling effort? The VA already has a comprehensive healthcare web hub. Darpa’s program will also include active duty troops, but it’s unclear — aside from “avatar-based simulation, virtual environments, serious games [and] web comics” — how the agency’s blue-sky ethos will yield much innovation.

And while telehealth is being touted as the cheaper, more efficient healthcare system of the future, it isn’t without disadvantages. For one, telehealth is indisputably impersonal — one of the biggest downsides experts and doctors cite is a breakdown of patient-practitioner communication, which can curb quality of care and make it harder for a doctor or therapist to offer accurate diagnoses.

The initiative would no doubt give war-fighters, thousands of whom are in dire need of psychiatric help, a new way to get it. But assuming it attracts more troops, Healing Hands might also reveal just how bad the military’s healthcare crisis is — and how much more money the Pentagon needs to combat it. Darpa notes that the health mecca will allow docs to “[be alerted] to individuals who may have emerging physical and psychological health crises,” and track trends in the diagnoses of post-deployment ills like PTSD, depression and substance abuse.

[Photo: U.S National Guard]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/darpa-comes-down-to-earth-plans-online-medicine-portal/#more-25409#ixzz0pegSk2DW

JimWH

02-06-10, 10:36 AM

I can save them some time and money: it's not going to work. Quite a bit of work has been done in civy-land about what psychiatric conditions can and can't e treated effectively with non-traditional models of care (e.g. online, long distance, self directed etc etc). A few teams have had relatively good results treating non-melancholic depression with on-line assisted of delivered psychological interventions. However, nobody has been able to replicate the same kind of success with anxiety disorders (of which PTSD is one) and it really isn't for a lack of effort or investment*. I've heard a couple of hypotheses regarding why this might be, but the important part is that you cant skimp on face-to-face contact in treating PTSD.

*Surprisingly large amounts of cash have been spent on the problem. Governments are keen to investigate treatment options which save them money.

buglerbilly

02-06-10, 11:52 AM

The bottom paragraph is probably the most precise point....................my initial reaction when I read this report was it's a sop to what is often an unknown problem, unknown to the extent it exists of course...............

The initiative would no doubt give war-fighters, thousands of whom are in dire need of psychiatric help, a new way to get it. But assuming it attracts more troops, Healing Hands might also reveal just how bad the military’s healthcare crisis is — and how much more money the Pentagon needs to combat it. Darpa notes that the health mecca will allow docs to “[be alerted] to individuals who may have emerging physical and psychological health crises,” and track trends in the diagnoses of post-deployment ills like PTSD, depression and substance abuse.

JimWH

02-06-10, 12:19 PM

I didn't read it that thoroughly, but I take the view that if anything, that last paragraph makes things slightly worse. There is good evidence that people only seek treatment for PTSD when they're good and ready. Trying to force the process actually tends to drive people away from seeking treatment of their own volition. It's not dissimilar to the way that mandatory debrief after traumatic events are now falling out of favour because more people suffer worse outcomes in the long run based on the best available evidence!
I'm quite skeptical about what DAPRA are proposing here. It's not exactly my area (though I did just do a 2 month psyche attachment, and god help me I'm over it), but I'm familiar enough with some of the related experiments to be cautious. I will certainly keep the ear to the ground around my part of the ADF's health community to see if we develop an interest in doing something similar.

buglerbilly

03-06-10, 02:34 AM

Darpa Wants to Predict Deadly Pathogens with ‘Prophecy’

By Katie Drummond June 2, 2010 | 8:21 am

Right now, preparing for new viral threats means looking to the past, creating hypotheses based on how pathogens have changed before. Now Darpa wants to reverse that strategy: test every possible outcome, to create a prophetic almanac that warns of viral mutations and outbreaks in advance — giving scientists the chance to change the course of the future before illness strikes.

The Pentagon’s far-out research arm has been zeroing in on the danger of mutating pathogens, and the corresponding problem of drug resistance, for years now. The agency is already funding tobacco-based vaccine production, a seven-day plan to thwart biothreats, and prescient viral infection detectors. And they’ve even set their sights on psychic medics, with a 2007 program that sought to turn docs into all-knowing illness predictors.

Now, Darpa wants the powers of premonition to wipe out viral threats altogether. They’re hosting a workshop for a new program, called “Prophecy,” that’ll develop methods to predict the rate, location and likely mutations of viral agents.

First, the agency wants novel lab-based methods to reproduce “virus-host interactions,” in different environments. After that, researchers will sequence different viral genomes, and test how they adapt and change under diverse conditions.

Ideally, that’ll yield a host of algorithms, capable of accurately predicting “the rate, direction and phenotype of viral mutations.” From there, scientists will be able to develop appropriate attack strategies in the right geographic locations. Most notably, Darpa wants to see mere mortals outdo the forces of nature, by creating “high energy evolutionary boundaries” that keep genetic mutations at bay.

Even if Darpa’s program doesn’t result in omniscient predictive powers, the possibility of more accurately anticipating viral mutations would have widespread implications. Health agencies could prep for looming outbreaks, new vaccines could be fast-tracked — and if scientists do manage to thwart evolution, the threat of resistance to antibiotic and antiviral meds could be all but eliminated.

[Photo: digital-tutorial.blogspot.com]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/darpa-wants-to-predict-deadly-pathogens-with-prophecy/#more-25488#ixzz0pkI6Kcyx

JimWH

03-06-10, 07:59 AM

That's pretty out there, even by DAPRA's impressively high standards. I can see the merit in what they want to do, but it is pretty much the same as saying "we're going to create an algorithm to determine how the stock market works". Theoretically it is possible, but practically I can't see how they're going to make it work (my guess is that way too much data would be needed to create an algorithm with any kind of meaningful predictive power).
Also, is it just me, or does this sound like the beginning of a Hollywood disaster film? e.g. "Trying to create a virus to help them fight disease, they accidentally created a super virus. Now a group of rugged yet attractive survivors need to fight off the zombie hordes so they can find hope..."

buglerbilly

05-06-10, 02:14 AM

Talking about Super Virus..................

Army Researchers Find an Ebola Cure. But it Might Only Save Themselves.

By Katie Drummond June 4, 2010 | 8:02 am

One of the world’s deadliest pathogens, which gives its victims a gruesomely bloody exit, might finally be contained. After decades of unsuccessful research, a collaboration based out of the Army’s labs at Fort Detrick, Maryland has devised an experimental injection that cures the Ebola virus by targeting its genetic material.

The injection uses a novel technique, called RNA interference, to stop viral cells from replicating. Scientists packaged RNA snippets into particles that were then injected into four rhesus monkeys, who’d been infected with a dose of Ebola that was 30,000 times more potent than the virus’ most lethal strain, which already has a measly 10 percent survival rate. The snippets latched onto key viral proteins, and cured all four monkeys after a week of daily injections.

“Over the past decade, we have evaluated numerous therapeutic approaches for the treatment of lethal viruses, such as Ebola,” the study’s co-author, Dr. Lisa E. Hensley, said. “None of them have conferred complete protection to Ebola virus-infected primates—until now.”

The study of dangerous pathogens, like Ebola, is tricky. Because cures for the exotic viruses are so rare, researchers are anxious to make progress. But that same dearth of treatment options means that even a carefully monitored lab experiment can pose a fatal threat.

That’s why the Army’s got a vested interest in curbing the potentially lethal exposures of researchers and scientists to deadly pathogens. Last year, a German scientist was quarantined for 8 days after accidentally sticking herself with an Ebola infected needle, and similar incidents have occurred in the U.S and Russia. And that’s only Ebola: just last year, the USAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases) labs — the same facilities doing this study — were temporarily shut down because of problems keeping tabs on microbes and biomaterials.

Exposures caused by lab mishaps might actually be the most feasible targets for the new method. Right now, the Ebola shot can only work if it’s administered within 30 minutes — an impracticality among civilian populations, but a viable possibility within a research facility.

“To wait for the next incident to happen in a high-containment laboratory before any progress takes place seems intolerable,” Heinz Feldmann, a virologist with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, writes in a commentary accompanying the study. “We also urgently need to improve outbreak support and go beyond transmission control, and actually provide specific care for aﬀected individuals, which should be an ethical obligation for all of us.”

For now, scientists are focused on demonstrating the proof-of-concept study in more animal trials, before even moving onto human subjects. But the method, if successful, could also have widespread applications in treating other viral agents.

[Photo: Wikipedia]

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/army-researchers-find-an-ebola-vaccine-but-it-might-only-save-themselves/#more-25636#ixzz0pvtcO3LL

JimWH

05-06-10, 02:48 AM

[If people would like e to stop banging on about medical stuff, please do just say so, but I figured I may as well throw in my 5 cents' worth.]
I recall that back in about '04 USAMRIID had some pretty impressive results in some Phase 0 clinical trials for a barrier immunisation of Ebola, though I guess that the conclusion of those trials must have been unsatisfactory or we would have heard about the Phase 1/2/3 trials sometime since then. And I'll hand it to them, RNA interference is a cheeky trick, and it is a pretty good result if they're actually willing to progress it to a Phase 1 trial (i.e. a trial in humans).
The thing of it is this though, Ebola is terrifying... but it's one of the less likely biological weapon vectors. As is, it works far too fast to be able to get it to spread in the uncontrolled fashion which you actually want a biological weapon to work. It's also the reason why at present outbreaks are self containing: everybody dies before anyone can get out of area to spread it! It's grim, but there you have it. Also, it's a virus, which makes engineering it to have different pathogenic qualities much harder than if it where a bacteria*, which makes it less attractive.
More likely vectors, IMHO are smallpox, and the bubonic plague. Really wouldn't take that much effort to turn those two into mushroom cloud dropping mother frakers we can't really do anything about. And if that doesn't scare you, it probably should...

*Basically, a bacteria is a an organism which causes disease, a virus is simply a disease which replicates. Tampering with a bacteria is pretty easy - you just insert the extra genetic material you want it to express. Messing with a virus is a shite load harder since you actually need to break open the viral genome and insert extra genetic material without destroying the existing sequence of gene expression. It's for this reason that we've had so many false starts with using engineered retroviruses as a therapeutic vector: getting the genes to express themselves in vivo is a complete sod.

buglerbilly

05-06-10, 02:53 AM

[If people would like e to stop banging on about medical stuff, please do just say so, but I figured I may as well throw in my 5 cents' worth.]

Feel free to talk about Medical stuff in this thread, it interests me at least.

You are however banned from saying doodly shit elsewhere..................:rofl:rofl

buglerbilly

09-06-10, 02:35 AM

Billions of Dollars Later, Military Docs Still Can’t Spot Brain Injuries

By Katie Drummond June 8, 2010 | 9:45 am

Despite billions in research dollars and a vow to improve their handling of this war’s “signature wound,” the military’s ability to diagnose troops with traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, is “about as reliable as a coin flip.”

That’s only one of the disturbing findings of a new investigation by ProPublica and NPR. According to the Pentagon, 11,500 troops are suffering from TBIs. But the investigation, which pored over unpublished military documents, studies and correspondence between military officials and troops, concluded that the figure is likely higher — by tens of thousands.

The investigation is the latest in a series of reported failings in care for ailing vets, as well as TBI diagnosis and treatment. But it comes three years after the Pentagon vowed to improve the management of brain injuries, and poured $1.7 billion into doing just that.

Since then, at least some of that money has gone into a handful of out-there research efforts, including brain implants and helmet sensors. But outside the science lab, progress has been agonizingly slow: One of the military’s TBI diagnostic tests missed the injuries in 40 percent of troops, according to an unpublished study cited by the report. And much-touted handheld devices, meant to spot TBIs in the war zone, often fail to transfer the information to a troop’s permanent medical file. Not that paper records fare much better. They’ve often “been lost, burned or abandoned in warehouses.”

And while the military’s three-phase TBI screening exam sounds thorough (troops are screened before, during and after deployment), each test is fundamentally flawed, to the extent that soldiers admit to “gaming” the exam by memorizing the right answers. In an e-mail to the report’s authors, an unnamed military official described the tests as “coarse, high-level screening tools that are often applied in a suboptimal assembly line manner with little privacy” and “huge time constraints.”

But the workings of the brain remain largely a mystery, so it makes sense that TBIs would too. The injuries are difficult to diagnose and adequately treat, because experts aren’t entirely sure how they happen. But military docs are ignoring sanctioned tactics, like restricting activity among TBI patients to prevent further damage. Other troops are prescribed psychotropic drugs, rather than enrolled in cognitive therapy, which is the approach recommended by a panel of Pentagon-backed health experts.

Top military brass aren’t offering many specific solutions, other than a “cutting edge” medical facility set to open later this year. But Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army’s surgeon general, acknowledged that an adequate handling of TBIs continued to elude them.

“We still have a big problem and I readily admit it,” he said. “That is a black hole of information that we need to have closed.”

Photo: National Institutes of Health

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/billions-of-dollars-later-military-docs-still-cant-spot-brain-injuries/#more-25759#ixzz0qJNYbkQ8

buglerbilly

09-06-10, 04:47 PM

Military Can’t Keep Tabs on Pill-Popping Troops, Senate Says

By Katie Drummond June 9, 2010 | 7:24 am

For years, Pentagon-backed studies have cautioned that more and more troops are self-medicating with antidepressants, sleeping pills and psychotropic medications. But despite the warnings, it turns out that the data needed to reach any solid conclusions isn’t available. The military doesn’t actually keep tabs on the drugs its troops take.

In a report accompanying the 2011 Defense Department authorization bill, the Senate Armed Services Committee noted that the military “has no visibility of pharmacy data for prescriptions dispensed in forward operating areas,” NextGov is reporting.

The revelation comes mere months after widespread debate over just how many active duty troops are actually using drugs. A March hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee described reliance on pharmaceuticals as an escalating problem, with Sen. Jim Webb suggesting that one in six troops was using some kind of medication. Other committee members cited recent internal Army studies, which apparently concluded that 12 percent of troops in Iraq and 17 percent of troops in Afghanistan had doctor’s orders to take sleeping pills or antidepressants.

But Army brass were quick to dispute those numbers, with Surgeon General Lt. Gen Eric Schoomaker citing markedly smaller figures — 3 to 6 percent of troops on drugs for mental health and stress, and 8.6 percent for depression, anxiety or sleeping problems.

Except that despite all the estimates, it seems like no one actually has any idea which troops — and how many — are taking what. And the “what” is an issue whose importance seems to elude senators and Army honchos alike.

A doctor’s prescription for sleeping pills is way different than orders to start on antidepressants. Not only do they imply different underlying health conditions, but the two have vastly different side effects — some of which could be affecting a soldier’s ability to perform in the war-zone. Lumping all the drugs together likely misrepresents the precise nature of the pill-popping problem, and the prevalence of conditions the meds are being used to treat.

It’s a mess of accountability and oversight that, as Sen. Webb warned at the March hearing, could be a reflection of gaping holes that are even more serious.

“I would say that there is a larger issue in play here that I have a great deal of concern about,” he said. “And that is the transparency of what is actually happening to our active duty military when they are deployed, whether it is in the context of the combat operations that they are on, the living circumstances that they have in these deployed areas, or issues such as this.”

Photo: U.S. Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/military-cant-keep-tabs-on-pill-popping-troops-senate-says/#more-25799#ixzz0qMpL64ME

buglerbilly

09-06-10, 04:55 PM

Marine Suicide Attempts at Record Pace

June 09, 2010

UPI

U.S. Marines are trying to commit suicide at a record pace this year, despite a program begun last year aimed at preventing such attempts, Corps data indicate.

Statistics indicate 89 Marines tried to take their own lives through May, most often by overdose or by cutting, USA Today reported.

Projections indicate there will be more than 210 attempted suicides this year, military officials said. In 2009, a record 164 attempted suicides were recorded.

The Marines last year introduced a training program for sergeants and corporals aimed at suicide education, urging them to learn more about their younger Marines.

"We continue to maintain that this is an issue of leadership and getting our Marines who need help to the care they deserve," Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Zilmer, deputy commandant of Manpower and Reserve Affairs, told USA Today. "In every case, there is a unique life to understand behind the statistics."

Navy Cmdr. Aaron Werbel, the Marine Corps suicide prevention program officer, said plans are being developed to place civilian suicide prevention coordinators at each Marine installation and provide a distress hotline.

"We keep plugging away. We keep fighting to win this [struggle against suicide] and to figure out how to better arm our Marines with tools, resources they need to help each other," Werbel said.

© Copyright 2010 UPI. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

15-06-10, 07:42 AM

Study to investigate soldiers' health

June 15, 2010 - 3:34PM

Soldiers who have served in the Middle East since 2001 are to be quizzed about their health to try to improve their care in conflict zones and on their return home.

Defence is spending $12 million on its so-called military health outcomes program, which includes an investigation of cancer and mortality rates.

Members yet to be deployed also will be included.

"It's going to be critical because what we'll learn is whether there's been any significant change in these people's health compared to people who haven't gone to the Middle East," Centre for Military and Veterans' Health director Peter Warfe said at the study's launch on Tuesday.

The Middle East study will enable defence to determine what preventative measures are needed, along with the appropriate support during and after deployment.

The study is one of the first to monitor soldiers' health both before and after they have served overseas.

"It's a much more powerful study for that reason," Professor Warfe said.

The study, due to be completed by mid-2012, examines "chemical, physical, biological and psychological exposures" for those serving in operation zones.

In particular, it will investigate cancer and death rates.

Some 27,000 members deployed to the Middle East since 2001 are being invited to participate.

Defence is also conducting a separate mental health study to determine the prevalence of mental illness within the armed forces and the risk factors that cause it.

Defence force vice chief Lieutenant General David Hurley says the two studies will provide "nuts and bolts" information so a better health program can be developed for personnel.

"(It will tell us) what we're responding to, the particular issues and stresses on our service people.

"It's that base data that helps us design programs very effectively."

Veterans' Affairs Minister Alan Griffin says the study is needed to help determine "where funding is required".

"While we recruit fit and healthy members, some do get wounded, injured or ill during their time in service," he told members of the ADF on Tuesday.

"Sometimes the scars are not visible.

"We need to understand better so we can look after you and your families now and in the future."

© 2010 AAP

buglerbilly

17-06-10, 03:38 AM

Pentagon Zombie-Maker’s New Project: Suffocate, Freeze, Reanimate

By Katie Drummond June 16, 2010 | 5:45 pm

The scientist responsible for some of the Pentagon’s wildest research has devised a method that could one day save trauma patients, and even extend the shelf life of transplant organs. Step one: Suffocate the wounded. Step two: Put ‘em on ice.

Mark Roth, a biochemist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, has been working on suspended animation — inspired by the processes of animal hibernation — for years now. In 2005, with funding from Pentagon far-out research arm Darpa, Roth managed to reanimate rats suffering from massive blood loss, using hydrogen sulfide to knock them out and curb their oxygen consumption.

Since then, Roth has made significant progress. His hydrogen sulfide procedure has completed phase 1 of the three clinical trials required before FDA approval. And he’s moved onto a new, related method that could boost trauma survival even more effectively.

“A lot of animals hibernate through the winter, and they share two key features: They get really cold, and they use very little oxygen,” he tells Danger Room. “So we wanted to know ‘what’s the relationship between those two features’”?

By studying brewer’s yeast and nematode worm embryos, Roth and his team determined that “a coordination of life processes,” reacted in sync — and kept the organism alive — after oxygen was reduced and their temperatures were lowered. In his tests, 66 percent of the yeast and 97 percent of the nematodes outlasted the cold exposure — and were good as new, once reheated and exposed to oxygen.

Though the precise mechanism by which the process works hasn’t been pinpointed, the team observed that “certain sub-cellular processes are going on, but really shouldn’t be,” Roth says.

Roth’s Darpa-funded research might come in handy as he works out the kinks in this new procedure. Since hydrogen sulfide reduces an organism’s consumption of oxygen, it might be just the compound to use prior to putting people, or organs, into the deep freeze.

Once mastered, the method would buy time for trauma patients, including heart attack victims and those suffering massive blood loss. Of course, that’s where the Pentagon’s interest lies: keeping injured troops alive until they can get adequate medical treatment.

It could also help doctors make the most of therapeutic hypothermia, the process of cooling down patients with the intent of improving their odds of survival and preventing brain and organ damage. Roth foresees a drug that could combine the right sequence of oxygen deprivation and hypothermia, without dangerous side effects that can accompany the procedure.

Not only could Roth’s research save lives and revolutionize organ transplant surgeries, but it also pares survival down to its smallest iota. “The underlying relationship between living and dying,” Roth says, “really has to do with this proper order of these cellular relationships.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/pentagon-zombie-makers-new-project-suffocate-freeze-reanimate/#more-26121#ixzz0r4PXCEXv

buglerbilly

23-06-10, 01:52 AM

Sand flies infect U.S. forces with parasite that leaves them with 'Baghdad Boil'

What happened that August night last year left the 48-year-old interpreter disfigured and unable to sleep, his mind muddled with paranoia, his temper short.

But Alsaleh's injuries -- including what look today like third-degree burns on his neck and arm -- weren't caused by gunfire or an explosion. His enemy that night was a tiny insect that injected a flesh-eating parasite into his skin.

Alsaleh, a Jordanian-born military contractor who works for Falls Church-based Global Linguist Solutions, is a victim of leishmaniasis, a disease carried by sand flies that is sometimes called Baghdad Boil. He remembers that when he first got to his mattress in an old building on a contingency base, it was covered in sand flies. He brushed them away.

"It looked like a bug bite," Alsaleh said of the lesions he got on his neck and elbow while the brigade he was working with was based northwest of Mosul. "And it grew and grew and grew, and then started to ooze. Then it gets bigger and starts to ooze again."

The disease, which the World Health Organization says affects 12 million people worldwide, received considerable media and political attention in 2003 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when hundreds of soldiers began to spot red bumps on their skin that swelled for weeks before rupturing into seeping wounds. The number of cases dropped to a handful a month by last year, but as more U.S. troops make their way into Afghanistan, doctors and military personnel are warning that the number of cases could tick back up.

Although it's not commonly found in the United States, leishmaniasis is considered endemic in 88 countries and is most prevalent in Afghanistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sudan, Bolivia, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

When an infected sand fly bites a human, it injects the parasite under the skin, explains Col. Glenn Wortmann, chief of the Infectious Diseases Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Ironically, the parasite stays alive by hiding inside the human body's center of immunity: white blood cells.

"They multiply, they burst out of that macrophage [white blood cell], infect other macrophages, and there's a progressive infection, eventually causing an ulcer in the skin," said Wortmann.

But Alsaleh discovered that the treatment he began in March was almost as traumatizing as the disease itself. The medication that is commonly recommended by doctors is Pentostam, which is administered in 20-injection doses and is "associated with a tremendous number of side effects," said Wortmann.

Most patients who use Pentostam are plagued for months by an aggravated pancreas and liver, as well as severe muscle and joint pains, said Wortmann. It isn't approved by the Food and Drug Administration: U.S. military patients can get the drug only at Walter Reed, and civilians such as Alsaleh must obtain it through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Other methods used to get rid of Baghdad Boil include a pill called fluconazole, sold under the name Diflucan, which Wortmann said is normally used for fungal infections. For leishmaniasis, it's taken once a day for six weeks, but it's not nearly as effective as Pentostam, said Wortmann.

In September 2003, one of the highest months of leishmaniasis infection among U.S. troops in the past seven years, the Defense Department issued a memorandum asking health-care personnel to "increase their level of suspicion for this disease among redeploying personnel from Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas where leishmaniasis is endemic and sandflies are prevalent."

Soldiers were required to apply a DEET-based product to their bodies and to treat their uniforms with a repellent called permethrin. Col. Peter J. Weina, the director of the Leishmania Diagnostics Laboratory at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, said those rules, along with having more soldiers sleeping in buildings rather than in tents, have reduced the number of infections.

He also said that military medical personnel initially were much more vigorous in searching out, diagnosing and reporting cases than they are now, because in 2003 they didn't know which strain of leishmania parasites they were battling. Since then, they've learned that the vast majority of the parasites in Iraq are leishmania major, a type that isn't as dangerous as strains found in other regions of the world.

"The numbers are going down," said Weina. "But how complicated the cases are and the potential devastation that can come out of the disease is higher now than it was even when a larger number of cases were coming out of Iraq."

A neglected disease

Leishmaniasis is more common in Afghanistan than in Iraq, according to the World Health Organization, which lists it as one of the most neglected tropical diseases in the world. And the infected sand flies there are armed with leishmania major parasites more menacing than their counterparts in Iraq, as well as leishmania tropica, a more persistent and hostile species that causes bigger boils.

Leishmaniasis has many faces.

Both leishmania major and leishmania tropica cause the cutaneous form of the disease, which can produce lingering boils such as the ones that popped up all over Mason Alsaleh's body. Sometimes this form of the disease will result in much smaller lesions that vanish over time.

The visceral strain, most commonly caused by leishmania donovani, leishmania infantum and leishmania chagasi, strikes its victims' liver, spleen and bone marrow, and is deadly if untreated. Symptoms vary, but visceral leishmaniasis can cause "persistent fever for weeks on end, 20 to 30 pounds of weight loss, big liver, big spleen," said Wortmann. If it's diagnosed early enough, there is a simple, FDA-approved drug for this type of leishmaniasis called AmBisome.

And the most terrifying form -- mucocutaneous, caused by leishmania braziliensis -- gnaws away at the faces of the infected.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis starts out looking like a mosquito bite; a month or two after the initial sand fly bite, it breaks open into a volcano-like lesion. And Wortmann said, although it's a rarity, he has seen cases where it took almost a year before the parasite began its siege.

About 10 months after he was bitten, Mason Alsaleh is still struggling with the impact of this disease. His lesions are no longer oozing. But the interpreter, who has returned to his home in Acworth, Ga., said he continues to suffer from insomnia, chest pain and shortness of breath; his doctors tell him these symptoms are possibly side effects of the medications he has taken. His condition has kept him from returning to work since he was evacuated from Iraq in January.

He's eager to go back, though he is concerned about what leishmaniasis -- or Pentostam -- might have done to his mind. (Malaise is listed as a common side effect of the drug.)

"I'm paranoid about it, I'm worried about it, I don't feel the same way I was when I was in Iraq," said Alsaleh, who had never heard of the disease before getting his diagnosis from an Iraqi doctor. "And I have a short temper; anything gets on your nerves. For the longest time, I didn't know what was going on. It does affect you mentally and it does affect you psychologically. . . . It is affecting our soldiers; it's affecting everyone who is going overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq right now."

At the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, David Sacks is working with researchers to prevent leishmaniasis before it strikes.

"There are currently no vaccines against leishmaniasis; that's the bottom line, but there's a lot of research," said Sacks, chief of the NIH's Intracellular Parasite Biology Section. He said the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle has a potential vaccine in the first phase of clinical trials.

Victor Linscomb, of Tulsa, Okla., has seen many times just how savage this parasite can be.

The 59-year-old aircraft mechanic, who is the director of the nonprofit 1-2-3 International, travels to Nicaragua about every three months to deliver medical services and supplies. In the past five years, Linscomb estimates he has seen at least 500 cases of leishmaniasis.

He said the disease is so complicated to treat that there's very little his group can do for victims; the closest health clinic takes two days to get to.

He can't shake 22-year-old Santos Flores from his mind.

"Her cutaneous is now becoming mucocutaneous, and her nose is becoming infected and the cartilage will continue to disintegrate until it caves in," he said.

In the northern Nicaraguan jungle where Flores lives, Linscomb said, the locals have their own diagnosis. They believe her mother was cursed by a shaman. The leishmaniasis, they say, was caused by that curse.

eric.athas@washingtonpost.com

buglerbilly

24-06-10, 04:25 PM

Military’s Mental Health Treatment Leader Steps Down

By Katie Drummond June 24, 2010 | 9:47 am

The director of the military’s top center for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries is resigning, after ongoing criticism of the facility’s inability to cope with the thousands of troops suffering from the “signature wounds” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton announced the decision to staffers at the Defense Centers of Excellence (DCoE) on Monday, ProPublica is reporting. The center is at the crux of the military’s massive efforts in bolstering both psychological and brain injury-related diagnostics, treatment, prevention and research. Sutton was instrumental in creating the DCoE in 2007, and has held the top job ever since.

The timing of her departure, which has yet to be publicly announced, is another indication of the armed forces’ messy, mismanaged mental health program. Even as the Defense Department unveils a 72,000 square-foot facility dedicated to mental health issues, some legislators are wondering why the military still can’t get a grip on ailing troops.

“This is a total failure,” Rep. Bill Pascrell, co-chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, said last week. “We’re failing to find TBI and post-traumatic stress disorder in an era when the military is trying to find and assist folks who need it.”

And, with the bulk of a 2007 influx of $1.7 billion for mental health-care going to the DCoE, it makes sense that Sutton would shoulder the brunt of the responsibility for the failings.

Even worse for public perception were ongoing media reports, including those from the Washington Post, ABC and NPR/ProPublica, that exposed gaping holes in the military’s abilities to spot traumatic brain injuries and PTSD, which are estimated to afflict one-third of returning troops.

Despite the bad press, the military has made progress in diagnosing and treating both conditions. In 2007, the Pentagon initiated pre and post deployment brain injury screenings, and a study in 2009 pinpointed cognitive rehabilitational therapy as an effective mode of treatment for TBIs. But questions persist as to whether the screenings are good enough, and whether sick troops are even being seen for treatment.

Sutton, who’d been planning to retire next year, didn’t respond to requests for comment. A representative told ProPublica that the move was “part of a routine command rotation.”

No matter the reason for Sutton’s departure, it’s increasingly clear that troops — whose suicide rate this year threatens to match war-zone fatalities — need help. But the research that’ll lead to solutions isn’t exactly cut-and-dry, and glossy facilities won’t instantly unravel exactly how the injuries affect the brain, and how they’re best treated. Much of that science is still in the lab, and probably years from completion. Sutton, no matter how hard she tried, was largely being asked to find answers without knowing the right questions. Toss in a center in its infancy and two ongoing wars, and the dilemma gets even messier.

Sadly for troops, though, Sutton seems have been one of the more committed leaders in the field. During her three years at DCoE, she’s worked under four different brass filling the top spot of assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

And given that Sutton was with the DCoE from the start, and, in a farewell to staff, recalls “scrambling to build our team, animate our vision, define our mission,” her departure marks the loss of a leader dedicated to keeping troops healthy. The center’s progress may have come up short, but Sutton’s commitment is exactly what decades of struggling troops are going to need.

Photo: Department of Defense

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/militarys-mental-health-treatment-leader-steps-down/#more-26441#ixzz0rmRzNPiI

Deks

24-06-10, 10:01 PM

decades? Interesting, I'd thought recently they'd made great strides towards handling PTSD through counseling combined with selected medications. Perhaps they're just trials though.

buglerbilly

26-06-10, 03:44 AM

PTSD Recovery may be Linked to Serotonin

June 25, 2010

UPI

Researchers in Australia say people may inherit a factor related to serotonin that may affect recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Researchers at the Brain Dynamics Center, Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead Hospital in Australia explain those who carry a short allele -- a DNA sequence of a particular gene -- of a version of this genetic factor -- the serotonin transporter genotype -- have shown greater vulnerability to suffering depression and other symptoms following exposure to extremely stressful situations that characterize PTSD.

The study leader, Dr. Richard Bryant, says this genetic factor also increases the activation of an emotion control center in the brain -- the amygdala -- and suggest serotonin may play a role in resiliency, the ability to recover from disorders such as PTSD.

Bryant and colleagues set up a study to assess whether this genetic factor could help predict changes in PTSD patients who have been given treatment.

They classified PTSD patients according to their genotype and gave them eight weeks of cognitive behavior treatment.

The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, determined one-third of the patients with PTSD did not respond to treatment.

"Patients with PTSD who carried the short allele of the serotonin transporter gene promoter responded more poorly to treatment than other PTSD patients," Bryant said in a statement. "This study highlights that the serotonin system is implicated in responding to cognitive behavior therapy."

© Copyright 2010 UPI. All rights reserved.

JimWH

26-06-10, 12:40 PM

Theories like this have been proposed before, many time in fact. Problem is that usually once a proper population survey is conducted, the receptor sub-type proves to be less predictive than selective sub-group surveys suggest. It's not that a short allele 5-HT receptor* isn't necessarily influential in determining who is more susceptible to PTSD (or indeed who is going to be treatment resistant) it's that there'll be many more factors as influential in determining susceptibility.
Basically, I'd stick it in the 'interesting molecular biology findings' category rather than the 'clinically useful finding' category.

*Though from memory there are about 10 or so 5-HT receptor subtypes. Though one or two are more implicated in in depression than others. Of course, PTSD and depression are quite different diseases, though Selective Seretonin Re-uptake Inhibitors are used in treating both.

buglerbilly

29-06-10, 04:08 AM

U.S. Troops Face New Threat: Afghanistan’s Toxic Sand

By Spencer Ackerman June 28, 2010 | 11:43 am

NEW challenge? Are people STUPID??? Of course this is a dangerous environment, you ingest ANY sand you have a chance of problems downstream not least Silicosis.............

Silicosis, also known as Potter's rot, is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation and scarring in forms of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis, from pneumo (lung) and konis (dust).

Silicosis (particularly the acute form) is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever, and cyanosis (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia, or tuberculosis.

You have to take care and control your susceptability to ingestion by wearing the right protective gear.........this is NOT high science no matter how Wired.com pump it up.............

U.S. troops already face plenty of threats in Afghanistan: AK-47–wielding insurgents, improvised bombs, an intransigent and incompetent government. Now add a less familiar challenge to that list of woes: Afghanistan’s toxic sand.

The pulverized turf, it turns out, contains high levels of manganese, silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum, chromium and other metals that act as neurotoxic agents when ingested. Combine the country’s frequent sandstorms and the kicked-up dust that results from helicopter travel with troops’ nostrils, mouths and pores, and you’ve got an unexpected example of how inhospitable the terrain is for the soon-to-be 98,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines fighting the war.

That’s all according to new research presented this month to a neurotoxicology conference in Oregon by a senior scientist with the Navy Environmental Health Effects Laboratory. That scientist, Palur G. Gunasekar, tells Politics Daily’s Sheila Kaplan that “[a]s the sand extract dose increases at the higher concentration you see cell death.” As the late Ronnie James Dio told us time and again, metal is evil.

A Navy spokesman tells Kaplan that more research is necessary to determine whether a connection exists between Afghan sand and neurotoxicology, as the service has yet to receive complaints from troops about “cognitive difficulties that are unrelated to traumatic brain injuries.” Those injuries have become the signature trauma of nine years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan as a result of roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices, with nearly 64,000 cases diagnosed between 2003 and 2009.

According to ProPublica, Congress has dedicated an estimated $1.7 billion over the last few years to help troops recover from traumatic brain injuries, even standing up six new “Defense Centers of Excellence” in 2007 to provide research support as well as medical care.

But now it looks like there’s a new, tragic and expensive unintended health consequence of the war. And if the Defense Department’s late start in combating traumatic brain injuries is instructive, it’s going to take a lot more than research and the glacial pace of the defense health bureaucracy to deal with neurotoxic sand.

A September 2009 Defense Department overview of its anti-TBI efforts (.PDF) to date found that grappling with the scope of such a multifaceted health problem required “collaborative efforts” with “state-of-the-art science, technology and knowledge-based outcomes.” And the Department still isn’t there yet, years later.

Until something like that kicks into gear for toxic sand, troops are going to be left on their own to mitigate their exposure, so that may mean enterprising commanders ordering their troops to wear black sunglasses and face masks this summer in the Afghan desert. If there’s any upside to a covered face in baking heat, at least it’ll look pretty metal.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/new-threat-to-u-s-troops-in-afghanistan-toxic-sand/#more-26573#ixzz0sCgG6eBn

buglerbilly

01-07-10, 03:47 AM

Pentagon Brass Plots Mega-Database of Brain Injuries

By Katie Drummond June 30, 2010 | 8:17 am

In the latest of a series of efforts to do right by injured troops, the Pentagon is moving forward with an ambitious database to monitor traumatic brain injuries from war-zone diagnosis to post-deployment treatment. And — in a step that could help scientists unravel the injuries — they want the system to link each TBI to specific incidents on the battlefield.

If, that is, the database even works to begin with.

The Pentagon’s plodding attempts to overhaul their management of troop’s mental health has been marred by a series of recent missteps. In early June, an NPR/Propublica report revealed gaping holes in the military’s ability to diagnose PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. And just last week, the leader of the military’s key mental health centers stepped down amid ongoing criticism of facility’s progress.

But while the military was coping with plenty of bad PR, Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III was issuing an action plan for the new database, in a memo obtained by NextGov.com. Lynn notes in the memo that the Pentagon’s policy will now mandate that officials “identify, track and ensure the appropriate protection of service members exposed to concussive events, including blast events, to the maximum extent possible.”

It’s a step the military’s been planning for months, but the 17-page memo marks the first official policy statement on the database, which will enter development stages within six months. The database would be all-encompassing, following troops from the front-lines to post-deployment care. Those exposed to bomb blasts or other trauma would be inputted into the system immediately, via web-based telemedicine portal, and then monitored for developing symptoms. Because TBIs can take months to show up, the database could be a valuable tool in linking post-deployment ailments to war-zone exposures.

And the system could also be a boon for scientists. Lynn calls for “comprehensive, retrospective analyses of relevant event-triggered data,” which could help determine which kinds of blasts leave troops most susceptible to TBIs, and, hopefully, exactly how the blasts affect the brain.

But the idea could have trouble getting off the ground. Because “forward units operate in areas that have little or no bandwidth, which these communications systems require to work properly,” one unnamed source told NextGov that it’s going to be tough — if not impossible — for the military to catch TBIs right after they happen.

Not to mention that the database will still rely on the same flawed diagnostic tools the military’s been criticized over before. As NPR/Propublica revealed, one screening test missed TBIs in 40 percent of afflicted troops, and another was dubbed “as reliable as a coin flip” by top military medical experts.

Of course, the injuries are notoriously tough to diagnose, largely because scientists still aren’t clear exactly what causes them. That was one catalyst for the Pentagon’s new, 72,000 square foot facility for brain injury research, which opened last week.

No doubt, a computerized database would be better than how the military currently keeps tabs on war-zone injuries — pen and paper forms, of which an estimated 400,000 have yet to be inputted into troop medical files. But while a tool that tracks injuries from war-zone to home would make a valuable addition to the Pentagon’s fledgling health-care system, science (not to mention war-zone Internet connections) needs to catch up before any computer system can make a significant impact.

Photo: National Science Foundation

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/pentagon-brass-plots-mega-database-of-brain-injuries/#more-26571#ixzz0sOJDW11o

buglerbilly

05-07-10, 03:02 AM

War veterans should be helped to adjust to civilian life, say MPs

Plan calls for psychological assessment and GP checks as thousands of ex-soldiers are arrested every month

Karen McVeigh The Guardian, Monday 5 July 2010

Lord Ramsbotham, the former prisons watchdog, who has called for a cabinet office minister to be given responsibility for the welfare of current and former military personnel. Photograph: Cathal Mcnaughton/PA Archive/Press Association Ima

Servicemen and women returning from active combat abroad should have access to "decompression" advice to tackle problems in readjusting to civilian life and to stem the rising numbers of veterans entering the criminal justice system, according to a group of MPs and unions.

The proposal, from the all-party justice unions' parliamentary group (JUPG), is part of a national strategy to reduce offending among veterans.

It follows a Guardian report last month suggesting thousands of former military personnel were being arrested across Britain each month, many for violent crimes, and echoes earlier calls by a former chief inspector of prisons, Lord Ramsbotham for a Cabinet Office minister to be given responsibility for the welfare of current and former military personnel.

Recommendations, put forward by the MPs to the ministries of defence and justice, include: giving those returning from combat a psychological assessment before they leave the service, with special attention to alcohol or drug issues; asking police to monitor arrested veterans and refer them if necessary to specialist help (currently being piloted by Kent police); requiring GPs to ask if patients have served in the forces; and completion of a thorough justice ministry survey, using probation and prison officers, to ascertain how many veterans are currently in the criminal justice system.

Elfyn Llwyd MP, chair of the JUPG, said many veterans encountered problems adjusting to normal life. He said: "Unfortunately, far too many become completely cut off from society and end up in prison, probation or on parole."

He added: "Some of these young people have been to hell and back and it is our responsibility to help them. Clearly, we are not spending enough time preparing our soldiers for life when they leave. More help needs to be available as a matter of course both during and immediately after active combat, regardless of whether they ask for this help."

Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo, the probation and family court staff union, said: "Two surveys undertaken by Napo suggest that 8% of the prison and probation population have seen military service. For the vast majority that service occurred in the past 10 years. It is clear that advice, help and counselling is not reaching soldiers in a worrying number of cases.

"It is critical that the government develops policies to ensure soldiers who enter the criminal justice system receive proper advice and healthcare. If soldiers are willing to risk their lives for their country then they deserve proper help and welfare on return".

There are no official statistics on the number of veterans in jail; the justice and defence ministries estimate veterans make up 3% of the prison population while Napo puts the number at 8,500, with a further 12,500 on probation or parole.

Other recommendations in the action plan are:

• All service personnel should have access to advice on issues ranging from housing and welfare benefits to relationship skills, debt management and domestic violence, if needed, followed by a one-to-one assessment six months later.

• A resettlement assessment six months before discharge.

• A follow-up assessment, where help is needed, six months after discharge.

• Funding for veterans support officers in prison and probation services.

• A service record should become an automatic part of court reports. This is already being piloted by Cheshire probation service.

Police in Kent running a pilot scheme to record the number of veterans entering the criminal justice system found that over the last three months, 326 former military personnel were arrested, a third for violent offences. Hampshire, North Wales, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk and North Yorkshire are planning to adopt a similar scheme.

buglerbilly

08-07-10, 03:09 PM

Darpa’s Genetically Engineered Blood Starts Pumping

By Katie Drummond July 8, 2010 | 8:45 am

More troops than ever are surviving their battlefield injuries, often overloading the military’s health care system. Massive blood shortages continue to plague military trauma care, and the problem is complicated by the remote, inaccessible locations of today’s warzones.

In 2008, Darpa, the Pentagon’s blue sky research arm, launched the Blood Pharming program, with the goal of manufacturing mega doses of universal donor red blood units (O-negative) using a compact, self-contained system. “Pharming” is the process of genetically engineering animals or plants to generate mass quantities of medically useful substances, like hormones or antibodies. In this case, Darpa wants a synthetic platform that’s engineered to cultivate blood cells.

Now Arteriocyte, the biotech firm that got $1.95 million for the project, has sent off an initial shipment of their pharmed blood product to the Food and Drug Administration, in hopes of passing muster with agency’s safety regulators.

The blood was produced using hematopoietic cells, derived from embryonic cord blood units. Currently, it takes Arteriocyte scientists three days to turn a single umbilical cord unit into 20 units of RBC-packed blood. The average soldier needs 6 units during trauma treatment.

“We’re basically mimicking bone marrow in a lab environment,” company CEO Don Brown tells Danger Room. “Our model works, but we need to extrapolate our production abilities to make scale.”

And while Darpa’s largely after an endless stream of war-zone blood, Brown, whose company uses technology created at Johns Hopkins, thinks pharmed blood would have several advantages over relying on the real stuff.

Because most blood used in military operations is donated on U.S ground, it’s usually three weeks old by the time it hits the front lines. The shelf-life of donated blood is still disputed. The Red Cross tosses RBC units after 42 days, but some medical experts think that fresh blood “expires” after 28 days, and cite increased risk of infection and organ failure once blood is older than two weeks.

“Until now, the military’s strategy has mainly been contained to basically using stale blood,” Brown said. “And they’ll set up mobile blood banks in a war-zone, but even every troop rolling up their sleeve might not be enough when you’ve got a crisis with dozens or more injuries.”

And because the method can get so much blood from a single cord unit, it’d also minimize risks associated with multiple-donation transfusions, which are common when a patient needs several units.

But while Arteriocyte think they’ve mastered the formula for pharmed blood, the company’s got a ways to go to make it financially viable. A single unit of pharmed blood currently runs them $5,000.

Still, given the price tag of transporting and storing donated blood, Darpa’s betting that a unit of pharmed blood will make financial sense once it costs less than $1,000.

Human trials aren’t likely until 2013, but the Pentagon could invoke “emergency protocol” to snag the blood sooner — Brown predicts military use within five years.

Photo: U.S Air Force

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/darpas-blood-makers-start-pumping/#more-26390#ixzz0t60ZgkDU

buglerbilly

09-07-10, 12:47 AM

US Eases Rules on PTSD Claims

July 08, 2010

UPI

U.S. veterans will soon be able to seek benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder without having to document events that caused it, officials say.

The New York Times reported Wednesday the more relaxed regulations could be in effect next week. Under the new rules, veterans must be able to prove they served in war zones and in roles in which they could have suffered the stressors they say led to PTSD.

The stricter regulations were unfair to women -- who are barred from combat jobs but in Iraq and Afghanistan were often in danger -- and to veterans whose PTSD was caused by the anticipation of danger, advocates say. But the new rules are likely to be expensive, with congressional budget analysts putting the cost at $5 billion in the next few years.

Dr. Sally Satel, a psychiatrist affiliated with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, worried about the effect of benefits on younger veterans.

"It is destructive to give someone total and permanent disability when they are in fact capable of working, even if it is not at full capacity. A job is the most therapeutic thing there is," she said.

© Copyright 2010 UPI. All rights reserved.

JimWH

09-07-10, 05:55 AM

Massive shortages of blood is a big enough problem in Australian for civilian trauma, let alone in-theatre problems. We kicked ourselves in the nuts here in Aus by knocking out all donors who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1995, but that's a separate rant.
One of the Holy Grails of modern medicine would be (cheap) wholly synthetic full blood. A pretty benign trauma case can easily go through 20+ units of pack-cells (just the Red Blood Cells), and you only get one unit of pack cells from each blood donation. So, clearly, there's a big need for a synthetic alternative to blood donation. This technology is clearly a step in the right direction (especially if they can get the price down substantially), but it's quite a way from the goal. I'll be interested to hear what the cross-match profile is like*, since even O neg isn't without problems when you're putting through large transfusions.

-----
*Blood has a type (think O negative, AB positive etc.) and also a cross-match profile. The cross match profile describes about 30 odd different antigens which can be expressed in blood products, and for a good transfusion you need to match as many of those points as possible.
In an ideal world, what you'd want would be a synthetically produced and matured red blood cell which lacks any antigenic properties. That way you could just throw the same blood up for everyone and pump as much as you wanted without having to fear an adverse reaction to the transfusion.

buglerbilly

09-07-10, 07:43 AM

Massive shortages of blood is a big enough problem in Australian for civilian trauma, let alone in-theatre problems. We kicked ourselves in the nuts here in Aus by knocking out all donors who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1995, but that's a separate rant.

A subject close to my heart............I was a long-term blood donor in the UK for years, then a blood donor here in Australia for the first few years but I'm now banned due that ludicrous time limit altho I was living Overseas for part of that time and when in the UK only ate Organic meat of any kind, from a registered Organic Farm and Butchery.........yet anyone that was there is tarred with the same brush, a brush that "may" apply to a numerically insignificant and minute portion of the Expat or Aussie population that lived there........it still a sore point to me and I'm still bemused as to WHY neither the Red Cross nor the Federal Government has done anything to develop or adopt a method for detecting Creuzfeldt Jacobs Disease or any other some such..........

I have at least 15-18 friends banned from giving blood who were regular blood donors...............what a nonsense!

McDethWivFries

09-07-10, 08:04 AM

The New York Times reported Wednesday the more relaxed regulations could be in effect next week. Under the new rules, veterans must be able to prove they served in war zones and in roles in which they could have suffered the stressors they say led to PTSD.

wonder how that will effect the drone pilots who are in the US but flying drones over the Middle East? I remember reading how they are more likely to suffer from PTSD than troops on the ground...

buglerbilly

10-07-10, 12:25 AM

The article in post 56 has been corrected............

Para 2 - From "Pharming" onwards, the rest of the para has been deleted...........no reason given, assume wrong statement?

Para 3 - the last sentence "It hopes to pass muster with agency’s safety regulators" has also been deleted.

buglerbilly

10-07-10, 01:25 AM

Stressed-out troops criticise Defence

July 10, 2010 - 5:54AM

Australian soldiers have criticised the Defence organisation and their allied counterparts for putting them under extreme stress on the front line in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Weekend Australian says the troops speak of overworked pilots addicted to Stilnox and other prescription drugs and an underground trade in illicit substances and sex.

The paper says there have been complaints about a lack of support, poor leadership and the constant fear of death.

The Weekend Australian says it has obtained a selection of transcripts from 120 serving and former soldiers from the two Iraq wars, dating back to the early 1990s, and the ongoing Afghanistan war.

It says the records provide a raw and disturbing account of Australia's involvement in the Middle East.

The paper says Defence on Friday night vowed to investigate many of the allegations raised but said some of the concerns are old and have been addressed.

© 2010 AAP

buglerbilly

10-07-10, 01:41 AM

A bit more on blood pharming..............

Scientists develop 'fake' genetically-engineered blood for use on the battlefield

By Niall Firth

Last updated at 5:32 PM on 9th July 2010

Most of this article just regenerates the Wired.com one issued previously so has been deleted apart from the slide below..............go to the link IF you need to read the original.

Darpa launched a search for a renewable blood supply in 2008

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1293361/Scientists-develop-fake-genetically-engineered-blood-use-battlefield.html#ixzz0tEPWgrFI

buglerbilly

10-07-10, 07:34 AM

Like 'running on the moon': Brigade uses new technology to advance Soldiers' rehab

Jul 8, 2010

By Susanne Kappler, Fort Jackson Leader

Photo credit Susanne Kappler, Fort Jackson Leader

Pvt. Bonnie Beaver tests one of three new anti-gravity treadmills in use by the 171st Infantry Brigade on Fort Jackson, S.C. FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Fort Jackson Soldiers who are injured during Basic Combat Training have a new weapon at their disposal to get up and running again.

The 171st Infantry Brigade recently purchased three anti-gravity treadmills, which are designed to rehabilitate runners who have injuries to the lower back, legs or feet.

The machines allow injured Soldiers to train while putting less weight on the injured area by creating negative air pressure. The negative air pressure is adjustable and simulates the effect of walking or running in an environment with as little as 20 percent of the earth's gravity.

"With this technology, the device wraps around a patient's waist, using a pair of shorts that have a zipper that attaches to, essentially, a balloon. The legs are inside the balloon, and then the balloon inflates and lifts them up. That allows the legs, arms and upper body to move in a normal running motion," said Maj. David Feltwell, the 171st surgeon. "This machine allows us to take the weight off someone's legs down to a point where he or she is essentially doing the equivalent of walking or running on the moon."

Feltwell said the machines will be especially helpful in getting injured Soldiers in the Physical Training and Rehabilitation Program ready to continue with Basic Combat Training.

"Most of the Soldiers who go in that program who do well historically have lower-extremity bone injuries. Their bones have become stressed by the physical demands of Basic Combat Training, have not been able to keep up with that stress and have failed in some way," Feltwell said. "The trick is to rehabilitate them safely to a point where they can go back into training and complete (it) without being at risk for re-injury. We have a limited amount of time to do that. We can't keep people there indefinitely. We want to return them to training as quickly as possible, and safely."

Col. Karl Reed, 171st commander, said when Feltwell told him about the anti-gravity treadmills, he wanted to experience for himself what running on one would be like.

"We went offsite into the local community and found one of those (treadmills)," Reed said. "I actually got in it and ran. ... It's like running on air, like in a cloud."

Reed said buying the machines was the right thing to do as part of the Army's responsibility to making sure Soldiers get the best possible care in their rehabilitation from injuries.

"I think it's a fantastic thing," he said. "I think every installation that has a necessity for rehab for lower-extremity injuries, to include lower back (injuries), ought to have this capability."

On average, about 700 Fort Jackson Soldiers are in the PTRP annually. Approximately 85 percent of those Soldiers have injuries to the lower extremities or the hips. Before the Soldiers can continue with BCT, they have to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test, including the 2-mile run.

Soldiers usually go through a stepped progression to achieve that fitness level, said Capt. Dan Summers, commander of the Fitness Training Company, which is responsible for the PTRP. After working on core stability, Soldiers move on to intermediate and advanced agility exercises before two weeks of walk-to-run training, he explained.

"What we've seen in the past is getting (Soldiers) all the way up to (the) advanced agility area, we have really good luck with the stress fractures and the stress reactions in the femoral neck," Summers said. "But once we hit there, that's either where they start feeling that pain again and they're not able to continue on, their stress fracture or stress reaction kicked back up; or right afterward when we start putting them back on the track running, that's when it hits."

Summers said he hopes to decrease the rehabilitation time by allowing Soldiers to start their running routine on the treadmill before they can put full weight on their bodies.

"My hope is that while they're going through intermediate and advanced agility, they're also increasing the time and weight that they're doing on the treadmill," he said. "So by the time they've finished the advanced agility, they're ready to (be) out running on the track and pass the PT test."

Pvt. Bonnie Beaver has been in the PTRP for more than 90 days because of a hip injury. She said she had tried running unsuccessfully. Beaver was one of the first Soldiers to use the new equipment and said the difference to conventional running was very noticeable.

"It was definitely an experience," she said. "I didn't have any pain at all, and usually if I power walk or jog or sprint I feel a little tension in my hips. (On the treadmill) I didn't feel any tension or pain at all."

buglerbilly

13-07-10, 03:19 AM

New PTSD Rules Relax Definition

July 12, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

Under a new process for claiming post-traumatic stress disorder, veterans will no longer have to engage in actual combat to make the case they suffered psychologically in war. Instead, the new policy recognizes that living with the fear of death and injury may be enough for troops to develop mental health issues.

"With this new PTSD regulation we are acknowledging the inherently stressful nature of the places and circumstances military services, in which the reality and fear of hostile or terrorist activities is always present," Michael Walcoff, acting undersecretary for benefits for the VA, said during a press conference this morning at the VA headquarters in Washington DC.

Veterans will not have to cite specific incidents of stress -- a firefight or rocket attack, for instance -- and then back up the claim with documentation. Instead, veterans will now have only to show that he or she served in a combat zone and had a job consistent with conditions related to their PTSD symptom. Walcoff said many more veterans will now be able to file claims for PTSD, including troops who did not have direct contact with the enemy.

Begs the question does that apply to UAV/UCAV drivers?

As a group, he said, women will be among the major beneficiaries because their military records often did not reflect combat experience, he said. Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said doctors, nurses and other troops in the medical care specialties often are witness to trauma even if they do not see the combat themselves. Other support troops also find themselves in particularly stressful roles, he said, specifically citing convoy drivers who routinely make their way along roads where roadside bombs have likely been placed.

"Knowing you're a truck driver going up and down the airport road every day, you're gripping that steering wheel intensely," he said.

Joseph Violante, legislative director for the Disabled American Veterans, told the press conference that the changes were welcome and that DAV had been pushing for the more relaxed rules for decades.

Many veterans were never able to successfully file a claim, he said, because they could not prove the stresses to the satisfaction of VA doctors in the past.

The new rules are retroactive, Walcoff said, so that any veteran from any past war may file a claim. This includes vets who previously were denied a claim, he said.

While there has been some concern that the new rules might create fraud -- primarily vets claiming PTSD for incidents that did not occur -- Walcott said the VA's overriding concern is getting care to those who do need and deserve it.

The VFW's Joe Davis said there will always be some who try to cheat, but that shouldn't obscure the fact the new rules will help a great many people.

"The overwhelming good this decision will produce outweighs the impact of a few cheaters who may attempt to game the system," he said. "We fully expect the VA to catch and prosecute them."

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

16-07-10, 04:24 AM

Human Trials Next for Darpa’s Mind-Controlled Artificial Arm

By Katie Drummond July 15, 2010 | 3:29 pm

Pentagon-backed scientists are getting ready to test thought-controlled prosthetic arms on human subjects, by rewiring their brains to fully integrate the artificial limbs.

Already in recent years, we’ve seen very lifelike artificial arms, monkeys nibbling bananas with mind-controlled robotic limbs and even humans whose muscle fibers have been wired to prosthetic devices. But this is the first time human brains will be opened up, implanted with a neural interface and then used to operate an artificial limb.

It’s a giant step that’ll transform the devices, which were little more than hooks and cables only 50 years ago. And the progress is courtesy of Darpa, the Pentagon’s far-out R&D agency, who’ve been sponsoring brain-controlled replacement limbs as part of their Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program.

A team of scientists at Johns Hopkins, behind much of Darpa’s prosthetic progress thus far, have received a $34.5 million contract from the agency to manage the next stages of the project. Researchers will test the Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) on a human. The test subject’s thoughts will control the arm, which “offers 22 degrees of motion, including independent movement of each finger,” provides feedback that essentially restores a sense of touch, and weighs around 9 pounds. That’s about the same weight as a human arm.

The prosthetic will rely on micro-arrays, implanted into the brain, that record signals and transmit them to the device. It’s a similar design to that of the freaky monkey mind-control experiments, which have been ongoing at the University of Pittsburgh since at least 2004.

Within two years, Johns Hopkins scientists plan to test the prosthetic in five patients. And those researchers, alongside a Darpa-funded consortium from Caltech, University of Pittsburgh, University of Utah and the University of Chicago, also hope to expand prosthetic abilities to incorporate pressure and touch.

“The goal is to enable the user to more effectively control movements to perform everyday tasks, such as picking up and holding a cup of coffee,” Michael McLoughlin, the project’s program manager, says.

In other words, prosthetic arms that are remarkably similar to the real thing. But the long-term caliber of the MPL arm remains an open question. Just three months ago, Darpa launched a new program to overcome several problems with neuro-prosthetic models — most notably, the two-year lifespan of those implanted neural recording devices.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/human-trials-ahead-for-darpas-mind-controlled-artificial-arm/#more-27800#ixzz0toAGJ4AH

buglerbilly

16-07-10, 11:30 AM

N.Zealand inventors unveil bionic legs for paraplegics

July 16, 2010 - 6:19PM

Two New Zealand inventors have produced what they claim are the world's first robotic legs to help paraplegics walk again.

The bionic legs were road-tested publicly for the first time Thursday by 23-year-old Hayden Allen who was told five years ago he would never walk again after being paralysed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident.

Allen said the experience of being able to stand up and walk when strapped into his robotic legs was fantastic and he felt like a normal human being again.

"It will be a big benefit from a social aspect, being able to talk to someone at the same eye level," he told reporters.

Inventors Richard Little and Robert Irving, two ex-patriate Scottish engineeers who emigrated in the early 1990s, came up with the idea seven years ago and have spent 10 million US dollars (7.1 million US) developing it.

Called Rex (robotic exoskeleton) the 38 kilogram (84 pound) joy-stick operated legs were inspired by the movie "Aliens" in which the character Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) climbs into a robotic exoskeleton to fight an alien.

Rex is "a realistic standing and walking alternative to wheelchairs," the inventors said on their website Rexbionics.com.

"It enables the user to climb up and down stairs, sit, stand, and step backwards, sideways and forwards -- providing the opportunity for people in wheelchairs who want to walk, to do just that."

However, Rex comes with a hefty price tag of 150,000 US US dollars and at present is only available in New Zealand although the inventors said it would be sold worldwide from next year.

Rex Bionics, which now employs 25 mechatronic and sofware engineers, believes demand will outstrip supply for the next few years and they have already had enquiries suggesting people will pay up to 250,000 US US dollars.

© 2010 AFP
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers. Spelling follows North American usage, along with foreign currency and measurement units.

buglerbilly

16-07-10, 04:18 PM

Study: Ecstasy Treats PTSD

July 16, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

The drug Ecstasy shows positive results in the majority of patients when used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a report coming out Monday in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The study, which focuses on 20 patients for whom previous drug and psychotherapy treatments were unsuccessful, is the first of its kind and a stepping stone for a follow-up that will focus entirely on U.S. military veterans, said Rick Doblin, who founded the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies – a group that analyzes the use of psychedelic drugs in mental health treatment.

http://www.maps.org/

“We want most of the veterans to come from Iraq and Afghanistan,” Doblin told Military.com in an exclusive interview July 15. “But we want some Vietnam veterans as well because we want to see if we can help people who have had these [PTSD] patterns for decades.”

The current study group was mostly female victims of child sexual abuse and rape who suffered from PTSD for an average of about 19 years, said Dr. Michael Mithoefer, a South Carolina psychiatrist who oversaw the testing.

When the association got initial approval for its study from the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, the U.S. was not engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq, so the application specifically asked to test victims of crime. The same application went to the Drug Enforcement Agency, which only approved it in 2004.

The study was completed in late 2008 and Military.com first reported on the positive findings in March 2009. The study’s publication in the British Journal of Psychopharmacology marks the end of nearly 10 years of paperwork and bureaucratic delays, as well as the research itself. The study will be available for free download starting Monday at http://jop.sagepub.com/pap.dtl.

In the study, 12 of the 20 registered patients were treated with a combination of MDMA and psychotherapy; the other eight were given a placebo and psychotherapy.

According to Mithoefer, 10 of the patients in the MDMA trial group saw clinically and statistically significant improvements in their PTSD, compared to just two of the eight people in the control group.

Those in the trial group who responded well to the MDMA treatments “no longer met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD,” according to Mithoefer. This included three patients who reported prior to the treatments that they were unable to work. But after the treatments, they returned to the job.

The study also found no evidence patents who took the Ecstasy experienced any ill effects from the drug, Mithoefer said.

While the current study focused on women who were not exposed to combat, Mithoefer said the largest symptom groups [of PTSD] are the same regardless of the cause.

“But you can have differences,” he said.

“As far as we know, the present research suggests the same basic approach works for people with any kind of PTSD, but there are some obvious important differences,” he explained. “It is always individualized, so working with veterans is going to have some different qualities than, say, working with people with childhood sexual abuse. … The veterans experience does have some particular aspects to it that are different from other trauma and that has to be taken into account.”

Doblin established the Psychedelic Studies Association in the mid-1980s, just as MDMA was being criminalized in the United States and the pressure was on nationally and internationally to halt research into the use of psychedelics for medical purposes. Once possession or use of MDMA became a criminal violation, Doblin realized the only way to work with it would be to go through the FDA.

Although the DEA remains a tough sell in terms of supporting the use of an illegal drug as part of a therapy regimen, Doblin has the approvals from the FDA and has the follow-on project approved by an independent institutional review board – a requirement when doing a human research study.

Meanwhile, MAPS already has been getting queries from veterans interested in taking part.

For Doblin, working to help combat veterans brings him along an unorthodox path back to how he got involved in studying psychedelics for medical and mental health uses.

Coming of age in the 1960s, he opposed the Vietnam War and said he was prepared to go to jail rather than serve in it or flee to Canada. At 18, he didn’t even bother to register and kept waiting to be arrested; the reality was, he said, that tens of thousands of men didn’t bother to register and the government never came after them.

He began to wonder how he could contribute to creating an alternative to war, he said, and began studying about how people were motivated to fight and how others were used – “scapegoated” – to legitimatize war.

“When I first tried LSD, it was very powerful,” he recalled. It gave him a sense of the connectedness of everything, he said, and he came to believe that “if people understood how connected they are, that they’re part of the human family, and that goes deeper than country, race, gender and class – if they had a sense of that, it would be harder to kill.”

Now Doblin is frustrated by federal agencies (such as the DEA) that delay testing drugs that could help veterans dealing with the psychological wounds of combat.

“They’re putting the drug war over the health of the veterans,” he said. Officials argue that you don’t give drugs to people who have a high incidence of drug abuse, he said, but the reason they abuse drugs is because of the PTSD, and if you can treat that they have less reason for doing drugs at all.

“And it’s not about giving it to them for the rest of their lives,” he said, “but two or three times in a controlled setting with a therapist present.”

"That's the profound power of MDMA when used in a therapeutic setting," he added.

[I]© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

17-07-10, 05:19 PM

Shedding light on mental health in the forces

A Defence Policy and Business news article

16 Jul 10

Professor Simon Wessely, a casually-dressed professor based at King's College London, is not on the MOD payroll but, at the Department's bidding, he keeps a close eye on the mental health of the Armed Forces. Report by Sharon Kean.

Troops complete questionnaires for the King's College study
[Picture: Neil Greenberg]

In 2003, Professor Wessely's team was asked to investigate whether personnel returning from Iraq had any of the symptoms associated with what had been dubbed Gulf War Syndrome.

Results showed they did not, but, as the conflict in Iraq continued and operations in Afghanistan began, the MOD asked Professor Wessely and his team to continue tracking their randomly-selected sample of 10,000 troops:

"After 2005, Iraq got nastier and casualty rates went up," said Professor Wessely.

"Then the same happened in Afghanistan, and an assumption was made - particularly by the media - that this would lead to a dramatic increase in mental health problems. It's hard to find a newspaper report that doesn't take it for granted that we were facing a bow wave or even a tsunami of cases."

The King's College team's independent research looked at what had happened to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2005 and 2009, as well as those who had not deployed:

"The answer, surprisingly, was not very much," said Professor Wessely.

His study shows that rates of post-traumatic stress disorder have remained stable among regular Armed Forces, at between three and four per cent.

However, Defence Medical Services, the NHS and veterans charities are seeing more cases:

"That simply reflects that more and more people have deployed," said Professor Wessely.

"The rate remains steady but the absolute numbers are going up. There's been no collapse in morale, no catastrophic epidemic of mental health problems. We also did not find an effect of the number of deployments."

"There's been no collapse in morale, no catastrophic epidemic of mental health problems. We also did not find an effect of the number of deployments."

This, he says, is in contrast with the situation in the USA:

"In America, the rates of mental health problems have gone dramatically up. It may well be to do with inequalities in healthcare when troops get home."

Longer operational tours of duty - US soldiers can be away for up to 15 months - and shorter breaks between tours may also be a factor:

"It's not the same here," said Professor Wessely. "And what's happening in the US is not a good guide to what might happen in the UK."

However, the news for British troops is not all good. Reservists are nearly three times more likely to suffer mental health problems after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is probably due to the absence of informal support networks found in the Army bases and garrison towns where regular troops tend to live.

The other bad news is that the research highlighted a worryingly large alcohol problem. Troops returning from an operational theatre are 22 per cent more likely to have an alcohol problem than those who haven't deployed:

"Alcohol does much more harm to the Armed Forces, to individuals, to their families, society, yet it doesn't get talked about," said Professor Wessely.

"We showed that not only are there high levels of drinking in the forces, but there is an effect from deployment - people come back and reinstate their drinking at a higher level than before they left.

"It's not an easy subject and there's no obvious answer," he continued. "Because alcohol also has a very positive influence on military culture - units that drink more have better cohesion and higher morale."

He points out that other close-knit professions, such as doctors and journalists, tend to behave in the same way:

"It's part of how they cope with adversity. I think in any institution where you mix with your own, alcohol is an important factor."

Professor Wessely's interest in the mental health of soldiers extends beyond his role as an advisor to the MOD. He is also a trustee of the veterans' mental health charity, Combat Stress:

Professor Simon Wessely has spent years tracking the mental health of British Armed Forces personnel
[Picture: Laura Mtungwazi]

"I'm neutral about research but absolutely positive about wanting to improve the health of the Armed Forces," he said.

And he is sure that academic research is an important tool. Of his team's extensive research to date, he said:

"We've only published the headline-grabbing areas so far. We have a wealth of information on tour length, operational stress on families, on jobs, on reintegration into civilian life, reservists and medical countermeasures."

MOD priority

Looking after the mental health of Armed Forces personnel and veterans is a 'top priority' for the MOD says the Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox. He has said a programme will be set up to tackle post-combat mental health issues for those leaving the forces.

Reservists are offered a mental health assessment and treatment for combat-related conditions. 75 per cent of those treated recover.

Those at risk from alcohol problems get counselling and welfare support from the MOD. More serious cases receive specialist medical and psychological treatment and rehabilitation.

Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) and Battlemind programmes are now standard within deployed military units, and decompression breaks in Cyprus are scheduled for all troops returning from operations in Afghanistan.

This article is taken from the July 2010 edition of Defence Focus - the magazine for everyone in Defence.

buglerbilly

20-07-10, 03:40 AM

Obama Loves This Freaky PTSD Treatment; the Pentagon, Not So Much

By Katie Drummond July 19, 2010 | 10:38 am

Military-backed efforts to find an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress are making sluggish progress. The Pentagon is funding all kinds of ideas — from yoga to telepsychology. Each has its limitations.

But one doctor is convinced he’s found a viable way to treat the estimated 20 percent of troops now coming home with PTSD — if only the Pentagon would give it a shot.

Dr. Eugene Lipov, a Chicago-based anesthesiologist, pioneered the modern-day use of stellate-ganglion block, or SGB, in 2004 to eliminate hot flashes among post-menopausal women. SGB, which has been used to relieve migraines and chronic pain since the 1920s, involves a single injection into the sympathetic nerve tissue on the right side of a cervical vertebra.

After finding a Finnish paper on the use of SGB to treat anxiety, Lipov started trying it out on patients with post-traumatic stress.

“My first patient had been robbed at gunpoint,” Lipov tells Danger Room. “He walked into my office with extreme anxiety, and walked out changed. That was three years ago, and he’s still doing fine.”

Lipov went on to try SGB in eight civilians and four veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. His first patient, a vet who awoke to find himself strangling his wife, said the procedure’s impact was “immediate.” The effects took only seven minutes to kick in, but subsided nearly instantly after a fireworks display retriggered the condition. A second shot, in 2008, alleviated the PTSD again. “Since then, it’s so far, so good,” Lipov says.

It sounded promising, except Lipov and other SGB advocates didn’t know precisely how the method actually worked — only that it did. That may have changed last February, when Lipov published a paper in Medical Hypothesis, describing what he thinks is the mechanism by which SGB targets PTSD. The injection appears to turn off nerve growth factor (NGF), which can surge during stressful experiences and promote the sprouting of nerves in the stellate ganglion. That triggers chronic stress, or what’s known as the “fight or flight” response.

Lipov already has FDA clearance for use of SGB in post-traumatic-stress victims. And doctors at Walter Reed took note of the progress, and tried SGB on two veterans last year. “Although an admittedly small series of patients, our report points to a potentially effective and readily accessible approach for PTSD treatments,” the study published in Pain Practice reads.

So does that mean Pentagon funding for Lipov’s method? Not quite. He’s applied twice for federal funds to sponsor further study ($4 million in 2007 and $1 million in 2009) but been denied both times.

Denied, despite one rather high-profile backer. In 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama wrote a letter to the Army as part of Lipov’s funding application. “There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that PTSD is afflicting a growing number of our heroic service members,” the letter reads. It “is important to consider any new approaches that may hold potential for helping our service members get the care they need.”

Concerns over risks, especially that the injection can trigger seizures, hit a key artery or puncture the lung, are valid, Lipov admits. Still, they’re rare: A 1992 study evaluating 45,000 SGB cases found adverse effects in 20 patients. And Lipov has come up with a distinct method, which he calls the “Chicago Block,” that targets the C6 vertebra rather than the traditional C7. Because C6 is farther from important arteries and the lungs, it’s less likely to be implicated in problems during an SGB procedure.

“Realistically, 1 in 100,000 people might have serious complications,” he admits. “Say we treat 300,000 veterans — that’s three people. Compare that to the military’s suicide rate.”

So far, the Pentagon isn’t listening. Which makes sense: Yes, the military’s been open-minded about investigating all kinds of alternative PTSD remedies. But there’s a big difference between an hour of downward-facing-dogs and an injected chemical intervention that tries to 180 a patient’s fragile hormonal stress responses.

But a dearth of Pentagon funds also means that an interesting idea goes under-researched. For now, Lipov is self-funding a limited clinical trial: a single-blind test of SGB injections on war veterans. So far, three patients have received the injection, and Lipov is looking to recruit 19 to 22 more. “Look, of course everyone would rather wait until 10,000 people have tried it,” he says. “I’m trying to get there.”

A single procedure costs around $800. Most PTSD patients have shown solid results with only one injection, but Lipov’s first patient proved that there’s a possibility of relapse. Questions also persist over how long the effects can endure, and what percentage of PTSD sufferers will respond to the method. And, of course, there’s the undeniable fact that SGB injections are a Band-Aid treatment, rather than prevention or all-out cure. But according to Lipov, they’re the best we can do.

“This has been around, it’s been done, it is not going to grow you a new tail,” he says. “It’s out-of-the-box, I understand that. But, really, with the number of guys we’re going to have coming home sick, I’m hard-pressed to see where there’s a better option.”

Photo: White House
Illustration: Eugene Lipov

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/obama-loves-this-freaky-ptsd-treatment-the-pentagon-not-so-much/#more-27501#ixzz0uBN98pMH

buglerbilly

22-07-10, 08:18 AM

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme improved

A Defence Policy and Business news article

21 Jul 10

The period in which personnel injured in service can claim compensation is to rise from five to seven years from point of diagnosis as part of a series of changes to the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment take part in a casualty evacuation exercise during pre-deployment training on Salisbury Plain
[Picture: Richard Watt, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

The change, which will come into effect on 3 August 2010, is one of several to be introduced following the recommendations from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review, carried out by former Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral the Lord Boyce last year.

The Review, which was assisted by an independent scrutiny group that included Service charities, medical experts, serving personnel and veterans, announced its recommendations for improvements in February this year.

The majority of these improvements require legislative amendment to the Scheme and will be implemented by February 2011, but some changes can be made more quickly and will take effect from 3 August 2010.

These improvements include:

An increase in the maximum level of Bereavement Grant from £20,000 to £25,000 to reflect the increase in Armed Forces pay since 2005

An increase in the maximum level of Bereavement Grant for reservists who are not members of a reserve forces pension scheme to £37,500, to help bring their benefits in line with their regular forces colleagues

An uplift of the majority of awards for hearing loss by one tariff level.

Soldiers of 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment await the presentation of their Afghanistan campaign medals by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales at Sandringham House
[Picture: Stuart Bingham, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

Awards already made since April 2005 will be automatically revisited and will receive an uplift after all recommendations have been put into legislation.

Due to the complexity involved in revisiting such a large number of previous awards, this process will take time, but all additional payments are expected to be made by June 2012.

Andrew Robathan, Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, said:

"Making these changes and implementing the recommendations of the Boyce Review demonstrates the Government's commitment to injured Service personnel, both those serving and veterans.

"We are working to get all of the recommendations from the Review into practice as soon as possible. Crucially, nobody will lose out as a result of these changes - indeed, all will receive an uplift to the amount they received. I am determined to continue to ensure the care for our personnel is the best possible."

All personnel seeking advice should call the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency free helpline on 0800 169 2277 or visit the website www.veterans-uk.info.

The Review of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme is available on the MOD website

buglerbilly

23-07-10, 02:09 AM

Rep.: VA Must Speed up PTSD Research

July 22, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday asked Pentagon and Veterans Administration officials why they have been slow to try out alternative treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Although he used humor at times, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., pushed for answers after a roundtable discussion that included testimony from a wide range of experts and researchers into PTSD and TBI.

The therapies discussed included hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the use of dogs to alert vets of PTSD symptoms, and injections of a local anesthetic. In some cases, veterans responded to the therapies very quickly and with no side effects, according to the doctors and therapists who made their cases. Regardless, some claimed that Defense Department and the VA health officials have shown reluctance to explore the therapies.

Air Force Lt. Col. Chris Robinson, senior executive for psychological health for the DoD's Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence, took exception to the notion of agency reluctance and told the group that military and VA officials are serious about finding treatments for PTSD and TBI.

"We do have a sense of urgency, and we really are trying to find solutions to a lot of these problems. And they're very complex and very challenging," Robinson said, noting they balance the sense of urgency with making sure they provide the best care to the servicemembers and their families.

The written testimony Robinson submitted to the committee claims that some of the same therapies being pitched by witnesses to the roundtable are on the TBI center's agenda. These include studies on the effects of Omega 3, the fatty acids found in fish, on the brain. Research has indicated Omega 3 may protect and help heal injuries to the brain. The center also plans a study on the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

But Dr. Paul Harch of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association said hyperbaric treatments won't happen anytime soon. The VA's planned "fast-tracked" study will take up to three years to complete because of the way it structures and approves the tests, he said.

Another alternative therapy paired vets with PTSD to dogs trained to pick up signals given when a symptom manifests itself. Craig Love, a psychologist and senior study director for Westat, a governmental research service, said dogs can become attuned to human chemical changes. Some vets who have been paired with canines have dubbed them "suicide prevention dogs," Love said, adding that about 42 percent of vets with the dogs have been able to reduce their medications.

Dr. Eugene Lipov, medical director for Advance Pain Centers, claimed successes using Bupivacaine, a local anesthetic. The drug, administered since 1925, has been typically used as an epidural anesthetic during childbirth and appears to calm the overactive part of the brain in people with PTSD.

Filner praised the group roundtable as a demonstration that the VA and DoD are embracing innovation in treatment of PTSD and TBI, but went on to say that the organizations need to keep pushing the boundaries to get vets treated as soon as possible.

"VA is not always noted for its quick and open acceptance of technologies," Filner said. "I have not facetiously suggested to [VA Secretary Eric Shinseki] that he open up an office someplace in the bureaucracy called the Office of Revolution, where there is a way quickly to come to grips with some of the technologies … and get them widely disbursed."

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

23-07-10, 03:37 PM

Pentagon Pushes for Near-Perfect Regenerative Medicine

By Katie Drummond July 23, 2010 | 8:27 am

Military-funded research is already behind some of the most cutting-edge regenerative science. Extreme projects, like bone-fusing cement and muscle-growing cell scaffolds, are rolling into human trials thanks to a $12 million Pentagon grant earlier this year, and Darpa-funded scientists have made rapid strides toward regrowing human limbs.

But the military’s not done yet: The Office of the Secretary of Defense is soliciting small business proposals for two new projects to transform the regeneration of damaged tissue and cartilage, which afflict 85 percent of injured troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first program would, if successful, replace skin grafting that transplants tissue from one’s own body, or a donor, to an injured area. Instead, medics could use “an advanced topical delivery system” that spurs the regeneration of damaged, degenerated tissue. Grafting poses plenty of challenges, not the least of which is adequate supply — especially when, as the solicitation notes, degenerated musculoskeletal tissues “represent the most common cause of pain and disability worldwide.” Skin grafts are also vulnerable to rejection and infection.

Military-funded researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are already testing a spray-on regeneration technique, to deliver stem cells and epidermal progenitor cells that stimulate the body’s own repair systems. Because a topical solution would be easily applied, the solicitation notes, a patient could receive sustained low doses to stimulate ongoing recovery.

Cartilage injuries, though, are even tougher to treat. Because cartilage plays a key role in facial features, damage from traumatic injuries can cause “severe psychological problems,” not to mention pose challenges for eating and breathing. Prosthetic devices limit functionality, and engineered cartilage is prone to scarring and deformities.

The military wants a better approach, and they’ve got some lofty goals. The technology should “elicit little if any scar formation,” maintain complete structural integrity and be fully functional. That’s a little tougher than topical stem cell ointment: the solicitation anticipates some combination of “biomaterials, tissue engineering, [and] cell therapy.”

Photo: U.S. Air Force

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/#ixzz0uVpShcUt

buglerbilly

26-07-10, 03:59 PM

Medical Marijuana OK in Some VA Clinics

July 26, 2010

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Patients treated at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics will be able to use medical marijuana in the 14 states where it's legal, according to new federal guidelines.

The directive from the Veterans Affairs Department in the coming week is intended to clarify current policy that says veterans can be denied pain medication if they use illegal drugs. Veterans groups have complained for years that this could bar veterans from VA benefits if they were caught using medical marijuana.

The new guidance does not authorize VA doctors to begin prescribing medical marijuana, which is considered an illegal drug under federal law. But it will now make clear that in the 14 states where state and federal law are in conflict, VA clinics generally will allow the use of medical marijuana for veterans already taking it under other clinicians.

"For years, there have been veterans coming back from the Iraq war who needed medical marijuana and had to decide whether they were willing to cut down on their VA medications," John Targowski, a legal adviser to the group Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access, which worked with the VA on the issue.

Targowski in an interview Saturday said that confusion over the government's policy might have led some veterans to distrust their doctors or avoid the VA system.

Dr. Robert A. Petzel, the VA's undersecretary for health, sent a letter to Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access this month that spells out the department's policy. The guidelines will be distributed to the VA's 900 care facilities around the country in the next week.

Petzel makes clear that a VA doctor could reserve the right to modify a veteran's treatment plan if there were risks of a bad interaction with other drugs.

"If a veteran obtains and uses medical marijuana in a manner consistent with state law, testing positive for marijuana would not preclude the veteran from receiving opioids for pain management" in a VA facility, Petzel wrote. "The discretion to prescribe, or not prescribe, opioids in conjunction with medical marijuana, should be determined on clinical grounds."

Opioids are narcotic painkillers, and include morphine, oxycodone and methadone.

Under the previous policy, local VA clinics in some of the 14 states, such as Michigan, had opted to allow the use of medical marijuana because there no rule explicitly prohibiting them from doing so.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 14 states and the District of Columbia with medical marijuana laws. They are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. New Jersey also recently passed a medical marijuana law, which is scheduled to be implemented next January.

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

26-07-10, 06:50 PM

New Wound Care Zaps Cuts Closed

by christian on July 26, 2010

First there was Quick Clot. Now there’s Procellera.

http://www.warriorwoundkit.com/pages/about.html

A tipster sent Kit Up! an interesting story on a new wound care product that uses electric conductivity to help wounds heal more quickly. It’s a patch that docs apply to a wound surface (or even in deeply impacted wounds) and cover with a clear plastic film that uses electric conductivity to help wounds heal and keep infectious microbes out.

Procellera™ is a sterile, single layer dressing consisting of a proprietary blend of elements that are held in position on the polyester with a biocompatible binder. It is self-contained, wireless, and can be cut to fit. No external power supply is required. The device is activated in the presence of a conductive fluid, which may come from wound exudate or exogenous fluids including saline. When activated, the presence of adjacent positive and negative charged cells spontaneously produce a sustained predetermined current of specific depth similar to the current that occurs at areas of skin injury in normal hosts.

The web site for Procellera has some pretty graphic pics and another video on how to actually apply the bandage, but the following vid basically shows how it works. Our tipster adds that “I recently got some of the Warrior Wound Kits to add to jump bags – while it seems like some real voodoo going on, these things really do work. Amazing!”

As far as Kit Up! is concerned, any way to help heal wounds quicker and better is big news for us. Remember, we’re not just about guns and gear here…Corpsman Up!

Read more: http://kitup.military.com/#ixzz0uo8xzmMx

Comments Jim.........?

buglerbilly

27-07-10, 04:25 AM

Guard And Reserve Suicide Rates Climbing

July 26, 2010

Knight Ridder

WASHINGTON - Suicides among Army and Air National Guard and Reserve troops have spiked this year, and the military is at a loss to explain why.

Sixty-five members of the Guard and Reserve took their own lives during the first six months of 2010, compared with 42 for the same period in 2009. The grim tally is further evidence that suicides continue to plague the military even though it's stepped up prevention efforts through counseling and mental health awareness programs.

"Suicides among military personnel and veterans are at an epidemic rate, and it's getting worse," said Tim Embree, a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq and is now a legislative associate for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group.

The Army recently announced that 32 Soldiers, including 11 in the Guard and Reserve, took their own lives in June, a rate of one a day and a level not seen since the Vietnam War, according to the military.

Seven of the suicides occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The worrisome trend is reflected in Missouri, where the state Army and Air National Guards have suffered six suicides so far this year, their highest total in a decade. They account for nearly a quarter of the 27 suicides experienced since the Missouri Guard started keeping records in 2001.

"We're all devastated," said Col. Gary Gilmore, joint force chaplain for the Missouri Guard. "From their battle buddy right next to them all the way up the chain, each one has a tremendous personal impact and sense of loss."

Explanations are hard to come by. The suicides could have nothing - or everything - to do with the victims' military service.

"It is the separation from our families, it is the lack of a support structure in our personal lives sometimes, financial challenges, relationships - we know that," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a recent talk about the suicide problem to troops in South Korea.

Unlike active-duty troops, Guard members are part-time Soldiers and airmen. Except for deployments, they are together for only 39 days a year for training. They rely largely on private medical care.

Some of the possible triggers for military suicides, such as multiple combat deployments, are not always factors.

In Missouri, for example, only two of the six who committed suicide this year had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, both in 2005. Only one had been deployed previously, in 1991.

Of the six, one was a woman. Three were between the ages of 18 and 25, two between 37 and 55, and one between 26 and 31

"Honestly, we don't know what's going on or we would solve it," said Maj. Tammy Spicer, a Missouri Guard spokeswoman. "We have 11,800 members, and six took their lives. It is not a Soldier in a uniform in an armory committing suicide. It is someone on off-duty status in their community with their family nearby that's making that choice. We need help in this battle."

Experts said the deaths had underscored the difficulty the military was having in grappling with its suicide problem after a decade of war, compounded by a shortage of mental health professionals. Last winter, Army officials said they needed 750 to 800 more psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses and social workers.

The stigma over acknowledging mental health problems remains another roadblock. Warriors are reluctant to show weakness.

"It's a continuing catastrophe that can be prevented if the military hired more mental health care professionals, provided more education about mental health and stopped treating mental health problems as a criminal justice problem," said Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a nonprofit advocacy group.

Two Democratic senators, Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Patty Murray of Washington state, introduced legislation in May that would require the Defense Department to embed mental health counselors in all National Guard and Reserve units.

The military has mounted a more aggressive campaign to reach out to service members who might be experiencing stress and other mental health issues. Part of its focus is emphasizing to fellow troops and officers the need to be aware of what their comrades might be experiencing.

The Missouri Army and Air National Guards have partnered with the state Department of Mental Health to provide more access to its services.

"That means my guys in remote areas now have a community mental health resource right there," Gilmore said.

Psychological health wasn't high on the National Guard's agenda until recently, but Capt. Joan Hunter, the director of psychological health at the National Guard Bureau, said its program had counseled 2,800 troops, including more than 250 considered to be high-risk.

"I think we've saved lives," she said.

© Copyright 2010 Knight Ridder. All rights reserved

buglerbilly

28-07-10, 12:23 PM

Gel for decayed teeth 'could spell end to fillings'

A gel that can help decayed teeth grow back in weeks could signal an end to fillings.

By Ben Leach

Published: 10:17AM BST 28 Jul 2010

This also has obvious implications where teeth have been damaged in action...............

French scientists said the gel works by prompting cells in teeth to start multiplying.

They claim that in laboratory studies it took just one month to restore teeth back to their original state.

Dentists 'earning over £200,000 a year' A team of scientists at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris tested if melanocyte-stimulating hormone, or MSH, could stimulate tooth growth, according to the Daily Mail.

The French team mixed MSH with a chemical called poly-L-glutamic acid. The mixture was then turned into a gel and rubbed on to cells taken from extracted human teeth.

In a separate experiment, the scientists applied the gel to the teeth of mice with dental cavities.

In just one month, the cavities had disappeared. The gel is still undergoing testing but could be available for use within three to five years.

Their findings are published in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.

“There are a lot of exciting developments in this field, of which this is one,” said Professor Damien Walmsley, the British Dental Association's scientific adviser.

“It looks promising, but we will have to wait for the results to come back from clinical trials and its use will be restricted to treating small areas of dental decay.”

Tooth decay is a major public health problem in Britain with around £45m a year spent treating decayed teeth.

buglerbilly

30-07-10, 05:01 AM

New CT scanners improve trauma care at Camp Bastion

An Equipment and Logistics news article

29 Jul 10

A new facility housing two cutting edge CT (computerised tomography) scanners has been officially opened at the UK military field hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, today.

One of the two new GE Healthcare CT scanners in the newly-opened facility at Camp Bastion field hospital
[Picture: Lance Corporal Paige J Bray, United States Marine Corps]

The new facility will significantly improve the treatment available to injured Service personnel in theatre, and was opened by the Director General Army Medical Services, Major General Mike von Bertele. He said:

"These scanners are the gold standard in trauma care. They allow the staff to accurately identify the injuries a patient has and then give them the right care as quickly as possible."

The two new scanners and the new building which houses them form a contract worth £2.8m which was awarded to contractors KBR in February as part of an Urgent Operational Requirement.

The buildings are built to stringent NHS standards, including backup power, air conditioning and lighting.

To have two of these machines dedicated to trauma care would be the envy of many NHS hospitals.

The scanners are GE (General Electric) Healthcare 64-slice scanners, capable of producing images with 10 times more detail than the existing equipment in only a fraction of the time.

This means that casualties can be treated much faster. In addition, because there are two scanners, there is a natural redundancy should one go unserviceable due to the hostile environment that Afghanistan presents.

Consultant Radiologist Surgeon Commander Richard Graham studies a scan from one of the new CT scanners at Camp Bastion field hospital
[Picture: Lance Corporal Paige J Bray, United States Marine Corps]

The new scanners provide a more resilient capability that is more modern, reliable and better supported than that currently in service.

The scanners are used in a number of ways, from scans following head injuries to full vascular reviews following improvised explosive device blasts. This allows the doctors to see any internal injuries prior to surgery.

The greater definition provided by the new equipment will allow a much better and faster diagnosis of a patient than exists currently.

The hospital has two consultant radiologists who diagnose patients once the scans have taken place, and five radiographers who run the machines.

Surgeon Commander Richard Graham, a Royal Naval Reservist who usually works in Bath, is one of the radiologists working with the new scanners.

He explained the importance of the new scanners:

"These machines are a very important addition to the hospital which allow us to carry out much faster scans and reduce the time that a patient must wait before potentially life-saving surgery.

"These scanners give us a much higher definition to work with and we can have a rough diagnosis within two minutes.

"Because this is the next generation of equipment the patient also receives a lower dose of radiation than previously and is therefore even safer to all involved."

JimWH

30-07-10, 10:28 AM

We badly need at least one, preferably three CT scanners for the ADF as part of JP2060P3. As is all we have is mobile x-ray which just isn't good enough for complex trauma*, which means that our ability to act with any kind of strategic inpedence in any environment other than absolute peace is severly compromised. In an ideal world the ADF would actually be investing in 3 CT scanner, one each for the LHDs and one available for deployment with the on-line HSB to support deployed operations in the absence of an LHD. And they only cost ~$2 million, so it's hardly the most expensive toy the ADF could invest in.

*In the pre-CT era head trauma carried a very much higher mortality than t does now. You basically can't do squat inside the head unless you can see what's going on in the soft tissue inside the cranium, and plain x-rays just can't do that.

buglerbilly

01-08-10, 04:35 AM

General Says Risk Screening Won't Work

July 31, 2010

United Press International

The U.S. Army cannot reduce its suicide rate by screening out recruits who might become suicide risks, Gen. Peter Chiarelli said Friday.

Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff, held a news conference at the Pentagon to discuss a new report on military suicide. He commissioned the report after the suicide rate among soldiers exceeded that among civilians for the first time since the Vietnam era.

The National Institute of Mental Health said screening intensively enough to prevent two suicides a year would mean the Army would not meet its recruiting goals, he said. It would also screen out many people who might make fine Soldiers.

"You would be denying a whole bunch of folks the opportunity to serve their country in the Army, and you would have very little effect on your suicide rate," Chiarelli said.

While the increased suicide rate has been blamed on repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Chiarelli said soldiers are most likely to take their own lives in their first year in the Army or in the early months of their first overseas deployment. Those who enlist when they are older, often after losing civilian jobs, are three times as likely to kill themselves.

But the general suggested an increase in the suicide rate among more experienced Soldiers is a result of the stresses of fighting two wars.

© Copyright 2010 United Press International. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

01-08-10, 05:26 AM

New program rebuilds faces of soldiers, vets

By Michelle Roberts - The Associated Press

Posted : Saturday Jul 31, 2010 11:55:41 EDT

ERIC GAY / ASSOCIATED PRESS
A facial prosthetic and artificial eyes are seen in a facial prosthetics lab at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio.

ERIC GAY / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Master Sgt. Todd Nelson is reflected in a mirror as Dr. Joe Villalobos makes adjustments to a prosthetics ear at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. Nelson was injured in 2007 by an explosion while serving in Afghanistan.

ERIC GAY / ASSOCIATED PRESS
A facial prosthetic with an artificial eye is seen in a facial prosthetics lab at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio.

SAN ANTONIO — Master Sgt. Todd Nelson lost his right eye and ear in a flash when a car bomb in Afghanistan exploded, sending fire up his arm and over his head.

Although it's taken years of painstaking work, the military has given him a bright blue eye and ear lightly freckled and pinked from summer sun. They're not flesh and blood, but the glass and silicon replicas are so realistic, so perfectly customized, that they've given Nelson something else: the ability to face the world without shocking it.

"Honestly, people really don't know it's artificial," said Nelson, whose injuries three years ago included third-degree burns, a skull fracture and broken jaw. "In casual social interactions, I see much smaller cases where people stare."

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a new kind of patient to the facial prothestics lab at the Lackland Air Force Base: wounded warriors, who have recently suffered heavy burns and multiple traumas. The lab is one of two major facial prosthetic programs in the Defense Department, and it has seen an unprecedented new stream of wounded soldiers.

Before the wars, the 26-year-old lab's patients were almost exclusively cancer and civilian trauma survivors, but "all of that prepared us for wartime, and that's really why our department is here," said lab director Dr. Joe Villalobos.

The lab doesn't track how many soldiers wounded from the war it's treated. However, before the wars began in 2001 and 2003, the facility rarely saw combat-related injuries — only an occasional Vietnam-era veteran looking for a new prostheses. Now, partly because the lab is across town from the Army's only burn center, wounded warriors make up about one-fifth of the roughly 425 patients they treat each year.

While the technology and capabilities at the lab are available in the civilian world, the Lackland lab has the expertise and resources to give soldiers the best possible care with little concern about the financial burdens that civilian trauma patients might face, he said.

"Our goal is to give them the best of the best," Villalobos said. "We're going to give them the ideal treatment."

Patients at Lackland are treated with a combination of cutting-edge technology and carefully hand-hewed prostethics.

Using specially designed computer equipment, technicians can turn an MRI into three-dimensional molds and create custom-fit pieces to replace missing jaw bones or sections of skull for implant. The lab has even done it remotely, creating a perfectly fitting replacement for one-third of a patient's skull at a hospital in Balad, Iraq, Villalobos said.

But sometimes, after patients have undergone life-saving surgeries and reconstruction work for basic functionality, aesthetics start to matter. Soldiers tire of stares and flashes of shock on the faces of people unaccustomed to severe burn injuries.

"When your face is affected, you lose your identity," said Villalobos. "We address that here."

Not everyone who loses an ear, eye or nose tip is interested in getting a new one. After the memory of what you used to look like begins to fade, "you start to accept who you are," said Nelson, a 37-year-old Army mechanic from Evergreen, Colo. And because burn patients typically undergo dozens of surgeries (Nelson is at 43 and counting), many are simply too procedure-weary to seek prosthetic ears or noses.

But Nelson said for him, "one of the things that bothered me the most aesthetically was the missing ear."

He knew getting a prosthetic right ear, sculpted to match his remaining ear on the left, wouldn't make a functional difference. If anything, the prosthetic has slightly dampened noises.

"It was for form, but I couldn't help but want some of my form back," said Nelson, who sometimes wears a hair piece to cover his burned scalp.

To create prosthetic ears, the lab uses cameras that generate 3-D images for technicians to make molds. While adhesive can be used to keep prosthetic ears in place, younger patients like Nelson often opt for titanium implants that allow the prosthetic to magnet on.

When a patient has one ear remaining, a mirror-image ear is created. Two missing ears are more difficult, said Villalobos, but the lab has created ears using family members as models.

One soldier wanted his father's ears, so the lab took images and created versions that were smaller and less wrinkly to make sure the prosthetic versions were right for the soldier's age, Villalobos said.

"It's easier to create a second ear if they have one already, but if someone comes in and says 'I want Clint Eastwood ears,' we can do that," he said, grinning.

The technicians pay close attention to detail.

Nancy Hanson, the lab's clinical anaplastologist, carefully matches skin tone using powdered pigment and tiny red and blue embroidery threads to create the visual effect of veins. Freckles are painted on, and tops of ears are pinked to mimic sun exposure. Some soldiers get "summer ears" and "winter ears" to account for skin-tone variation.

"It's a combination of a little bit of science, art and ingenuity," said Hanson. "We deal with very unique situations."

Nelson's ear took about two years to complete, in part because his caregivers had to fight growth of scar tissue that kept covering the titanium implants and creating uneven skin on the side of his head.

Nelson said he was shocked at how realistic the fake ear turned out even after going through multiple fittings and coloration sessions to match his skin tone and freckles.

"I do feel like I have the best-looking one ever made," he smiled.

buglerbilly

02-08-10, 04:04 PM

Army Keeps Distressed GIs in Theater

August 02, 2010

Associated Press

Sorry but it sounds like a ferked idea keeping people in-theatre................

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BOSTICK, Afghanistan -- Sgt. Thomas Riordan didn't want to return to Afghanistan after home leave. He had just fought through a battle that killed eight Soldiers, and when he arrived home his wife said she was leaving. He almost killed himself that night.

When his psychologist asked what he thought he should do, Riordan said: Stay in Colorado.

Instead, the military brought Riordan back to this base in the eastern Afghan mountains, where mortar rounds sound regularly and Soldiers have to wear flack jackets if they step outside their barracks before 8 a.m., even to go to the bathroom.

Increasingly, the army is trying to treat traumatized Soldiers "in theater" -- where they're stationed. The idea is that Soldiers will heal best if kept with those who understand what they've been through, rather than being dumped into a treatment center back in the States where they'll be surrounded by unfamiliar people and untethered from their work and routine.

However, the policy may serve the military at least as much as the Soldiers. Treating Soldiers on site makes it easier to send them back into battle -- key for a stretched military fighting two wars. It also brings up a host of challenges: Ensuring Soldiers get the treatment they need in the middle of war, monitoring those on antidepressants and sleeping pills, and deciding who can be kept in a war zone and who might snap.

"There's not been a lot of studies on those types of interventions," said Terri Tanielian, a military health policy researcher with the RAND Corp. think tank. "There isn't necessarily a magic formula that says who's going to go back and be OK and who isn't."

Riordan's commanders with the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry of the Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team say they're doing their best for him by keeping him in Afghanistan. The 4th Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Carson, Colo., has reason to be particularly conscientious -- Fort Carson came under scrutiny after a string of murders by returned Soldiers.

Riordan acknowledges that in-theater treatment has helped a lot of his fellow Soldiers, but says it's never been enough at the right time or place for him. Through all the psychologists, psychiatrists, medications and brain scans, he just feels more alone.

In Afghanistan, Riordan cannot go outside the wire because he's considered too unstable. He has no friends in his unit. He goes to a larger base every month or so to meet with his psychologist, who also checks in on him when she's doing helicopter rounds to various outposts.

"All my real support is back in the States," he says. "Just to call someone up and say 'Hey, I'm bummed out,' you've got to put on the proper uniform and walk two football fields down to the phones and wait in a line, and then hope that someone answers on the other side."

---

The 5,000 troops that make up Task Force Mountain Warrior -- which includes the Fort Carson Soldiers -- are served by a psychologist, a psychiatrist and two social workers. Collectively known to Soldiers as "Combat Stress" -- as in, "I had to go see Combat Stress" -- this four-person team makes the rounds to about 30 bases. They arrive after any potential trauma: the death of a Soldier, an arduous battle or a large roadside bombing.

The quick-reaction force for mental trauma isn't new -- it was in place during the Iraq war. However, military officials in Afghanistan say they're giving more resources for such teams now and making them more active.

Combat Stress showed up in force at Bostick in early October 2009. Insurgents had just launched a devastating attack on two isolated outposts: Keating, where eight Soldiers died, and Fritsche, where Riordan was stationed.

The Soldiers from both bases were flown to Bostick. At group meetings with Combat Stress, Soldiers replayed what they had seen that day. Many went on to individual sessions with counselors.

Riordan said that as soon as the gunfire died down on Oct. 3, he decided the first thing he would do was go see a counselor. He'd had some sessions already in the States, though his treatment had repeatedly been interrupted by deployments.

But by the time he arrived at Bostick on a later flight from Fritsche, the counselors were gone. Two days later, he was out on operations again.

He was called to help Afghan security forces that had been attacked. Just as he returned, Riordan's commander told him to prep for yet another mission. He flipped out.

"Finally, I just put my foot down with it and I was like, look, I'm at my wits' end. I'm about to shoot somebody or myself and I need to go talk to someone," Riordan said.

That got everyone's attention. He started getting regular counseling. He went on antidepressants -- first a combination of Prozac and Paxil, before settling on Effexor.

Still, on home leave in March, Riordan's wife said she wanted a divorce and he locked himself in the bathroom and started swallowing sleeping pills. His wife called the police, who got him out of the bathroom and to a hospital.

"I told them I didn't try to kill myself. I was trying to go to sleep," he said. "What I took wasn't enough to kill myself. But I had enough, and I looked at it and I considered it."

Riordan's understanding is that he is a victim of military bureaucracy. His commanding officer, Capt. Stoney Portis, "said something about paperwork," Riordan recalled.

Portis said the difficulty of getting permission to have a Soldier stay home after leave was a factor, but not the deciding one.

"Look at the logistics of it: It's not approved. It's currently not even an option to leave him back there, because he was on orders to go on R&R and come back," Portis said.

Portis said he wanted to give Riordan the chance to finish deployment, and that he could get the same level of care on the base as back in the States. Now Riordan meets with a counselor at Bostick once a week and has flown to a larger base in the eastern city of Jalalabad twice for three-day intensive counseling sessions. On Bostick, he tracks weapons inventory, which he calls a fake job with only two days worth of work for him to do in a month.

Riordan said he planned to get out of the military upon returning to the United States. It's not for him.

-----

Riordan's is an extreme case. But Combat Stress also treated others who fought that day to get them back into the field.

Spc. Ty Carter said he had trouble psyching himself to go out on missions after the Oct. 3 attack. As he prepared his gear, painful thoughts would come to mind. An ache mixed with nausea hit his stomach.

"I would pause, and stare into nothing as thoughts of my daughter growing up without a father, my mother and father at a funeral, and all the other things that would happen filled my head," he said.

He went for counseling, and was given Ambien to sleep. He felt the result within days. When his truck hit a bomb, his hands would usually shake, but this time he wasn't even nervous.

He kept going on missions, and it seemed to help.

"As soon as I got outside the wire, it all stopped," he said. "The stomach pain and nausea, thoughts of death and everything else. I would be so focused on the mission that it would be all I saw. After the mission, some of the thoughts and feelings would return. But not on the mission."

Medicating Soldiers in war brings up a host of difficulties not faced by doctors back in the States. The brigade psychiatrist, Dr. Randal Scholman, said he finds himself making more informal or nontraditional diagnoses. Deployed Soldiers are in a particularly stressful environment, and often it's hard to tell if a problem is temporary, he said.

The most common drugs he prescribes are sleeping pills, followed by antidepressants. Often, he gives a Soldier Prozac or Paxil to treat what he and his colleagues call "combat operational stress reaction." The disorder -- which is not formally recognized -- includes symptoms such as sleep problems, irritability and propensity to anger. Soldiers describe it as being "on edge, keyed up, jumpy, things like that," he said.

Through trial and error, they've found that antidepressants help calm Soldiers down enough to stay and finish their tours. In the three months he has been with the brigade, only two Soldiers have had to be evacuated because of psychological issues, he said.

"My mission here is to keep people on mission, keep people in the fight, keep people in the theater as opposed to having them air-evaced out," Scholman said.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team started periodic mental health reviews with this tour. Commanders were asked to evaluate their Soldiers' risk of having serious psychological problems by filling out a form with 19 yes-or-no questions. It is filled out across the brigade: platoon sergeants assess Soldiers, company commanders assess platoon sergeants, and up the chain.

This questionnaire has been filled out twice during the 4th brigade's year-long deployment: once in December -- six months in, just after a particularly bad battle -- then in April as the troops prepared to go home.

The Soldiers are labeled red, amber or green to indicate priority for treatment. "Red" Soldiers have mandatory immediate counseling. "Amber" Soldiers have mandatory counseling but not as urgently.

In December, of 3,737 Soldiers evaluated, 2.2 percent were red and 16.2 percent were amber. When they re-evaluated the troops recently, the number of red had dropped to less than one percent, but the number of amber had increased to just under 25 percent.

About 50 of the 500-odd Soldiers at Bostick are on antidepressants, said Capt. Cheri Ponce, the physician's assistant. Others are on sleep aids or drugs to help them stop smoking. The list of drugs she can prescribe is much shorter than in the States because just about anything with a high risk of suicide is off limits, Ponce said.

"We don't need any other triggers," she explained. She also tries to avoid long-acting sleep medications because Soldiers can't take them if they might be called for a mission in the middle of the night.

Antidepressants take effect slowly, so Soldiers usually don't have to be taken out of their typical rotation of patrols and work. But some superior officers are still uneasy about Soldiers fighting while on antidepressants.

Sgt. Maj. Wilson was shocked by the idea that 50 of his Soldiers could be on antidepressants and yet were not blocked from going outside the wire. Only seven of the squadron's Soldiers were labeled "red" in the recent survey, including Riordan.

But Wilson also said these Soldiers wouldn't necessarily have fared better in the States. The Soldiers from the Oct. 3 attack who were doing the worst were two men sent back to Fort Carson because of injuries, Wilson said.

"Both of them got back to the rear and started having issues. One turned to drugs. One turned to violence," he said. "They had nobody to relate with, and they weren't the best of friends to begin with."

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

02-08-10, 04:07 PM

Lawmakers: Brain Injury Funds Diverted

August 02, 2010

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Two members of Congress are asking Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to investigate why $6.3 million intended for research and treatment of traumatic brain injuries was spent without treating any veterans.

A letter to Shinseki from Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., centers on allegations from a former VA physician who says he was forced out of the agency in retaliation for raising questions about money for brain injuries, the "signature injury" of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reports 10 percent to 20 percent of troops with combat exposure there suffered concussions from roadside bombs.

Burr and Miller agreed Friday to give Shinseki's staff until Aug. 9 to respond to the inquiry.

Physician Robert Van Boven was hired to direct the brain imaging laboratory in Austin in 2007, a year after it opened. He quickly questioned why $2 million was spent on apparently unrelated research and, not long after, was stripped of some supervisory authority and then removed. The center closed and reopened in Waco, Texas.

"It appears that the VA diverted the money ... and punished one of its doctors for pointing out this abuse of taxpayers' funds," says the letter from Burr and Miller, made public last week.

Van Boven's case appears to parallel that of radiologist Anna Chacko, who says VA officials ousted her from her post at the Pittsburgh VA facility in Oakland after she questioned spending and treatment practices.

Van Boven and Chacko are seeking to reverse their removals, as members of Congress question whether existing law and procedures adequately protect whistleblowers.

The VA defended its actions in both cases, but officials had no comment about the letter to Shinseki.

"We are not going to discuss matters that are under investigation," VA spokesman James Blue said.

Burr is the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Miller chairs the Investigations Subcommittee of the House Science and Technology Committee. Their letter asks Shinseki to investigate how and why officials diverted $6.3 million.

"The money was simply not used as it was intended," Miller said.

Tom Devine, legal director of the Washington-based Government Accountability Project, said the VA appointed an administrative board of investigation to look into Van Boven's charges. That board was used to attack Van Boven and recommend his removal, Devine said.

"There was never even a fig leaf of due process," said Devine, who is representing Van Boven in his appeal to have the Merit Systems Protection Board reopen his case.

Chacko, like Van Boven, lost her position this year after an administrative board convened. She is seeking to have the U.S. Office of Special Counsel intervene in her case.

Devine said Van Boven's removal was "not an aberration" and "a classic case" of an investigation turning on its head to attack a whistleblower.

Burr and Miller noted that a report by the VA's inspector general found none of the money appropriated for the traumatic brain injury program went toward clinical services for veterans or research on treatment of such injuries. Devine said Van Boven's inquiry showed the money paid for unrelated research that Texas VA administrators approved.

Miller said told the Tribune-Review he is troubled by "an emerging pattern" of VA administrators using boards of inquiry to punish and silence whistleblowers.

"I would encourage the VA to look into whether the process is being abused," he said.

© Copyright 2010 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

03-08-10, 03:14 PM

Army’s Vaccine Plan: Inject Troops With Gas-Propelled, Electro-Charged DNA

By Katie Drummond August 3, 2010 | 8:38 am

The Army’s got a one-two punch to perfect vaccinations and offer scientists the ability to quickly develop inoculations that stave off new dangers. First, they’ll shoot troops up using a “gene gun,” that’s filled with DNA-based vaccines. Then they’ll follow it up with “short electrical pulses to the delivery site.”

The Pentagon’s still after a comprehensive way to inoculate troops and civilians against existing illnesses, rapidly respond to emerging threats, and even predict pathogenic mutations before they happen. To that end, the military’s already funding a handful of projects, from plant-based vaccine production to genetic signatures for ultra-early diagnosis.

In a small business solicitation released last week, the Army put out a call for “Multiagent Synthetic DNA Vaccines Delivered by Noninvasive Electroporation.” The program would start by transforming conventional development methods, like standard egg-based vaccines.

The old-school methods are slow, don’t allow for readily combined vaccines, and can pose sterility risks. DNA-based vaccines, on the other hand, would be quick to engineer and offer reliable immunity — provided the DNA can enter host cells to trigger the production of immunity proteins.

Right now, DNA-based vaccines are injected into muscles, meaning a genetically engineered plasmid is delivered to “intracellular spaces,” and “is not efficiently taken up by the host cells.” So the Army would instead like to shoot people. Seriously.

In its solicitation, the Army says it wants DNA vaccines that are painted onto microscopic beads, then “deposited into skin cells by gas propulsion.” And since that method can only inject a small dose of DNA, they want researchers to combine the approach with intramuscular electroporation, which “involves injecting the DNA then quickly applying short electrical pulses.” The electric charge creates pores in cell membranes, making it easier for DNA to enter targeted cells.

Sounds great, except that current approaches to intramuscular electroporation are invasive, and, obviously, they hurt. One study in rats also noted the “possibility of low and transient tissue damage induced by electroporation.” The Army wants a gadget that doesn’t rely on jamming needles and electrical pulses into muscle, and instead are after “injection and noninvasive electroporation [that] can be performed using a single integrated device.”

DNA-based vaccines are also still in their infancy: in 2005, the first-ever DNA vaccine for horses was approved, but human trials have yet to generate stellar results. And speaking of invasive: the Army’s delivery method of choice, gene guns, use helium gas to blast DNA into cells and often require surgically exposed muscle tissue to get the job done.

In other words, the Army’s asking for a non-invasive way to do what’s not yet possible, even using surgical methods. If researchers do come up with a device that meets the lofty criteria, though, it’d be just what the Pentagon’s looking for: a reliable way to engineer and deliver combination vaccines — not to mention a quick way to fight back against “unknown, emerging, or genetically engineered pathogens.”

Photo: Defense Link

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/armys-vaccine-plan-inject-troops-with-gas-propelled-electro-charged-dna/#more-28630#ixzz0vY3a4Rq5

buglerbilly

04-08-10, 04:40 PM

Some Say TBI Cure is In the Air

August 03, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

It seems the stuff of science fiction.

Take a patient with a wound or injury and place him in a chamber where he is exposed to 100 percent pure oxygen for up to one to two hours, and the wound miraculously heals.

But take the "fiction" out of the science and it’s now accepted medicine in cases of fractures, burns, severe blood loss, carbon monoxide poisoning and a half-dozen other injuries or conditions.

And some doctors say the treatment, dubbed "hyperbaric oxygen therapy," can be useful to veterans suffering one of the signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- traumatic brain injury.

"HBOT stimulates growth and repair of any chronic wound, and TBI is a wound," said Dr. Paul Harch of the International Hyperbaric Medical Association, who last month lobbied for the treatment before the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

The therapy involves the patient inhaling 100 percent oxygen while inside a hyperbaric chamber that is pressurized up to three times normal atmospheric pressure. Patients may undergo any number of HBOT sessions over a period of months or more than a year, depending on the severity of the brain injury.

According to Harch, oxygen molecules shrink under the hyperbaric pressure and dissolve more easily and quickly into all body fluids, including the cerebrospinal fluid in which the brain "floats." Where oxygen normally is carried throughout the body only by red blood cells, hyperbaric oxygen therapy makes every fluid in the body an oxygen delivery system.

For its part, the agency charged with taking care of veterans is unsure whether to add HBOT to the list of treatments for men and women suffering from TBI.

Officials representing the Department of Veterans Affairs at the July 21 hearing told committee chairman Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., that they would provide him with additional information later on the question of HBOT, as well as other possible TBI treatments.

And in a January 2010 assessment of its use on TBI patients, the department said the jury is still out.

"Several case reports suggest positive outcomes for patients with TBI, but these studies were inconclusive for determining effectiveness as they were not randomized, controlled or blinded studies," the department wrote. "Therefore it is unknown whether individual case reports of recovery are due directly to [HBOT] … or natural recovery of each individual."

The Pentagon does plan to do a study of the hyperbaric treatment on about 300 TBI patients beginning early next year. The study, to be carried out at five Army and Marine Corps bases, will take about 18 months to complete, according to the Defense Department. Some of the Soldiers and Marines will be treated with pure oxygen and others with regular air.

But Harch said there have already been four military studies showing the benefits of HBOT for traumatic brain injury. He said the Air Force has treated a dozen active-duty Airmen who suffered TBI with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and results have been positive.

In one case study Harch presented to the committee, a medical team led by an Air Force colonel offered a favorable assessment of HBOT after treating two Airmen who had suffered traumatic brain injury from an IED explosion in Iraq in January 2008.

The medical team began administering the HBOT after six months of testing showed the Airmen’s conditions were deteriorating. Their conditions improved after they began HBOT treatments, according to a report by Col. James Wright, who was head of Hyperbaric Medicine Research at Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. Nine months after the treatments, doctors determined the Airmen’s brain function had returned "to pre-injury baseline levels."

"It seems unlikely to the authors," the medical team wrote in the report, "that any explanation other than the [HBOT] can be offered for their improvements."

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

05-08-10, 03:28 PM

Darpa’s Inhaled Drugs to Boost Troops at Extreme Altitudes

By Katie Drummond August 5, 2010 | 8:55 am

Extreme altitudes are a major barrier for troops fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan, and the military’s spent millions trying to minimize altitude’s impact on physical and cognitive ability. Now, Darpa-funded researchers are making impressive progress towards inhaled drugs that would pump up troop performance by fast-tracking the body’s natural adaptations to altitude.

The Pentagon’s blue sky research arm has awarded $4.7 million to scientists at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, to develop pharmaceuticals that can rapidly boost oxygen delivery. Blood carries less oxygen at high altitudes, leading to a lack of oxygen in bodily tissue, called hypoxia. That, in turn, can cause nausea, confusion and fatigue — hardly the attributes the military’s after in battle-ready troops. By augmenting blood flow to tissues, the research team hopes to enhance oxygen delivery too.

That’s an adaptive process the human body is already capable of, but the necessary acclimatization can take weeks. Dr. Jonathan Stamler, who’s leading the research at Case Western, says the drugs will essentially do what we already can.

“We’re essentially mimicking nature here,” he tells Danger Room. “Take people climbing mountains, who will set up base camps at varying altitudes to give their bodies time to adjust. We’re making these mechanisms much, much more acute — a matter of minutes, rather than days.”

The drugs will work by increasing blood levels of nitric oxide, which is naturally released by red blood cells to dilate vessels and increase blood flow.

Within three years, Darpa wants to see animal models and human subjects capable of immediately exercising more efficiently at altitude after taking the drugs. Stamler and co. are well on their way to meeting the ambitious goal: they’re already performing tests on animal models, and have applied for FDA approval to try the approach in people.

Stamler also anticipates widespread civilian applications for the drug, which will likely be dispensed in portable inhalers.

“A deficiency of nitric oxide has been observed in a number of conditions, from sickle cell disease to heart attacks and strokes,” he says.

Figuring out a quick way to increase nitric oxide levels might also help the military solve another major problem: donated blood that’s weeks old by the time it hits the front lines. Older blood is low on nitric oxide, which some scientists now suspect leads to risk of heart attack and stroke among transfusion recipients.

“If we can get this right for Darpa,” he says, “Then the actual approach could apply to much more than just altitude adaptations.”

Photo: National Guard

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/darpas-inhaled-drugs-to-boost-troops-at-extreme-altitudes/#more-28959#ixzz0vjniGYPR

buglerbilly

06-08-10, 02:46 AM

Scientists work out how to convert wound healing cells into muscle to keep hearts beating

By Fiona Macrae

Last updated at 5:01 PM on 5th August 2010

A revolutionary technique that could allow seriously ill men and women to regenerate their ailing hearts has been devised by scientists.

Used to revitalise the organs of heart attack and heart failure patients, it could prolong and improve the quality of life of tens of thousands of Britons each year.

Every two minutes, someone, somewhere in the UK has a heart attack. Many go on to develop heart failure, in which the weakened heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood.

The research could prolong and improve the quality of life for thousands of heart patients (posed)

Up to 40 per cent of these die within a year of diagnosis - giving heart failure a worse survival rate than many cancers.

The new technique could also cut the need for transplants, with diseased and worn out hearts using their own reserves to mend themselves.

The experiments, which were carried out on mice, are still in the early stages, but they offer fresh hope for the future.

They centre on the large muscular cells that allow the heart to beat and go about its vital work of pumping blood.

Normally, the body has little or no way of replacing any that die or are damaged.

But the Californian researchers have devised a cocktail of genes that trick other heart cells called fibroblasts into transforming into beating muscle cells called cardiomyocytes. The three genes chosen usually guide the growth and development of embryonic hearts.

The journal Cell reports how fibroblasts treated with the cocktail in the lab turned into beating muscle cells after being transplanted into a mouse.

Dr Masaki Ieda , of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, said: 'Scientists have tried for 20 years to convert non-muscle cells into heart muscle, it turns out we just needed the right combination of genes in the right dose.'

Dr Deepak Srivastava, the study's senior author, said: 'The ability to reprogramme fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes has many therapeutic implications.

'Half of the cells in the heart are fibroblasts, so the ability to call upon this reservoir of cells already in the organ to become beating heart cells has tremendous promise for cardiac regeneration.'

In time a drug that works in the same way as the cocktail of genes could be developed. Injected into damaged hearts, it would drive the growth of new muscle.

'That's our long-term goal,' said Dr Srivastava.

It is even possible that skin cells could be transformed into heart muscle using the technique.

Other organs could be patched up in a similar way, the researchers believe.

Using a person's own in-built store of cells would remove any risk of them being rejected. It also side-steps the need to use stem cells, 'blank cells' capable of turning into other cell types.

Although stem cells show promise in repairing the heart and in generating pieces of tissue, there are fears that they could grow into tumours.

The technique could be tested on people in as little as five years and in widespread use within 10.

Although it will come too late to help the 133 Britons, including 12 under-16s waiting for a new heart, it could prove invaluable in the future.

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: 'This exciting report demonstrates how research into early heart development can lead to possible new treatments for heart disease.

'Although there is still a long way to go, the results raise the hope that one day we will be able to reprogramme human fibroblasts, which are abundant in damaged heart tissue, to repair damaged human hearts.'

NHS Blood and Transplant, which runs Britain's organ donor register, said that three people die every day while waiting for organs - meaning there is an urgent need for more people to join the register.

'Although there is still a long way to go, the results raise the hope that one day we will be able to reprogramme human fibroblasts, which are abundant in damaged heart tissue, to repair damaged human hearts.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1300638/Scientists-work-convert-wound-healing-cells-muscle-hearts-beating.html#ixzz0vmYTOls2

buglerbilly

06-08-10, 10:58 AM

Alarms sound over trash fires in war zones of Afghanistan, Iraq

Michele Pearce of McLean, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, says she joined the suit to find out if her cancers are related to open-air burning. (Gerald Martineau For The Washington Post)

By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, August 6, 2010

Hundreds of military service members and contractor employees have fallen ill with cancer or severe breathing problems after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they say they were poisoned by thick, black smoke produced by the burning of tons of trash generated on U.S. bases.

In a lawsuit in federal court in Maryland, 241 people from 42 states are suing Houston-based contractor Kellogg Brown & Root, which has operated more than two dozen so-called burn pits in the two countries. The burn pits were used to dispose of plastic water bottles, Styrofoam food containers, mangled bits of metal, paint, solvent, medical waste, even dead animals. The garbage was tossed in, doused with fuel and set on fire.

The military personnel and civilian workers say they inhaled a toxic haze from the pits that caused severe illnesses. Six with leukemia have died, and five are being treated for the disease, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. At night, more than a dozen rely on machines to help them breathe or to monitor their breathing; others use inhalers.

"You'd cough up black stuff, and you couldn't seem to catch your breath. And your eyes were burning," said Anthony Roles, 33, a father and Air Force retiree from Little Rock, who was told that he had a blood disorder shortly after returning from Iraq in 2004. "I can still smell it to this very day."

Roles said there was a nickname for the symptoms: "Iraqi crud."

Whether the plaintiffs, who include current and former service members and KBR employees, can prove in court that open-air trash burning made them sick -- or that KBR bears any responsibility -- hinges on complex legal and medical issues. There is no guarantee that the courts will allow their cases to be brought to trial. But the lawsuit caught the attention of Congress and led to government limits on burn pits.

In March, the military banned most open-air burning of plastics, tires, aerosol cans and other materials. In April, the Department of Veterans Affairs identified burn pits as an environmental hazard. Last month, the American Lung Association, citing health risks to soldiers, urged the military to immediately find other means of trash disposal.

"It's tragic when soldiers come back and didn't get a scratch on them from the enemy but have some possibly life-altering problems because of burn pits," said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), one of several lawmakers who pushed to limit the use of the pits.

KBR officials said the military decides when to use open-air burning, where to set up the pits and what to toss in. They pointed to a 2008 military study of the burn pit at Balad Air Base. That study, widely used to gauge health risks of burn pits in general, concluded that there were no long-term effects.

"We have asked the Army whether they still believed it was okay for us to provide services to burn pits, and also be at burn pits, and that's because we wanted to make sure our people were adequately protected," said Jill Pettibone, a KBR senior vice president. "We were assured it was."

Until 2007, KBR was an engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton, an oil field services company, which is a defendant in the lawsuit.

R. Craig Postlewaite, acting director of the Defense Department's Force Health Protection and Readiness Programs, said in court papers that the military acknowledges that it is "plausible and even likely that a relatively small number of people. . . may be affected by more serious, longer term health effects." A Defense Department spokeswoman said that the government is studying the exposures and that "our number one priority is the health of service members."

Michele Pearce of McLean, an Air Force lieutenant colonel and mother of two, said she tried to ignore her irritated nostrils and runny nose during her four-month stint in 2006 at Camp Victory in Iraq. She kept working despite an upset stomach and a rash that spread across her face. As an avid runner, she exercised often, inhaling the fumes at the base.

When she came home, Pearce, 40, was told she had two rare cancers. She said her doctors cannot say whether the smoke caused the tumor in the lining of her stomach or the one in her lung. But she has joined the lawsuit to find answers.

"I want to know the truth about what I was exposed to," Pearce said. "I want to know the truth of the risks people took with my life and my health. I hope my experience can somehow benefit the process and provide answers, not only for myself but for others."

Disposal problem

Where and how to get rid of garbage is difficult problem in wartime. Military officials say open burning was often the best -- if not the only -- option for getting rid of huge amounts of trash. No trash-removal system existed; incinerators are expensive and take time to install; and the military lacked the time and space to build landfills on bases. The burn pits often are close to where soldiers live and work because it's too dangerous to put them far from base.

"Although disposing of certain substances in burn pits may not be ideal from a health standpoint, on an installation in a hostile environment in wartime, there may not be any other viable options," Postlewaite said in court papers.

The military could not provide data on how many burn pits have been used at bases in Iraq and Afghan. KBR has operated a total of 28 since 2002 and currently operates 10, a spokeswoman said. The company said it did not operate the Balad burn pit, one of the largest in Iraq, and responsibility for the Balad pit's operation is a point of contention in the lawsuit. At many locations in Iraq, trash disposal was handled by the military or contractors other than KBR.

The military says it is working to replace as many trash pits as possible with incinerators and to make the others safer to operate.

Defense Department spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said most burn pits in Iraq have been shut down. As of June, she said, burn pits were in use at 166 locations where U.S. forces were based in Afghanistan.

Anthony Szema, a professor at SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee in November that the slow, low-heat burning of plastic bottles produces dioxin and hydrochloric acid, chemicals associated with immune dysfunction, IQ deficits and reproductive abnormalities. He said foam cups and treated wood emit carcinogens when burned. And burning particle board or plywood releases formaldehyde, a chemical associated with nose and throat cancer, liver and kidney disease, and airway inflammation.

Under orders

During a recent hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, where burn pit lawsuits from across the country have been combined, KBR attorney Robert A. Matthews urged a judge to dismiss the case. He said the contractor followed the orders of the military and shouldn't bear any legal burden.

"The United States made the decision, balancing the risks that it perceived on the battlefield," Matthews said in court. "The United States continues to this day to say it was a right decision. . . . And if they're wrong, the finger of blame will point at the United States military."

Susan Burke and other attorneys for the plaintiffs say KBR failed to follow the terms of its contract, which required it to take precautions to protect the health of those on base.

Judge Roger W. Titus is considering whether to allow the case to proceed.

Kevin Robbins, 47, of Ludington, Mich., burned trash at Camp Delta in Al Kut, Iraq, for three months in 2005. The father of seven had decided to close his drywall business and join the Army after his brother, Todd J. Robbins, was killed in Iraq in 2003. After a recruiter told him that he was too old, he got a job with KBR to help out any way he could.

"We just dug holes in the ground, and when the trash came in, we put it in the holes and we burned it," Robbins said. "Everything. Plastic, tires, Humvee doors, vehicles, medical waste, whatever they brought in. Ammunition, rockets."

Christopher Sweet said his wife, Jessica, an Air Force sergeant and mother of three, did not talk much about the burn pits when she worked near one at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan during a four-month deployment in 2007. But as the fitness training leader for her squadron, she did daily workouts and five-mile runs.

After she came home, the fatigue and fevers set in. Sweet was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

"She started recalling what she experienced with the burn pits," said Christopher Sweet, who lives in Brandywine with their children. "She was convinced the smoke she was inhaling while she was in Afghanistan had to have contributed to the leukemia. I didn't care how it happened. I just wanted her to get better."

Jessica Sweet died in February 2009. She was 30.

Her husband joined the lawsuit. "If there are other people out there who are sick because of the exposure to the burn pits," he said, "she would want to help."

buglerbilly

06-08-10, 11:38 AM

Medical researchers help wounded warriors

Posted 8/5/2010

Capt. (Dr.) Heather Hancock, a general surgery resident and research fellow with the 59th Medical Wing Clinical Research Division at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, performs lab tests July 14, 2010, to determine cell function during a vascular injury research study. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Josie Walck)

by Senior Airman Josie Walck
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs

8/5/2010 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- A team of medical researchers from the 59th Medical Wing Clinical Research division are here working to help servicemembers affected by vascular, or circulatory, injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Vascular injury rates in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are five times higher than previously reported in wartime with 75 percent involving extremities," said Capt. (Dr.) Heather Hancock, a general surgery resident and research fellow. "We have developed a subject model which simulates leg injuries seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. This allows us to try interventions which will save more legs that work better.

"We also study how severe blood loss affects the ability to save the limbs," she said. "The study showed that blood flow should be established to the leg within the first hour after injury to avoid muscle and nerve damage. "

Historically, surgeons have been taught they have six hours to reestablish blood flow with no negative impact on the leg.

"This has been a very important finding which may change how we, as surgeons, approach a limb without blood flow to it," Dr. Hancock said. "You cannot participate in research designed to help our wounded soldiers and not be changed by the experience."

With the help of her team, the captain has won two resident research paper competitions and the nationally recognized Norman M. Rich Military Surgery Paper competition. She also has won the surgeon general's award for sessions in general, plastics and urology.

The team consists of Dr. Hancock, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Adam Stannard, Capt. (Dr.) Gabriel Burkhardt and Jerry Spencer. All are supervised by Lt. Col. (Dr.) Todd Rasmussen.

Dr. Hancock is not the only member of this team to be recognized for special achievements.

Captain Burkhardt received third place in a resident research paper competition and Commander Stannard also has won the surgeon general's award for sessions in general, plastics and urology.

The team works continually to prevent pain and weakness from becoming long term affects after these types of injuries.

"The goal of our research is to push ourselves beyond our current comfort level in all aspects of medicine and find better ways to help wounded (servicemembers)," Dr. Hancock said, "which eventually translates to helping civilian medicine as well."

buglerbilly

09-08-10, 07:19 PM

Chiarelli Rejects ‘Medicated’ Army Claim

August 09, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

The Army is not drugging its troops to cope with combat, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said during an Aug. 8 interview on ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour.”

Chiarelli, referencing a July Army report showing a sharp increase in Soldier suicides and an increase in serious crimes committed by GIs, said the study’s claim that “data would suggest [the Army is] becoming more dependent on pharmaceuticals to sustain the force” is a concern. The report continues: “In fact, anecdotal information suggests that the force is becoming increasingly dependent on both legal and illegal drugs,” with about one-third of Soldiers on some kind of prescription drug.

Chiarelli acknowledged that more than 106,000 Soldiers were on prescription medication for three weeks or more last year -- including antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. But he said the drugs were authorized by U.S. Central Command’s medical personnel, rejecting Amanpour's comment that the report “raises the specter of a significant number of people out there, heavily armed, afraid, under fire, IEDs [around], and drugged.”

“But we know,” Chiarelli said, “that the drugs we’re talking about are cleared by CentCom surgeons for Soldiers to be taking when they’re down-range. So we’re not sending any Soldier into harm’s way who is taking any drug that we feel would somehow endanger him or some others.”

Chiarelli didn’t address the report’s claim that some Soldiers are self-medicating with illegal drugs, but said many of the troops on prescription medications -- 14 percent, the report states -- were taking them for physical pain and had nothing to do with a Soldier’s behavior.

“There are Soldiers who have been on two, three, four deployments, humping a rucksack filled with equipment that may weigh 70 to 80 pounds at 8,000 feet, and they've got a knee injury or a leg injury that is painful,” Chiarelli said. “Probably [they] should stay home and get operated on, but they go back for the second deployment and they're on some kind of a pain medication. We have Soldiers who suck it up all the time and hide from their leaders when they're hurt.”

The report, which Chiarelli had requested, says the high number of suicides among Soldiers reflects a rise in “risky behavior,” including illegal drug use and alcohol consumption. But it also laid responsibility for the problem on Army leadership, which has failed to see warning signs or looked the other way because sidelining troops over behavioral issues might interfere with mission and deployment schedules.

According to the report, there were 160 Soldier suicides in 2009 -- a record that put the rate of Army suicides well over the rate for the civilian population. The report also noted 146 deaths last year linked to murder, drug use and other behavior, The Associated Press reported July 30.

Chiarelli has conceded that the faster pace of deployments and troops having to make multiple combat tours are part of the problem, but he said the spike in suicides is not solely because of the frequent deployments. About 60 percent of the Soldiers who committed suicide, he said, were on their first enlistment and the deaths occurred early in their tour.

That said, Chiarelli also believes that giving troops more time at home between combat tours will help. The Army’s goal is to have Soldiers back home two months for every one deployed -- and eventually to get that garrison time up to three months for each one deployed, he said.

“We’re not there yet,” he told Amanpour. “We know when that happens many of the problems that we’ve seen will in fact meliorate themselves.”

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

10-08-10, 06:08 PM

Mission is Changing, Mullen Says

August 10, 2010

News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash

After nine years of constant combat, the U.S. military is shifting focus from executing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to helping the troops who've fought them adjust to life outside the war zone, the nation's top officer said Monday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told several hundred troops that he's dedicated to making sure servicemembers get the assistance they need to make a successful transition.

That's especially important as major units, under new Pentagon policy, begin spending twice as much time at home as they did deployed, Mullen said.

"I believe for some time that we have held in an awful lot of our problems" to concentrate on the combat mission, said the chairman, who first advised President George W. Bush and now President Barack Obama.

Those problems, including increased suicide rates and homelessness among veterans, will become more pronounced as units spend more time at home, he said.

Mullen challenged the leaders of Lewis-McChord to work hard to identify problems and get help for servicemembers who need it.

"It's taking care of each other," he said.

That means doing a better job of tracking veterans once they leave the service and improving programs that help servicemembers get ready to blend into civilian life, Mullen said.

"We'll let you go when you're ready to go," he said.

Mullen's message seemed tailored for the South Sound, where 18,000 servicemembers are returning from war zones this year. The influx will swell the population of the local base to 35,000, the highest number since before Sept. 11, 2001.

The chairman, who assumed the post in October 2007, made his remarks as part of a whirlwind tour of Lewis-McChord. He also toured facilities and met with the base's leadership. Mullen last visited the base two years ago.

Mullen opened the floor to questions following his remarks at Carey Theater. The wide-ranging discussion covered topics including drawdown plans for Iraq and Afghanistan, potential conflicts in Iran and North Korea, gays and lesbians in the military, and the future of the Air Force's physical training uniforms.

Mullen answered humorously at times.

At one point, a Soldier asked him about drawing down the overall number of servicemembers now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down. The questioner was curious about the timeline "if they did that."

"If 'they' did that? I'm 'they,'" Mullen said to laughter.

Mullen said the military's continued involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan will depend heavily on political progress there. Security in both countries is improving, he said, although there is still work ahead in Afghanistan.

"We believe we have the strategy right. I believe I have the leadership right," Mullen said. "This is a deliberate counterinsurgency.

"We expect to see strong indicators at the end of the year about how this is going."

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai wants his forces in control by 2014, Mullen said.

"How this closes out? Too early to tell," the chairman said.

Mullen said Iran remains a destabilizing force in the Middle East, but the Obama administration continues to look to work with the country in "areas of common interest." That includes combating the flow of narcotics out of Afghanistan, which shares a border with Iran, he said.

The last question came from a Soldier wanting to know what the military leadership was doing to integrate gays and lesbians "with the rest of us." The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to lift the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The full Congress has yet to take up the issue.

"It's just hard for me to accept that we ask people to come and work, live and die in our military while we're asking them at the same time to lie every single day," Mullen said.

He said the military is working to come up with a policy that makes sense. He encouraged servicemembers to fill out a survey seeking input on the topic.

© Copyright 2010 News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

12-08-10, 05:35 AM

Darpa Turns to Canadian Tobacco to Fight Viral Terror

By Katie Drummond August 11, 2010 | 4:14 pm

The Pentagon’s after a faster, more reliable way to fight pandemics and viral terror threats by mass producing vaccines. So far, plant-based approaches seem to be their top pick to replace old-school methods. Now, in a bid to hasten the development of vaccines that are ready for human use before the next H1N1 emerges, the military’s looking for a little help from our northern neighbors.

Darpa, the Pentagon’s blue-sky research arm, handed out $21 million to Canadian biotech firm Medicago Inc. The company, based in Quebec City, will use the money to build a 90,000-square-foot facility that’ll use tobacco plants to produce 10 million monthly doses of influenza vaccine.

The funding is a smaller part of Darpa’s burgeoning Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, or AMP, program, which aims to revolutionize current, egg-based vaccine production models, and yield vaccines within three months of “emerging and novel biological threats.” In February, the agency gave $21 million to Texas A&M for the construction of a 145,000 square-foot “biotherapeutic production facility” that uses mobile “pods” to grow vaccine-infused tobacco plants.

Already, the method has yielded promising results. IBio Inc, another biotech firm that’s working on plant-based vaccines, plan to conduct human trials of an H5N1 vaccine this year. Medicago has similar plans, and also announced the successful development of a candidate H1N1 vaccine less than a month after the strain was identified last spring. Compare that to the six months it took for the egg-based, “fast tracked” H1N1 vaccine to be available for public use.

“In general terms, we’ve probably got several years ahead of most of the people that might be doing similar things,” company CEO Andy Sheldon told Reuters.

And before you give the Pentagon too much heat for outsourcing their vaccine greenhouses: Medicago is based in Canada, but the new facility will be built in Durham, North Carolina.
“It opens the door for other potential contracts with the U.S. government,” Medicago’s chief financial officer, Pierre Labbe, told Dow Jones. “Even if there’s no guarantee at this time, it’s a good way to start.”

Sure, a faster way to stop deadly global pandemics is one good way to get a foot into the American market. But given Canada’s renowned talents in other horticultural matters, Danger Room suggests that next time Medicago builds a mega-greenhouse, they opt to grow something a little more fragrant.

Photo: U.S National Guard

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/08/darpa-turns-to-canadian-tobacco-to-fight-viral-terror/#more-29286#ixzz0wMKFy1WH

JimWH

12-08-10, 01:36 PM

Well, I wouldn't have seen that one coming. If it works I'd agree with the hype that it would be revolutionary... but it's 6 years away from being able to be used in humans even if they had the plants growing Panavax right now. The clinical trials on any vaccine grown in a plant are going to have to be really vigorous.

buglerbilly

15-08-10, 05:29 AM

New gel could speed wound healing

By MARIA CHENG (AP) – 2 days ago

In this Wednesday Aug. 4, 2010 photo a demonstration of how wound-healing gel is used on a leg wound is seen at University College London. British scientists are about to begin a final phase of testing on a new gel that heals wounds up to five times as fast as normal treatment. The gel, named Nexagon, works by interrupting how cells communicate and prevents the production of a protein that blocks healing. That allows cells to move faster to the wound to begin healing it. Though it has only been tested on about 100 people so far, experts say if it proves successful, the gel could have a major impact on treating chronic wounds, like leg or diabetes ulcers, and even common scrapes or injuries from accidents. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LONDON — For three years, Connie McPherson had debilitating leg ulcers that were so painful she sometimes couldn't sleep. Despite repeated surgery, antibiotics, steroids and other treatments, nothing helped.

Then last year, she took part in a trial for a new gel aimed at chronic wounds.

"It was the answer to my prayers," said McPherson, 58, a real estate agent in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Within weeks, McPherson said the ulcer treated was completely healed. "I tried everything possible and this is the only thing that worked."

The gel used to treat McPherson was developed by a team led by David Becker, a professor of cell and developmental biology at University College London. The gel, named Nexagon, works by interrupting how cells communicate and prevents the production of a protein that blocks healing. That allows cells to move faster to the wound to begin healing it.

Though it has only been tested on about 100 people so far, experts say if it proves successful, the gel could have a major impact on treating chronic wounds, like leg or diabetes ulcers, and even common scrapes or injuries from accidents.

In most chronic wounds, Becker said there is an abnormal amount of a protein involved in inflammation.

To reduce its amount, Becker and colleagues made Nexagon from bits of DNA that can block the protein's production. "As that protein is turned off, cells move in to close the wound," Becker said. The gel is clear and has the consistency of toothpaste.

In an early study on leg ulcers, scientists at the company Becker co-founded to develop the gel found that after four weeks, the number of people with completely healed ulcers was five times higher in patients who got the gel versus those who didn't. The average leg ulcer takes up to six months to heal and 60 percent of patients get repeated ulcers.

Other experts said the gel appeared promising. "It looks like the gel has a good effect in getting the outer layer (of skin) to restore itself," said Phil Stephens, head of tissue engineering and repair at Cardiff University. Stephens is not linked to Becker's research.

Still, Stephens said it is crucial the gel doesn't interfere too much with the inflammation process. "You need inflammatory cells to get in there and clean up the wound," he said.

The gel has also been used on a handful of people who have suffered serious chemical burns to their eyes, including a 25-year-old workman in New Zealand who accidentally squirted liquid cement into one of his eyes. In that case and five others, after Nexagon was applied, the outer lining of the patients' eyes and the blood vessels within them regrew, saving their vision. In the U.S., the gel has been granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration for serious eye injuries.

"This gel has the potential to do a lot of good," said Dr. Thomas Serena, founder and director of the Penn North Centers for Advanced Wound Care in Pennsylvania. Serena has no financial ties to Nexagon, but is one of the primary investigators for a U.S. trial of the product.

Another study is planned soon which experts said should answer more questions like the right dosage of the gel and any side effects.

In the U.S., there are 70 million people with chronic wounds. With increasing rates of obesity, experts predict there will soon be many more people suffering from diabetic ulcers.

Other gels are on the market, but don't work for everyone. Bioengineered skin, a protein that regulates cell growth and division, and even maggots are among the few other treatments that have been found to speed up healing.

Brad Duft, president of CoDa Therapeutics, which is developing the new gel, would not say how much Nexagon currently costs to make, for proprietary reasons.

He said the gel is still a couple of years away from being on the market and the price will drop significantly when that happens. Some leg ulcer patients spend about $30,000 a year or more on treatment. Duft said the new gel would cost a fraction of that.

For McPherson, the experience of being treated with Nexagon was so positive she asked to be included in the gel's next trial, to treat an even larger ulcer that wasn't eligible for the first study.

"To have something that works would change my life," she said.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

16-08-10, 02:55 PM

Advocates See Woes for Misdiagnosed GIs

August 16, 2010

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely dismissed hundreds of Soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.

Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of Soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.

The Army denies that any Soldier was misdiagnosed before 2008, when it drastically cut the number of discharges due to personality disorders and diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorders skyrocketed.

Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for Soldiers.

Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.

According to figures provided by the Army, the service discharged about a 1,000 Soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 for having a personality disorder.

But after an article in The Nation magazine exposed the practice, the Defense Department changed its policy and began requiring a top-level review of each case to ensure post-traumatic stress or a brain injury wasn't the underlying cause.

After that, the annual number of personality disorder cases dropped by 75 percent. Only 260 Soldiers were discharged on those grounds in 2009.

At the same time, the number of post-traumatic stress disorder cases has soared. By 2008, more than 14,000 Soldiers had been diagnosed with PTSD -- twice as many as two years before.

The Army attributes the sudden and sharp reduction in personality disorders to its policy change. Yet Army officials deny that Soldiers were discharged unfairly, saying they reviewed the paperwork of all deployed Soldiers dismissed with a personality disorder between 2001 and 2006.

"We did not find evidence that Soldiers with PTSD had been inappropriately discharged with personality disorder," wrote Maria Tolleson, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Army Medical Command, which oversees the health care of Soldiers, in an e-mail.

Command officials declined to be interviewed.

Advocates for veterans are skeptical of the Army's claim that it didn't make any mistakes. They say symptoms of PTSD -- anger, irritability, anxiety and depression -- can easily be confused for the Army's description of a personality disorder.

They also point out that during its review of past cases, the Army never interviewed Soldiers or their families, who can often provide evidence of a shift in behavior that occurred after someone was sent into a war zone.

"There's no reason to believe personality discharges would go down so quickly" unless the Army had misdiagnosed hundreds of Soldiers each year in the first place, said Bart Stichman, co-director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program.

Stichman's organization is working through a backlog of 130 individual cases of wounded servicemembers who feel they were wrongly denied benefits.

Among those cases is Chuck Luther, who decided to rejoin the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks. He had previously served eight years before being honorably discharged.

"I knew what combat was going to take," he said.

Luther, who lives near Fort Hood, Texas, said throughout his time in the Army, he received eight mental health evaluations from the Army, each clearing him as "fit for duty."

Luther was seven months into his deployment as a reconnaissance scout in Iraq's violent Sunni Triangle in 2007 when he says a mortar shell slammed him to the ground. He later complained of stabbing eye pain and crippling migraines, but was told by a military doctor that he was faking his symptoms to avoid combat duty.

Luther says that he was confined for a month in a 6-by-8 foot room without treatment. At one point, Luther acknowledges, he snapped -- biting a guard and spitting in the face of a military chaplain.

After that episode, Luther says, the Army told him he could return home and keep his benefits if he signed papers admitting he had a personality disorder. If he didn't sign, he said, he was told he would be kicked out eventually anyway.

Luther, whose account was first detailed by The Nation, signed the papers.

His case highlights the irony in many personality discharges. A person is screened mentally and physically before joining the military. But upon returning from combat, that same person is told he or she had a serious mental disorder that predated military service.

As in the civilian world, where many insurance companies deny coverage for illnesses that develop before a policy is issued, the government can deny a servicemember veteran health care benefits and combat-related disability pay for pre-existing ailments.

Despite the Defense Department's reforms, groups such as the National Veterans Legal Services Program say they don't have enough manpower to help all the veterans who believe they were wrongly denied benefits.

Stichman says his organization has more than 60 law firms across the country willing to take on the legal cases of wounded veterans for free. But even with that help, the group doesn't know when it would be able to take on even one new case.

A congressional inquiry is under way to determine whether the Army is relying on a different designation -- referred to as an "adjustment disorder" -- to dismiss Soldiers.

Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, wants the Pentagon to explain why the number of these discharges doubled between 2006 and 2009 and how many of those qualified to retain their benefits.

As for Luther, he got lucky. After about a year, he says the Veterans Administration agreed to re-evaluate him and decided that he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome coupled by traumatic brain injury. The ruling gives him access to a psychologist and psychiatrist every two weeks, despite his discharge status, he said.

But Luther acknowledges that he still struggles. In June, he received word that the Army had turned down his appeal to correct his record, which means he could never return to the service or retire with full benefits.

A week later, he says, he lost his job delivering potato chips because a superior felt threatened by him. Luther says he misses the Army.

"When I was in uniform, that defined me," he said. "It's what made me, me."

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

18-08-10, 02:16 AM

Tapping ‘Energy’ to Deal with PTSD

August 17, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

Hmmm, NOT sure about this procedure. At least part of it is based on the same philosophy as Acupuncture with the manipulation of energy points in the body. I think we'll place this one in the unproven section of alternative therapies..........

If the practitioners of one method for treating post-traumatic stress disorder are to be believed, the peace-of-mind that has eluded hundreds of thousands of Soldiers and veterans is resting in their own hands.

Well, not just in their hands, but in certain "energy points" in the body and with their minds' own ability to put new distance between it and traumatic experiences.

The therapy is called Energy Psychology and uses physical and mental techniques – called Emotional Freedom Techniques – to produce psychological change. Unlike traditional psychological therapy, Energy Psychology is not about sitting on a couch and talking through past trauma with a shrink.

Instead, the treatment uses visualization, repeated statements intended to "reframe" the experience, and a routine of breathing, tapping or massage to take the emotional charge out of the memory.

George Peters, a former Army captain haunted for nearly 40 years by images of blood and pain he witnessed in Vietnam, isn't really sure how it all works together – and doesn't make much of the energy centers and tapping – but says the techniques eliminated the psychological stress he'd been carrying around with him.

"Somehow it allowed me to deal with memories that I wouldn't touch [before]," Peters told Military.com in a telephone interview. Now a retired school teacher, he learned of EFT through a friend who was practicing it for other kinds of stresses but heard about the techniques being used specifically for war veterans.

If it all sounds just a bit too "out there," one of its leading advocates says he understands why: all the "rubbish" that has been posted about it online.

"Our approach is to treat it as serious science as opposed to the many things you see on YouTube," said Dawson Church, founder of The Soul Medicine Institute, a non-profit organization that has made Energy Psychology a primary focus over the last several years.

Church said his interest in EFT initially was academic. He had been researching and writing about alternative medicine for about 30 years, he said, and just became intrigued by what he had found out about EFT.

"But especially with the Iraq War veterans coming home, I just felt I had to do something … that was my contribution," he said. "I couldn't sit around and write about this and admire [the therapy] from the sidelines. I had to dive in and actually practice it."

Church isn't the only champion of Energy Psychology and EFT, but his California organization set up the Iraq Vets Stress Project in response to the large number of veterans he saw returning from that deployment suffering from PTSD. In July Church took part in a roundtable with Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., that was intended to look at alternative treatments for PTSD.

The institute currently tracks about 730 veterans on a month-to-month basis, he said. Most of them are veterans treated with EFT by various psychologists who work in conjunction with the institute. About 100 of the vets are part of official programs conducted by about a dozen mental health experts certified specifically for conducting human studies.

Church said that his initial findings indicate that veterans treated using EFT showed a 50 percent drop in the level of their PTSD after only six sessions. The study of Iraq and Vietnam veterans was conducted using standards recognized by the American Psychological Association, he said, and showed positive results in as early as 30 days after the last treatment.

Essentially, EFT uses techniques that already seem to have therapeutic results. For example, in times of emotional crisis people might press the bridge of their nose, massaging the outside of their eyes, or rub their hands together. EFT advocates believe these and other points of the body are places where energy can be channeled, and they use those centers in a routine of tapping or massaging them as part of the therapy.

Along with the deliberate tapping or massage, the patient will be guided to saying positive or reassuring things to himself even as he imagines or recalls events connected to his PTSD.

According to Church, the massage and tapping of the energy centers calms that part of the brain that has been imprinted with the traumatic memory. Basically, EFT lets the patient recall the traumatic event while calming that part of the brain, and as the positive statements give him reassurance, he avers.

While vets learn the techniques under the guidance of a therapist, eventually many can go on and use them alone.

In fact, Vietnam vet Peters underwent the therapy by phone in a series of weekly six-hour telephone meetings with a Florida-based therapist, he said. After the phone consultation he was able to perform the techniques at any time, on his own.

"My opinion is that any trooper who has combat experience has traumatic stress," he said. "PTSD is just a question of how you're dealing with it. Everybody needs to be able to clean it out. When I got cleaned out I was not only able to look at memories of bad days, but also remember I had a few good days, too."

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

JimWH

18-08-10, 08:15 AM

I'll say about this exactly the same as I do about all other 'Alternative Therapies': they may well work, but unless you subject them to the same clinical trials as we do any other treatment then I can't recommend them. And if they fail the trials, then it's not a 'therapy', it's a waste of money.

buglerbilly

23-08-10, 04:20 PM

Former soldier wins MoD payout over post-traumatic stress disorder

Bomb disposal expert claimed failure to properly diagnose PTSD left him more vulnerable to future stressful events

Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 August 2010 13.52 BST

A former army bomb disposal expert suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has won a six-figure compensation settlement after claiming the Ministry of Defence failed to properly diagnose and treat his condition early enough.

In a case his lawyers claim has implications for other serving and former members of the military, the soldier from Oxfordshire, who cannot be named for security reasons, claimed his condition might not have deteriorated had the army acted sooner.

He underwent psychometric tests in 1998 and 1999 but, it was claimed, he was cleared by a senior army psychiatrist to continue serving on operations – although he was also asked to appear in a training video about PTSD and its symptoms.

He had served in the Gulf war, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Nigerian and Sierra Leone, defusing bombs and dealing with the aftermath.

He was only formally diagnosed in June 2004 after being seen by a civilian consultant psychiatrist, said his legal team. Two weeks later he was involved in a car accident. He suffered a breakdown as his symptoms deteriorated severely, and had to be medically discharged from the army.

He argued that the MoD's failure to diagnose him in the late 1990s and to monitor and treat the condition left him more vulnerable to future stressful events. Medical evidence showed that he would not have suffered such a serious deterioration had he been treated when the initial tests were carried out, said his lawyers.

Originally the MoD argued that he had left it too late to make a claim. It said the ex-soldier had knowledge of his PTSD from the tests in 1998 and 1999 and should have brought a case within three years, said his legal team.

He argued that as he was only formally diagnosed in 2004, the time to bring a claim was from this date onwards.

The case was settled out of court for a six-figure sum, with liability split 40% to the MoD and 60% to the insurers covering the car accident, his legal team said.

Today the ex-soldier, who joined the army in 1984, said: "I feel that treatment or at least monitoring may have prevented my eventual breakdown and I would have remained a valuable asset to the military, especially in the present climate of operations.

"I can only hope that others in my situation – ex and still serving – who seek help or are suffering from PTSD receive the treatment they need and deserve to rehabilitate or assist them in their lives, not only for their sake but also their loved ones."

His lawyer, Claire Roantree, said: "The case highlights the potential liability of military psychiatrists and officers when signs of PTSD appear and their joint responsibility in ensuring that army personnel are properly monitored and treated. PTSD is unfortunately still a taboo subject in the army, and I hope that this case serves to remind the MoD that they have a continuing duty of supervision and monitoring."

A MoD spokesman said: "When compensation claims are received they are considered on the basis of whether or not the Ministry of Defence has a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is a proven legal liability, compensation is paid. Following a meeting on 28 July 2010 between the parties involved in the claim, a negotiated settlement was agreed to the satisfaction of all concerned."

buglerbilly

25-08-10, 03:52 PM

Suicide Prevention Efforts 'Inadequate'

August 25, 2010

McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

WASHINGTON -- A Defense Department task force devoted to preventing suicide in the military presented a grim picture of the trend Tuesday, with suicides rising at a near steady pace even as commanders apply various balms to soothe a stressed, exhausted fighting force.

The military has nearly 900 suicide prevention programs across 400 military installations worldwide, but in a report released Tuesday, the task force describes the Defense Department's approach as a safety net riddled with holes.

Last year, 309 men and women slipped through.

In 2008, 267 servicemembers committed suicide. In 2007, the number was 224.

However, the task force also gave a message of hope: Prevention efforts can work, members said, and suicidal behavior after combat deployment isn't normal.

"Having any of our nation's warriors die by suicide is not acceptable -- not now, not ever," said Army Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, a physician and co-chairman of the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces.

Among the task force's findings:

-- The military doesn't have enough behavioral specialists and suicide prevention officers, and that those it has need better training.

-- Suicide prevention programs aren't streamlined across services.

-- Servicemembers still encounter discriminatory and humiliating experiences when seeking psychiatric help.

-- Unit-level leaders especially struggle with how to assist the men and women under their guidance.

The numbers of suicides have increased almost steadily since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan began, and task force members said Tuesday they were unable to pinpoint exactly why the trend continues despite prevention work being done so far.

"We don't have enough data to answer that question," said David Litts, a retired Air Force colonel and task force member.

But the task force found much to be concerned about. Volpe described a "supply-and-demand mismatch" that hurts a servicemember's ability to spend enough time back home to become re-engaged with the community and their personal lives.

The report suggests either growing the size of the military or reducing mission demand.

It suggests establishing a policy office under the secretary of defense to streamline suicide prevention programs.

The report also recommends working more closely with military family members and improving communications between unit-level leaders and the men and women under their care.

The report found suicide investigations aren't now standardized. Task force members recommended learning more about suicide victims' last hours and days.

But mostly, the task force said, the military must look at mental health and well-being as part of an overall approach to fitness -- one that includes social, physical, spiritual and psychological wellness.

Individual installations are developing their own programs to combat suicide.

As of July, the Army's Fort Bragg, N.C., for instance, had four confirmed suicides, with two others under investigation. The base had six suicides in 2009, 13 in 2008 and 10 in 2007.

Another Army base, Fort Campbell, Ky., reported 14 suicides in 2009, 12 in 2008 and nine in 2007. Of the military's branches, the Army has the highest number of suicides: 160 Soldiers killed themselves in 2009.

Fort Bragg has begun using role-playing scenarios to train Soldiers on how to help friends in despair.

Bonnie Carroll, an advocate for military survivors and co-chairwoman of the task force, said Tuesday she found hope watching young Marine recruits in training at Parris Island, S.C. There, she said, recruits are being told they should be as quick to call in support for personal problems as they would for air support during combat.

"And who's your front line?" Carroll asked. "Your buddy."

© Copyright 2010 McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

buglerbilly

28-08-10, 01:02 AM

Military Turns to Acupuncture for Pain Relief

August 27, 2010

Stars and Stripes|by Jennifer H. Svan

Lt. Col. Dan Ferris has taken some ribbing for what he calls "the bling in my ears."

But the 44-year-old Air Force pilot doesn't mind: What appear to be post earrings are actually tiny acupuncture needles, which Ferris says have helped ease his chronic lower back pain, allowing him to keep up a relentless flying schedule during six months in Afghanistan. He can't pop painkillers, since fliers are limited to certain drugs and doses.

"Acupuncture helps with the pain, to the point of removing it," Ferris said recently from Kandahar Airfield. "What else can you ask for when you have an injury? For me, it's better than drugs."

The military is finding that Western medicine alone doesn't always work in relieving the suffering of troops dealing with a complex range of injuries after nine years of war, from multiple concussions to backs strained under heavy packs and body armor.

As the number of prescriptions for opiate painkillers skyrockets -- and more troops admit abusing those drugs -- the military has been forced to look beyond conventional ways to treat pain.

"This is a nationwide problem,'" said Brig. Gen. Richard Thomas, assistant Army surgeon general. "We've got a culture of a pill for every ill."

In June, the Army surgeon general released a report addressing the lack of a comprehensive pain-management strategy, suggesting alternative treatments including meditation and yoga.

And though some in the medical field maintain that acupuncture has never been proven effective, the Air Force sees it as one of the more promising alternatives to combat pain.

The service runs the military's only full-time acupuncture clinic at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Last year, it launched a program to train more than 30 military doctors to use acupuncture in the war zone and at their base clinics. The program will be expanded next year with the Air Force, Army and Navy combining funds for two courses to certify 60 active-duty physicians as medical acupuncturists.

"I think we realized with some of the tremendous injuries these folks have ... we certainly want to find an alternative to help them out, to eliminate or reduce their use of pain medication," said Col. Dominic DeFrancis, medical corps director for the Air Force Surgeon General.

Acupuncture, he says, has few side effects, no apparent drug interactions and works quickly -- allowing some troops with pain to return to duty faster.

"This is an effective therapy that works and should be part of our physicians' capabilities," DeFrancis said.

Needles for the battlefield

The Air Force training, run in conjunction with the Helms Medical Institute of Berkeley, Calif., teaches military physicians a variety of acupuncture techniques, from traditional Chinese to Korean hand acupuncture. Clinicians are also learning a type of acupuncture developed in 2001 by an Air Force doctor that's being used in front-line hospitals and could be applied, Air Force officials say, right on the battlefield.

"The whole idea of the battlefield concept was trying to develop an acupuncture technique that would be generic for all pain and that would be very rapid in terms of its effectiveness," said Dr. Richard Niemtzow, a retired Air Force colonel who modified the method from French auricular acupuncture needles and the results of MRI studies on pain.

Small needles are placed in up to five pain-control points in each ear, and they stay for three or more days before falling out.

The sterilized needles are small enough to carry in a pocket, easily fit under a military helmet, and the technique is simple to apply, said Niemtzow, who's one of two full-time Air Force acupuncturists.

In the right combat situation, he says, acupuncture could replace a narcotic.

Lt. Col. Timothy Kaczmar uses battlefield acupuncture and more traditional acupuncture with bigger needles to treat patients at Kandahar Airfield's Air Force medical clinic. A flight surgeon at the Air Force Academy, Kaczmar completed an Air Force-sponsored acupuncture course last year.

‘It's been a wonderful tool to have as a doctor here," he said.

He most commonly sees patients with back pain, headaches, sleep disturbances and anxiety. High doses of painkillers aren't a great option in combat, Kaczmar said.

"We're out here getting rocketed," he said. "You don't want to give them medication to the point where they're groggy."

Kaczmar successfully treated Senior Airman Emilie Johnston, 24, a medical technician from Vermont, who was struggling with almost daily headaches.

"A couple days ago, I had a headache coming on to where my vision was getting blurry," she said recently from Kandahar. "Dr. Kaczmar did ear acupuncture on me. In 15 minutes, my headache was gone. I haven't gotten a headache since then."

Master Sgt. Jamie Gilmore has tried physical therapy, muscle relaxers, steroid injections and chiropractor visits to address the chronic pain of a bulging back disc.

On a recent summer day, she dropped into the pain center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where Dr. Ron White used the Niemtzow technique, pricking both of her ears a millimeter deep with two needles, each gold, silver and platinum.

The first needles didn't bring immediate relief, but after undergoing acupuncture every two weeks for about a year, the pain is tolerable. Gilmore, 44, has been able to resume running, CrossFit training and other physical activities. Most importantly for her, she said, "I've been able to cut back almost completely on prescription medication."

Placebo effect?

Acupuncture also has its skeptics.

Steven Salzberg, a professor and director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, says acupuncture is "a joke to any serious scientist: There's absolutely no evidence that it works."

If it has any effect at all, Salzberg said, it's a placebo effect.

"People want to believe it works," he said.

Dr. Harriet Hall, a retired family physician and former Air Force flight surgeon, also charges that acupuncture is "nothing but an elaborate placebo."

"I hope no would consider giving a man wounded on the battlefield a sugar pill instead of morphine," she said. "Our soldiers deserve better."

But Alexandra York, a research associate in military medical research at the Samueli Institute in Alexandria, Va., which studies alternative therapies, says "to just kind of boil it down to a psychological effect doesn't dig deep enough to what is really going on when acupuncture is administered.

"A number of MRI studies have shown the effect of acupuncture is really at the brain level."

Dr. Stephen Burns, a retired Air Force colonel and full-time Air Force acupuncturist, says the results speak for themselves.

"We've treated thousands and thousands of patients here with excellent results," said Burns, referring to his work with Niemtzow at the 779th Medical Group's acupuncture clinic at Malcom Grow.

Each week, he and Niemtzow treat troops with blast wounds, missing limbs, concussions and other injuries at nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"Sometimes it's a little like peeling back the onion," Burns said. By easing their pain little by little, "we give them hope, then they go have a good night, a good weekend, and come back and we treat them again, while not giving them medication that could cloud their thinking."

White, an Army major and director of LRMC's pain center, said acupuncture isn't a cure-all for everyone. For about one-third of his patients, it's a "home run" and their pain goes away completely. With another third, the pain diminishes but doesn't disappear. And for a third, he says, "you strike out" -- they feel no change.

As Niemtzow emphasizes, "It's not a magic bullet. Patients may find themselves being able to enjoy pain-free periods or reduced-pain periods, or combined with medication, a better lifestyle."

The science behind how acupuncture works is not fully understood, experts say. One theory, White said, is that acupuncture taps into nerve pathways to the brain. With the reception of dual pain and acupuncture signals, the brain's information processing gets muddled and pain is disrupted or dulled.

White prefers to focus instead on the results.

"There's no risk; it gives you benefit," White said. "Our goal -- my end result -- is function. If you come to me complaining that you can't play with your kids, you can't sleep at night, you can't work, and six months later, I have you working, sleeping and back to work, I don't care if it's placebo."

© This article is provided courtesy of Stars & Stripes

[B]I've had acupuncture a number of times, some successful in eliminating pain and some not...........I'd still recommend you try it IF the only other option is pain killers..........

buglerbilly

29-08-10, 05:22 AM

Fighting with shadows on homefront

August 29, 2010

Dangerous mission ... at first light, Australian soldiers patrol through the Mirabad Valley region of Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. Photo: www.defence.gov.au

Surviving war and making it home safely is only part of the battle. Many soldiers arrive home and face a struggle with traumatic stress. Steve Dow reports.

As the death toll mounts in , researchers are trying to help returning soldiers who are struggling with mental health problems – in some cases using drugs and alcohol to cope.

Twenty-one Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, 10 of them since June, the most recent casualty being Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, who died in a fire fight last Tuesday. His death came only five days after two soldiers from the same mentoring taskforce, Private Grant Kirby and Private Tomas Dale, were killed by a roadside bomb.

Mourners farewelled a special forces soldier, Trooper Jason Brown, at a service in Sydney on Thursday.

In total, the coalition has lost 1960 troops since the war began in 2001.

There are 2351 Australian personnel now serving in Afghanistan.

Troops are under further stress with news that a group of Australian commandos may face criminal charges over the deaths last year of five children in Afghanistan.

The anger, shame, drug abuse and suicides among soldiers suffering traumatic stress after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan could be greatly cut with treatment pioneered by Sydney researchers.

High-tech armour is allowing more servicemen and women to survive improvised explosive device blasts but the traumatic brain injury toll, sometimes associated with post-traumatic stress, is also rising.

A kind of therapy called COPE – concurrent treatment with prolonged exposure – treats stress and substance use. Until now, the illnesses were treated separately.

University of NSW researchers have carried out the world's first randomised control trial of COPE on more than 100 Australian civilians, most of whom before age 16 suffered a physical or sexual assault, a life-threatening accident, or witnessed a death or natural disaster.

The 103 patients had all developed post-traumatic stress disorder, and all had turned to alcohol, benzodiazepines, heroin, cannabis or amphetamines to self-medicate their symptoms. But 13 sessions of COPE reduced their anger, shame, blame and guilt, cut their substance abuse and made them more socially functional.

US researchers acting on the Australian findings are giving COPE to 90 US military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and who are suffering post-traumatic stress and abusing substances. The five-year, $2.1 million program will be conducted by clinical psychologists.

One of the Australian study's authors, Katherine Mills of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, urged the federal government to fund a trial on Australian military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

“There's a big move in the US towards mental health with their veterans and hopefully Australia will follow suit,” she said.

“Our results were better than we'd hoped for, because there has been this attitude for so long that you really can't do anything about [post-traumatic stress] in people with substance-use disorders.

"Nobody thought this could be done, so we're really pleased.”

The US Army recorded 32 suicides in June, the highest number for a single month since January last year, the boost probably driven by the "continued stresses on the force" caused by the Iraq and Afghan wars, said Colonel Chris Philbrick, the director of the army's suicide prevention taskforce.

In Australia, a pending Chief of Defence Force commission of inquiry into the suspected overdose of an Australian soldier in Afghanistan, found unconscious on May 28, will also examine whether mental health services for soldiers in theatre need improvement. The soldier is back in Australia receiving treatment.

Such problems only grow if untreated, warns Sudie Back of the Medical University of South Carolina, where COPE was created before being put to the test in Australia. Up to 84 per cent of Vietnam War veterans with post-traumatic stress have a substance-use disorder, most commonly alcohol, followed by cannabis and then prescription drugs, according to Dr Back, who will conduct the trial on the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

Embarrassment was a big issue for post-traumatic stress sufferers in the military, leading to self-medication, Dr Back said: “To show any kind of what they would see as a weakness is associated with shame and fear their comrades would judge them negatively; that they're not a strong person.”

About 1500 Australian forces were stationed in Iraq at any one time between 2003 and 2009; 27 were injured.

buglerbilly

30-08-10, 01:54 PM

Drug for Sleepless Vets Raises Questions

August 30, 2010

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Andrew White returned from a nine-month tour in Iraq beset with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder: insomnia, nightmares, constant restlessness. Doctors tried to ease his symptoms using three psychiatric drugs, including a potent anti-pyschotic called Seroquel.

Thousands of troops suffering from PTSD have received the same medication over the last nine years, helping to make Seroquel one of the Veteran Affairs Department's top drug expenditures and the No. 5 best-selling drug in the nation.

Several servicemembers and veterans have died while taking the pills, raising concerns among some military families that the government is not being up front about the drug's risks. They want Congress to investigate.

In White's case, the nightmares persisted. So doctors recommended progressively larger doses of Seroquel. At one point, the 23-year-old Marine corporal was prescribed more than 1,600 milligrams per day -- more than double the maximum dose recommended for schizophrenia patients.

A short time later, White died in his sleep.

"He was told if he had trouble sleeping he could take another [Seroquel] pill," said his father, Stan White, a retired high school principal.

An investigation by the VA concluded that White died from a rare drug interaction. He was also taking an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety pill, as well as a painkiller for which he did not have a prescription. Inspectors concluded he received the "standard of care" for his condition.

It's unclear how many troops have died while taking Seroquel, or if the drug definitely contributed to the deaths. White has confirmed at least a half-dozen deaths among troops on Seroquel, and he believes there may be many others.

Spending for Seroquel by the government's military medical systems has increased more than sevenfold since the start of the war in Afghanistan in 2001, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act. That by far outpaces the growth in personnel who have gone through the system in that time.

Seroquel is approved to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, but it has not been endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for insomnia. However, psychiatrists are permitted to prescribe approved drugs for other uses in a common practice known as "off-label" prescribing.

But the drug's potential side effects, including diabetes, weight gain and uncontrollable muscle spasms, have resulted in thousands of lawsuits. While on Seroquel, White gained 40 pounds and experienced slurred speech, disorientation and tremors -- all known side effects.

Last year, researchers at Vanderbilt University published a study suggesting a new risk: sudden heart failure.

The study in the January 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine found that there were three cardiac deaths per year for every 1,000 patients taking anti-psychotic drugs like Seroquel. Seroquel's unique sedative effect sets it apart from others in its class as the top choice for treating insomnia and anxiety.

AstraZeneca PLC, maker of the drug, said it is reviewing the study. The FDA is conducting its own review, citing the limited scope of the Vanderbilt study.

According to the VA, Seroquel is only prescribed as a third or fourth option for patients with difficult-to-treat insomnia stemming from PTSD.

Marine Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, was being treated for PTSD when he died in his sleep at Camp Pendleton, Calif., in May 2008. Oligschlaeger was taking six types of medication, including Seroquel, to deal with anxiety and nightmares that followed two tours of duty in Iraq.

The military medical examiner attributed the death to "multiple drug toxicity," indicating that Oligschlaeger, too, died from a drug interaction. Because of the complex reactions between various drugs, medical examiners do not attribute such deaths to any one medication.

After consulting with physicians, parents Eric and Julie Oligschlaeger now believe their son died of sudden cardiac arrest caused by Seroquel.

"Right now, I'm so angry, and I believe someone needs to be held accountable," said Julie Oligschlaeger, of Austin, Texas. "The protocol absolutely has to change."

The Defense Department's deputy director for force health protection, Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, said the government has not seen any increase in dangerous side effects from Seroquel and other drugs.

Physicians interviewed by the AP said they began prescribing Seroquel because it was the only drug that offered relief from the nightmares and anxiety of PTSD.

"By accident, some people were giving them Seroquel for anxiety or depression, and the veterans said, 'This is the first time I have slept six or seven hours straight all night. Please give me more of that.' And the word spread," said Dr. Henry Nasrallah of the University of Cincinnati, who has treated PTSD patients for more than 25 years.

Most of the troops and veterans seeking treatment for PTSD do so at hospitals run by the VA or the Defense Department.

The VA's spending on Seroquel has increased more than 770 percent since 2001. In that same time frame, the number of patients covered by the VA increased just 34 percent.

Seroquel has been the VA's second-biggest prescription drug expenditure since 2007, behind the blood-thinner Plavix. The agency spent $125.4 million last fiscal year on Seroquel, up from $14.4 million in 2001.

Spending on Seroquel by the Defense Department has increased nearly 700 percent since 2001, to $8.6 million last year, according to purchase records.

Nasrallah and others said they use drugs like Seroquel off-label because so few treatments are approved for PTSD. The FDA has cleared only two drugs for the condition, the antidepressants Paxil and Zoloft, and they do not always work.

The only published study on use of Seroquel for PTSD-related insomnia involved just 20 patients who were followed for six weeks at a VA medical center in South Carolina. The study, which showed moderate improvement in sleep, was funded by AstraZeneca at the request of VA psychiatrist Dr. Mark Hamner, who has studied the use of Seroquel for PTSD.

In his written conclusion, published in 2003, Hamner urged caution in interpreting the results because of the study's small size and short duration.

Hamner is working on larger, federally funded studies of Seroquel. For now, he acknowledges, there is little published research on the use of the drug for PTSD.

"Clinical judgment is really the best we can use at this time because there isn't really a good database to facilitate decision-making," said Hamner, who works at the Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center in Charleston, S.C.

He stressed that VA guidelines require doctors to monitor patients for dangerous side effects with drugs like Seroquel.

The drug, approved in 1997, is AstraZeneca's second-best-selling product, with U.S. sales of $4.2 billion last year. But that success has been marred by allegations that the company illegally marketed the drug and minimized its risks. AstraZeneca agreed to pay $520 million in April to settle federal allegations that its salespeople pitched Seroquel for numerous off-label uses, including insomnia.

Pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing drugs for unapproved uses. AstraZeneca also faces an estimated 10,000 product liability lawsuits, most alleging that Seroquel caused diabetes.

Since White died, his family has been searching for an explanation -- and for a way to prevent other deaths.

"We trusted the knowledge of the physicians, that they weren't going to do any harm," White's father said. "And we also trusted the drug companies because that's who provides the research for the physicians. That's what our battle is now: trying to get changes made."

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

JimWH

30-08-10, 03:33 PM

I'm in no way surprised that they're throwing around Seroquel like it's candy: it is a good drug, and it's way better than the alternative (i.e. long term diazepam use... because hasn't that always worked out so well)... but in the treatment of PTSD it really should only be a bridging drug towards getting patients into other forms of treatment (preferably non-pharmacological).
And the thing about diabetes is just silly. Atypical anti-psychotics cause weight gain and cause an independently increased risk of diabetes. We all know that (best guess is that by blocking D2 receptors not only stops the voices but make you want to eat more). But two things need to be borne in mind:
1). If you think Seroquel is bad, try out olanzapine and clozapine (the best anti-psychotics we have): they'll keep you sane, but make you gain 20kg (on average)
2). If you're sane enough to care about getting diabetes (and have survived long enough to develop it) then it's done it's job

buglerbilly

31-08-10, 02:12 AM

VA to Spend Billions in New Viet Vet Claims

August 30, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

This should, hopefully, have an impact on Anzac cases from the same war...................

Barring any move by Congress to halt the inclusion of ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and several forms of leukemia into a list of presumptive illnesses linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides, more than 150,000 Vietnam veterans are expected to file for medical and disability payment benefits over the next 18 months, the Department of Veterans Affairs predicted today.

Another 90,000 vets with the illnesses who already had their benefit applications rejected by the VA will have their claims reviewed, said Bradley Mayes, director of the Boston VA Regional Office and former director of the VA's compensation and pension service. The VA expects to spend nearly $40 billion in connection with the rule change.

The diseases were published today in the Federal Register, which means veterans may apply for disability compensation and medical benefits for Agent Orange exposure immediately, though the VA would not be able to award any benefits until a mandatory 60-day waiting period expires, said Richard Hipolit, assistant general counsel to the VA.

"Under the law generally referred to as the Congressional Review Act, for any major rule there is a 60-day waiting period," he said. During this time, he said, Congress could "disapprove the rule by a joint resolution, which would have to be then presented to the President."

But officials speaking to reporters during a press conference today said the rule change to include ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease, and all varieties of chronic lymphocytic leukemia onto the list is backed by scientific research and in keeping with legislation Congress already passed in 1991.

Hipolit said no veteran deemed eligible for benefits under the new rule should lose anything money because of the waiting period.

"We'll still be able to pay for the benefits that would have been paid during the waiting period," he said. And veterans who may now be approved but were rejected previously, he said, will be paid benefits retroactively. "But we can't actually start paying the benefits until the 60 day review period is over."

Officials announced the rule change in June. Publishing them in the Federal Register means the VA will also take another look at those previously rejected. Eligible veterans include those who served in country, including on the inland waterways of Vietnam.

Thomas Pamperin, associate deputy undersecretary for policy and program management for veterans' benefits assistance, said the VA estimates disability and medical costs resultant from new claims will run about $39.7 billion over the next 10 years.

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

01-09-10, 03:45 AM

Epic Fail

September 1st, 2010

I've put this one here as it is most definitely Training AND Medical...........................good points about height, age and fitness comparisons..........

The Air Force’s current fixation with “PT” is the latest in a long line of fads. As you have probably heard, Airman are failing the new biannual Air Force Fitness Test (AFFT) at the rate of about 25%. Unfortunately, instead of actually creating a culture of physical fitness, they have got everyone worried about the test. Worse yet, one element of that test has become particularly troublesome. That element is the waist measurement. In fact, some Airmen are actually getting liposuction in order to pass the waist measurement.

So what exactly is wrong with the waist measurement? Well, it’s a simple case of symbolism over substance. It seems, someone likes skinny folks. The waist measurement does not assess an individual’s health and what’s more it is not scaled for age nor height. A 5′ tall Airman has to have the same waist measurement to pass as an Airman who is 6′ tall. By the same token, an 18 year old has the same standard as a 48 year old. This makes no sense. The test is so weighted in favor of the skinny that an older Airman with a large waist has to actually be in better shape than a young Airman. He must be more capable in the push up, sit up, and run portions of the test in order to just pass. So the skinny kid can be in worse shape than the old fat guy and still pass. In fact, he can score better. Make sense? Check out this PT score calculator to see how you compare.

One would think that things couldn’t be worse than Air Force personnel undergoing plastic surgery in order to pass a PT test but it does. The Air Force leadership has lost so much faith in its commanders and their NCOs that it has gone and hired civilian testers. Yes, it’s true. Physical Fitness testing is no longer conducted by Unit Fitness Monitors since they can’t be trusted. Instead, the Air Force has hired a cadre of civilian testers. They aren’t even required to be able to demonstrate proper form for the four events let alone even pass.

To throw gasoline on this fire, as fitness is an individual responsibility, many units see no reason to provide time during the duty day to conduct PT. The machine is unwilling to sacrifice man hours to develop a more healthy force. The mission capable rate must not be compromised.

The Air Force leadership needs to get this under control. Dump the waist measurement. Anything that prompts service members to undergo risky surgeries deserves some Congressional oversight. Better yet, develop a test that actually measures true fitness and reflects tasks Airmen actually are expected to accomplish. Also, develop a true culture of fitness where leaders lead by example and commanders are responsible for their unit’s program and performance. And for goodness sakes, get rid of those civilian testers. They are an embarrassment. You can’t outsource integrity.

buglerbilly

02-09-10, 03:20 PM

Vets Get Ecstasy to Treat Their PTSD

By Katie Drummond September 2, 2010 | 7:00 am

A pair of psychiatrists think they’ve got the answer to the soaring number of troops coming back from war with PTSD: have them undergo intensive psychotherapy — while they’re rolling on ecstasy.

Drs. Michael and Anne Mithoefer are the South Carolina therapists who’ve been spearheading research into ecstasy, known clinically as MDMA, since 2000. After one successful study on 21 PTSD patients between 2004 and 2008, they’ve now received the final okay from FDA and DEA officials to start a study entirely devoted to former military service members.

“My sense is that, especially after we published the results of the first study, these institutions are more open to the idea,” Dr. Michael Mithoefer tells Danger Room. “Obviously, this is still new and experimental, and it can take time to get through to big institutions.”

With $500,000 in funding from MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), the two are recruiting 16 vetererans — they’re hoping for a 50-50 split between men and women, and want most of the participants to have been diagnosed within the last 10 years.

“These will mostly be veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan, because longer duration of PTSD means more complicating factors,” Dr. Mithoefer says, adding that he does anticipate enrolling 4 vets from earlier wars and is still accepting applications.

Participants will undergo a preliminary screening process, and then partake in three solitary, 8-hour therapy sessions with both doctors. While tripping out, they’ll be asked to revisit the traumatic experiences that triggered their disorder. Dr. Mithoefer thinks MDMA acts as a catalyst for “an optimal zone of arousal” that prevents patients from becoming overwhelmed or, on the flipside, shutting down and detaching altogether.

Of course, the Pentagon’s still struggling to better diagnose and address PTSD, most recently with a cutting edge 72,000 square foot research facility. But despite the military’s gradual thaw on alternative methods to treat the disorder — already, they’ve funded everything from yoga and acupuncture to “Warrior Mind Training” — top brass have yet to endorse MDMA.

“We’re had several meetings with people at Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, but so far haven’t convinced them to participate,” Mithoefer says. “That said, we’re moving forward and still making every effort to get them involved.”

In the meantime, the Mithoefers anticipate finishing this latest study within three years, and teams in Sweden, Israel, Jordan, Spain and Canada are doing similar research.

Photo: U.S Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/new-trial-gives-vets-ecstasy-to-treat-their-ptsd/#more-30132#ixzz0yNUPv0Tw

buglerbilly

03-09-10, 02:55 PM

RAAF aircrew at risk of addiction to sleeping pills

Sean Parnell, FOI editor From: The Australian

September 02, 2010 12:00AM

Its RAAF but this is the only Medical thread we have.........

AUSTRALIAN aircrew flying operations in the Middle East have been over-prescribed sleeping tablets.

This has left them at risk of becoming addicted, misusing their drugs or having dangerous side-effects go unnoticed.

In another sign the Royal Australian Air Force is struggling to maintain the operational tempo, Defence has been forced to rewrite medical guidelines and make commanders more responsible for the use of drugs needed to combat fatigue, particularly after night-time missions.

A previously unreleased study by the RAAF's Institute of Aviation Medicine reveals that in the 12 months to March last year, 6146 temazepam and 2508 zolpidem tablets were prescribed across 13 unnamed bases. Half of those tablets went to one, unnamed base.

Alarmingly, some aircrew -- including pilots, loadmasters, navigators and electronics officers -- were given more sleeping pills than is considered safe. No more than 40 temazepam tablets, or 20 zolpidem tablets, were to be issued to one member in a 60-day period, but the researchers found prescriptions exceeding that limit.

"This seems to indicate that the supervisory control and oversight by the commanders and aviation medical officers . . . to ensure that sleep-inducing agents are used in accordance with the guidelines . . . is lax," the study states.

The researchers found no record of any unused sleeping pills being returned.

"Further, the requirement that the supply of sleep-inducing medications to aircrew and controllers should be done with additional documentation . . . and acquitted at the end of the deployment . . . is almost certainly not being followed anywhere."

While temazepam has been used in the ADF for decades, zolpidem, commonly known by the brand name Stilnox, was introduced only in 2001.

The researchers emailed personnel at the base with the most prescriptions and found at least a quarter had used the drugs for operational reasons, and most preferred zolpidem, despite its being listed as the second-choice drug. Three of those surveyed had suffered hallucinations as a result of using zolpidem.

In July, The Australian revealed confidential transcripts from Defence focus groups in which several Middle East veterans referred to dependence on sleeping pills, with one claiming aircrew "eat Stilnox like Smarties".

A Defence spokesperson said the main guidelines for the use of sleeping pills, Directive 311, had been revised since the study, and health officers and commanders ordered to be more accountable.

"A further update of Directive 311 is currently under way to implement all of the recommendations of the aviation medicine report, including simplification of the system used to monitor usage and the requirement for aircrew to sign an information sheet regarding the use of sleep-inducing agents," the spokesperson said.

RAAF briefs for Defence secretary Ian Watt last year revealed a service under extreme pressure, with specialist personnel most at risk of burnout, as "the combination of the transition workload and the high operational tempo contributes to an increasing level of stress on our people and their families".

buglerbilly

03-09-10, 05:09 PM

More new and classy gear for the Brits................someone has their head screwed on right............

New ventilators arrive in Afghanistan

An Equipment and Logistics news article

3 Sep 10

New ventilators, which will play a key role in saving the lives of soldiers injured on the front line, have arrived in Afghanistan.

A Vela Comprehensive ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital at Camp Bastion
[Picture: Captain Leanne Christmas, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

The Vela Comprehensive ventilators are being used in the Intensive Care Unit at the Armed Forces' hospital in Camp Bastion, providing additional hi-tech kit for doctors and nurses who work to save the lives of personnel injured on the front line.

Until now, medics have been using three different types of ventilator to help patients breathe.

New technology means this flexible piece of kit is able to do the job of all three - including giving medics the ability to use the same ventilator on patients even when they are being transported within the hospital.

Major Maggie Hodge, Officer Commanding the Intensive Care Unit, said:

"It is small, simple and has everything that we need. It allows us to see what is happening in even more detail, meaning we're able to base our decisions about treatment on better information.

"It can also be used for non-invasive treatment, which is more comfortable for the patient - especially out here where it is dry and dusty."

Major Maggie Hodge, Officer Commanding the Intensive Care Unit at Camp Bastion
[Picture: Captain Leanne Christmas, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

Major Clare Dutton, Defence Specialist Nurse Advisor, said:

"These new ventilators are already playing a vital role in saving the lives of those injured in the fight against the insurgents.

"Doctors are able to treat patients more easily and quickly than before - and patients not requiring invasive ventilation are likely to be discharged more rapidly from the unit.

"All in all this represents a significant improvement in clinical capability."

Nick Hill, who is the UK & Ireland Commercial Manager at CareFusion - the company which makes the Vela ventilators - said:

"We are very pleased to be able to play our part in supporting our boys and girls on the front line by providing this important piece of equipment to the Armed Forces."

The MOD has purchased twenty-nine Vela ventilators in a contract worth £500,000. Twenty-four are already in use at Camp Bastion while the remaining five will be used to train medical personnel in the UK.

buglerbilly

05-09-10, 02:28 PM

Gates Gives Brutal Assessment of Tricare

September 04, 2010

Stars and Stripes|by Kevin Baron

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates launched into a brutal assessment of the military’s health care system, Tricare, this week, calling it a constant source of complaints from troops and badly in need of financial reform in the face of rapidly increasing cost estimates to the federal government.

Gates for months has called on Congress and the Defense Department to head off the potentially explosive costs facing military health care in coming decades for millions of young servicemembers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Health care cost the department $19 billion in 2000, but is estimated to reach $50 billion in fiscal 2011 and $65 billion by 2015, according to Gates.

“We simply can’t sustain that,” he said.

One of the reasons behind the deficit is that Tricare has not increased premiums in nearly 15 years since its creation in 1996. Active-duty personnel and their families should not have to pay higher health care premiums to finance those reforms, Gates told a gathering of several hundred Soldiers at Camp Ramadi in Anbar province. Rather, he suggested possibly charging higher premiums and co-pay fees to those retired personnel using the system who have access to private health care plans through their employers.

Pentagon planners have pushed for those premium increases for years, but veterans groups and many members of Congress -- both Republican and Democratic -- have strongly opposed such a move. Congressional budget planners have removed the idea from the Pentagon’s annual budget proposal multiple times over the last decade. The Defense Department did not include the rate hikes in their fiscal 2011 plan.

Where civilians using other federal care systems today pay an average annual out-of-pocket cost of about $3,400, Tricare enrollees pay just $1,200, Gates said.

“In terms of people on active duty, I would be surprised to see any significant changes in their costs at all,” he said.

Complaints and concerns about the Tricare system are frequently raised in troop meetings with top military leaders and it was a young Soldier who asked Gates about the state of military health care reform in the question-and-answer session.

“I get briefings at the Pentagon all the time about how popular Tricare is and how everybody’s happy with it,” Gates responded. “Well, I tell you, I’ve been on this job going on four years and I’ve visited a lot of folks, a lot of facilities, a lot of ships, a lot of air bases and I have yet to find somebody stand there and tell me this is a great system.

“Instead, I hear all kinds of stories about bureaucratic hassles, about difficulty in finding a primary caregiver, having to wait in line a long time [and] having to drive a considerable distance to see a specialist.”

At Fort Bragg in June, one Soldier asked visiting Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if the installation was adequately prepared to handle the expected influx of thousands of more troops and families coming with the base realignment plan.

Her daughter already endured a six-month waiting list at the on-base military hospital to get treatment for a rare disease. Instead, the mother had to seek private, and much more expensive, off-base health care.

-- Stars and Stripes reporter Leo Shane III contributed to this report.

buglerbilly

05-09-10, 02:37 PM

Army to discharge 5,000 injured troops

Up to 5,000 troops could be discharged from the armed forces because they are medically unfit for combat duties, including many injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was reported today.

Published: 10:00AM BST 05 Sep 2010

Photo: PA The Sunday Times quoted a leaked Ministry of Defence document as saying that 5% of the Army's 102,000 personnel were no longer fit to be deployed in action.

The newspaper suggested that the worst affected 1,500 troops were in line to be discharged first, with 750 following in each of the next few years.

While ''only a proportion of those discharged are likely to have been injured on operations... this number is likely to grow as operations in Afghanistan continue'', the document said.

The MoD refused to comment on the leaked document, but a spokesman played down suggestions that a mass cull of injured troops was in the offing and insisted there was no quota for numbers to leave the Army.

''The number of soldiers medically discharged is done on a case by case basis and it is inappropriate to speculate on future numbers,'' said the spokesman.

Earlier this year, the MoD unveiled a £70 million project to help injured troops to either remain in the forces or make a transition to civilian life.

The Army Recovery Capability scheme envisaged 12 ''personnel recovery units'' around the UK providing programmes aimed at either getting them fit to return to a military post or preparing them for life outside the Armed Forces.

Launching the programme in February, General Sir David Richards, the head of the Army, said: ''I confidently expect that no soldier who thinks it is in his interest to stay will be forced out.''

But the new document, drawn up by a civil servant at UK Land Forces HQ in Wiltshire and circulated to ministers, senior MoD officials and Army top brass, suggested that the discharge of injured troops was likely to prove controversial.

Entitled Management of Army Personnel who are Medically Unfit for Service, it conceded that discharges of injured troops may be seen as the ''MoD discarding those who have sacrificed much on our behalf'', said the Sunday Times.

And it added: ''Difficult decisions will inevitably need to be made about individuals who already have a significant media profile. These will require careful handling.''

buglerbilly

07-09-10, 04:30 PM

Hormone Studied as TBI Treatment

September 07, 2010

Stars and Stripes|by Seth Robbins

Researchers are conducting a nationwide trial to determine whether the hormone progesterone can heal brain injuries after severe head trauma -- a therapy that, if proven effective, could be used on the battlefield.

Though mild traumatic brain injuries are more common, affecting as many as 135,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, about 5,000 troops have suffered moderate to severe head trauma, injuries that left them comatose or caused large amounts of brain swelling.

“The hormone would counteract these bad events and in some cases correct them,” said Kathy Helmick, senior executive director for traumatic brain injury at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

During the trial, patients will be given progesterone -- a hormone best known for its use in the birth control pill -- or a placebo intravenously for four days after injury, and their outcomes will be monitored for six months. It will be the strongest test yet of whether the treatment works, said Arthur Kellermann, now a senior researcher with the Rand Corp., who co-authored a pilot study on progesterone at Emory University in Atlanta.

“As a scientist, it’s not OK to get ahead of the data,” he said. “But we are excited and encouraged.”

Because progesterone needs to be administered in the few hours after injury, the researchers theorized that progesterone pills or injections could benefit troops injured downrange.

“Progesterone is an ideal candidate for treatment of those with moderate or severe brain injury,” said Donald W. Marion, an academic neurosurgeon and deputy director of clinical and educational affairs at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. “Because in contrast to most drugs tested to date, it rapidly enters the brain so it can have a direct effect on the injured brain tissue.”

And it could potentially be used to treat mild traumatic brain injuries as well, Kellermann said.

“My hunch is that if this is successful for really bad cases of injury, it’s quite reasonable that it would work when people have a mild brain injury,” he said.

For decades, scientists have struggled to find a drug that can treat head trauma, Kellermann said. Several medications had shown promise in animal testing, but all clinical trials in humans had failed.

That was until Kellermann’s 2006 study, which set out to show that progesterone caused no significant side effects. The study also provided the first indication that the hormone helped heal brain injuries in humans.

Among the findings of the trial, in which 100 patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries were given the drug or a placebo: Progesterone cut the risk of death by 50 percent, and in moderate cases it improved patients’ function and reduced their level of disability.

The nationwide trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health and costing up to $27 million, is the largest and most ambitious to date. The trial will enroll 1,140 patients at 17 trauma centers across the U.S., including New York Presbyterian Hospital and Stanford University Medical Center, during the next three to six years.

Results could come sooner, said David Wright, the study’s lead investigator and associate professor of emergency medicine at Emory, who also worked with Kellermann on the pilot study. A review board will look at the data after 380 patients are enrolled -- slated to come in the fall of 2011 -- and then after 760 patients.

If the data is positive, Wright said, “there is a company waiting in the wings -- BHR Pharma -- that could get it out almost immediately, provided the FDA allowed it.”

It is too early in the testing phase to determine when the treatment could reach troops.

The nationwide trial, which has recruited 32 patients since March, is operating under rare conditions allowing doctors to enroll patients immediately at any of the participating hospitals when relatives cannot be contacted to give their consent, Wright said. Wright and his fellow doctors convinced their review boards and the Food and Drug Administration that there wasn’t sufficient time for doctors always to speak to relatives because the hormone must be administered within four hours of injury.

Under those conditions, residents near participating hospitals were informed about the study through billboards and community announcements. Also, doctors must attempt to get consent from relatives even after a patient has been enrolled, and a patient’s relatives can pull them from the trial at any time, Wright said.

“About 75 percent have been enrolled under the exemptions,” he said. “Nobody has withdrawn.”

How progesterone protects the brain is something of a mystery, but studies suggest it reduces brain swelling and stops the deadly cascade of chemical changes that follow a brain injury. When the brain is wounded, many electrolytes, such as calcium, overwhelm brain cells.

“This tidal wave causes all types of mayhem,” Wright said.

By halting this flood of chemicals, progesterone blocks what he calls “cell suicide.”

“The reason we think this drug has a chance is it is so robust because it works on multiple mechanisms,” he said.

Often described as a sex hormone, progesterone is present in women’s and men’s brains. Kellermann pointed out that men experienced no harmful side effects when given progesterone, though families of male patients often expressed doubts when told that the experimental treatment consisted of what some people may consider a female hormone.

“Everyone thinks of progesterone as a sex steroid,” he said. “But it’s actually a protection hormone.”

©

buglerbilly

08-09-10, 01:51 AM

Troops Popping Anxiety, Depression Meds Like Never Before

By Katie Drummond September 7, 2010 | 4:00 pm

An untold number of active-duty troops and recent veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with mental health conditions inflicted during service — and their spouses and children are suffering too. Now, with solid data slowly emerging from the nearly decade-long wars, the severity of the crisis is starting to show.

The use of psychiatric medications among 18 to 34-year-olds (both troops and their spouses) soared by 42 percent between 2005 and 2009, Army Times is reporting.

Antidepressants were the most commonly prescribed medication, but the use of anti-psychotic meds — like Seroquel, which is used off-label to treat nightmares and insomnia caused by PTSD — nearly doubled. And the use of anti-anxiety drugs, like Xanax, surged by 72 percent.

The numbers are startling, but it’s hardly surprising that prescription drugs have become the Pentagon’s solution of choice, when they’re essentially the only option. With both wars lagging on for years, and troops being redeployed despite psychiatric problems, the military’s fast-tracked efforts at more effective alternatives can’t keep up.

To the Pentagon’s credit, though, their ongoing attempts at minimizing stigma associated with mental ailments, like PTSD and depression, might actually be working: more troops on drugs means more were willing to seek help in the first place.

But this kind of increased drug use raises questions about side effects. Seroquel, for one, is now implicated in a handful of military deaths. Family of deceased personnel, along with small recent studies, allege the drug causes heart failure, while Pentagon brass are blaming rare interactions in the drug cocktails prescribed to ailing vets.

Neither option seems particularly heartening, but the drug’s popularity persists: spending on Seroquel by Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense has increased by more than 700 percent since 2001.

Many of the drugs prescribed by military doctors, like Paxil and Zoloft, are also accompanied by warnings about an increased risk of suicide. The danger has already caught the military’s eye, with Army Gen. Peter Ciarelli noting in a recent report that the Army ought to “conduct research to identify appropriate antidepressant medications that are beneficial to the treatment of depression and anxiety, but that will not increase risk for suicidal behavior.”

And, as Army Times notes, accidental deaths due to multi-drug use are on the rise — 68 among troops in 2009, compared to 24 in 2001.

Unfortunately for the troops and their families, though, the military’s fast-tracked efforts at addressing mental health — from pill-popping prevention to brain scan diagnosis — have yet to yield major treatment breakthroughs. And troops shouldn’t rely on the Pentagon’s medical experts to keep tabs on their safety: a recent report by the Senate Armed Services Committee warned that the military “has no visibility of pharmacy data for prescriptions dispensed in forward operating areas.”

Photo: U.S National Guard

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/troops-popping-anxiety-depression-meds-like-never-before/#more-30328#ixzz0ytIBToLI

buglerbilly

08-09-10, 02:46 PM

Vets Using Watchdogs Against PTSD

September 08, 2010

Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

Falling asleep in the commons room at Brook Army Medical Center was all the evidence Jim Stanek needed that he should get a dog.

Stanek, a three-tour Iraq veteran whose wounds include traumatic brain injury, was on a multitude of antidepressants and tranquilizers, couldn't sleep without meds, and was feeling "like a zombie," he recalled. But as he sat watching TV early last summer with a yellow Labrador "therapy dog" named Chelsea, he finally relaxed.

"She would lay right there with me and I would be able to get about four hours of sleep three times a week," Stanek said.

Today, Stanek has his own dog, Sarge, and he credits her with helping him reclaim his life.

"I am completely off all of my medications," said the former Soldier who served with the 82nd Airborne, the 51st Long Range Surveillance Company, and the 1st Infantry Division. "I made the decision prior to actually having Sarge around that I wanted to get off the medications, but once I had Sarge, it got easier. I can sleep at night. She sleeps right beside my bed."

Geneticist Joan Esnayra said people "have been using dogs since forever for emotional health," though the idea of the mentally ill having a dog trained to meet their needs the way the blind have seeing eye dogs is relatively new. Esnayra began developing the concept to train dogs to help the mentally ill in 1997, and she coined the now widely accepted term "psychiatric service dog."

Esnayra, who in July took part in a roundtable discussion on post-traumatic stress disorder and TBI treatments organized by Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., estimates that there are about 175 veterans in the country now using psychiatric service dogs. There are an estimated 10,000 such dogs in the U.S.

Historically, service dogs are trained to perform tasks such as helping the blind to cross a street or getting things for a wheelchair-bound owner. While the psychiatric service dog may be trained to do some of these types of tasks, the dog's real "work" comes in responding to symptoms associated with the handler's mental health problems.

The dogs are trained to cue to changes in a handler's physiology -- something that advocates for the dogs say requires dog and owner to train together from the start. It's the only way that the dog will learn a handler's "baseline physiology," which allows the animal to recognize when there's a problem, said Esnayra. If the handler is starting to feel emotionally overwhelmed, the dog will react by getting the handler's attention, thereby "interrupting" the dissociative spell.

In some ways, a dog is better suited than a person to warn a vet if he or she experiencing a PTSD or TBI-related symptom, according to Esnayra.

"A spouse might say, 'Gee, honey, you seem pretty depressed these days or … your PTSD seems to be acting up these days,' " Esnayra said. "But when family members do that, sometimes there are hidden agendas, there are trust issues. You don't get that when you interact with a dog. So when a dog gives physiologic feedback, people tend to believe it. You don't tend to ask 'what's my dog's ulterior motive.' "

Stanek is not only a believer in psychiatric service dogs, he is now a provider. He and his wife, Lindsey, founded "Paws and Stripes" -- a nonprofit organization that raises money to provide the dogs to veterans suffering from PTSD and TBI.

The New Mexico-based program requires handler and dog to work together for at least six months. Traditional service dogs are trained for up to a year and cost upward of $10,000, according to Stanek. But Stanek said his organization is able to provide a dog for $1,800. And usually that is paid by donations, so most vets in need don't pay a thing.

"Right now, we are at 10 veterans in the program," he said. "I have about 40 at the starting gate waiting for funding."

© Copyright 2010 Military.com. All rights reserved.

buglerbilly

13-09-10, 03:04 AM

Robotics breakthrough: Scientists make artificial skin

AFP

September 13, 2010, 3:35 am

AFP ©

PARIS (AFP) - Biotech wizards have engineered electronic skin that can sense touch, in a major step towards next-generation robotics and prosthetic limbs.

The lab-tested material responds to almost the same pressures as human skin and with the same speed, they reported in the British journal Nature Materials.

Important hurdles remain but the exploit is an advance towards replacing today's clumsy robots and artificial arms with smarter, touch-sensitive upgrades, they believe.

"Humans generally know how to hold a fragile egg without breaking it," said Ali Javey, an associate professor of computer sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, who led one of the research teams.

"If we ever wanted a robot that could unload the dishes, for instance, we'd want to make sure it doesn't break the wine glasses in the process. But we'd also want the robot to grip the stock pot without dropping it."

The "e-skin" made by Javey's team comprises a matrix of nanowires made of germanium and silicon rolled onto a sticky polyimide film.

The team then laid nano-scale transistors on top, followed by a flexible, pressure-sensitive rubber. The prototype, measuring 49 square centimetres (7.6 square inches), can detect pressure ranging from 0 to 15 kilopascals, comparable to the force used for such daily activities as typing on a keyboard or holding an object.

A different approach was taken by a team led by Zhenan Bao, a Chinese-born associate professor at Stanford University in California who has gained a reputation as one of the top women chemists in the United States.

Their approach was to use a rubber film that changes thickness due to pressure, and employs capacitors, integrated into the material, to measure the difference. It cannot be stretched, though.

"Our response time is comparable with human skin, it's very, very fast, within milliseconds, or thousandths of a second," Bao told AFP. "That means in real terms that we can feel the pressure instantaneously."

The achievements are "important milestones" in artificial intelligence, commented John Boland, a nanoscientist at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, who hailed in particular the use of low-cost processing components.

In the search to substitute the human senses with electronics, good substitutes now exist for sight and sound, but lag for smell and taste.

Touch, though, is widely acknowledged to be the biggest obstacle.

Even routine daily actions, such as brushing one's teeth, turning the pages of a newspaper or dressing a small child would easily defeat today's robots.

Bao added important caveats about the challenges ahead.

One is about improving the new sensors. They respond to constant pressure, whereas in human skin more complex sensations are possible.

This is because the pressure-sensing cells in the skin can send different frequencies of signal -- for instance, when we feel something painful or sharp, the frequency increases, alerting us to the threat.

In addition, Bao warned, "connecting the artificial skin with the human nerve system will be a very challenging task".

"Ultimately, in the very distant future, we would like to make a skin which performs really like human skin and to be able to connect it to nerve cells on the arm and thus restore sensation.

"Initially, the prototype that we envision would be more like a handheld device, or maybe a device that connects to other parts of the body that have skin sensation.

"The device would generate a pulse that would stimulate other parts of the skin, giving the kind of signal 'my (artificial) hand is touching something', for instance."

In the future, artificial skin could be studded with sensors that respond to chemicals, biological agents, temperature, humidity, radioactivity or pollutants.

"This would be especially useful in applications where we want to send robots into environments, including space, where it could be dangerous for humans to go," said Bao. "They could collect information and send it back."

buglerbilly

13-09-10, 04:10 AM

How to Catch a Terrorist: Read His Brainwaves — Really?

By Spencer Ackerman September 10, 2010 | 7:00 am

'Ere, wasn't this a movie with that Scientology Midget Cruise as the star........?! :cuckoo

It’s been a dream of scientists, interrogators and law enforcement professionals for years: Strap a terrorist suspect to a couple of electrodes, start asking him questions, and watch his brainwaves rat him out.

In a recent paper, a Northwestern University professor uses some of his recent fieldwork to urge the intelligence community to give the science another shot. Just one problem: His self-described “Oddball Approach” to exposing terrorists probably won’t work in the real world.

Psychologist J. Peter Rosenfeld writes in the journal Psychophysiology that he can predict and prevent terrorist attacks, all after running a clinical trial in which his students had to plan a mock assault. The idea was to create a test that would allow interrogators a foolproof way of extracting information about planned attacks from resistant suspects using just two wires connected to the forehead. “They could either send him to Egypt for the waterboard,” Rosenfeld tells Danger Room, “or give him a scientifically based test.”

Rosenfeld’s students received a briefing on a series of options that they could employ: four potential locations in Houston, four types of bombs, and four dates in July. Individually, they wrote letters to their “superiors” in their imaginary terror cells outlining their intended acts.

Enter the probe. Psychologists established decades ago that people will involuntarily activate a certain brainwave when they encounter a familiar stimulus, known as a P300. In theory, it’s better than a lie detector: you don’t have to worry about the brain letting out a P300 out of nervousness, the way a panicked heart can create false positives for polygraphs. As Wired.com reported shortly after the September 11 attacks, that’s why every couple of years someone proposes using electroencephalography — EEG, to you and me — as a reliable (and, potentially, legally admissible) alternative to the old lie detector.

During a 25-minute test, Rosenfeld’s students were shown a screen that flashed hundreds of names of random cities, dates and bomb methods. Sure enough, the students’ P300s told Rosenfeld when and where the hypothetical attacks would take place. Even if someone tries hard not to remember his intended terrorist act, “we still catch them eight out of nine or 10 times,” Rosenfeld says. “It’s pretty damn good.”

Now to convince someone in the intelligence community. And that may be more difficult than the respected psychologist figures. Anyone familiar with interrogations of real-life terrorist suspects will immediately spot a problem with Rosenfeld’s test: it presumes way too much knowledge on the part of both the interrogator and the interrogated.

The typical terrorist who finds himself in front of FBI or CIA agents won’t necessarily know everything about a particular plot. The 9/11 hijackers, for instance, were kept deliberately in the dark about everything besides their specific piece of the operation. And that’s on the off chance that someone that spies or G-men round up have even made it into the active stage of terror-plotting, a pretty elite group.

Alternatively, someone who finds himself in an interrogation chair might have been caught red-handed — think underpants bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab — rendering Rosenfeld’s test moot. It then falls to interrogators to figure out a suspect’s place in the conspiracy, something that’s a lot harder to determine than with a simple synaptic firing. Anyone might recognize Osama bin Laden and let out some P300s, but that doesn’t mean that he’s collaborated with him.

Most often, interrogators don’t have any idea whether the guy in the chair opposite them is a bit player or a terror master. That’s why real-life interrogator tools for unraveling terror webs are far more simplistic, in order to draw out broad information and then whittle it down.

Ali Soufan, for instance, a retired FBI counterterrorist, got the first-ever al-Qaeda confirmation of the terrorist group’s culpability for 9/11. His secret weapon? Sugarless cookies, fed to a hungry al-Qaeda affiliate named Abu Jandal.

Rosenfeld concedes that his test depends on both terrorist and interrogator having a great deal of knowledge about a given plot. (Self-deprecatingly, he refers to his P300 test as his “Oddball Approach.”)

He says he’s had just one interaction with an American spook since his paper came out earlier this summer, a Defense Intelligence Agency official named Donald Krapohl, who was skeptical that the P300 test would be useful to interrogators for precisely that reason. (In an email, Krapohl confirmed corresponding with Rosenfeld, but did not receive permission from his bosses to speak with me for this story.)

Aside from a guy who works with the Transportation Security Administration at Midway Airport in Chicago, Rosenfeld says, “We haven’t had any [other] bites in the counterterrorism community.”

That points to a fundamental clinical disconnect. Rosenfeld wants to help U.S. counterterrorists. But he doesn’t know any. So it’s hard for him to design a test that’s relevant to actual interrogators.

“It’s like I tell everybody,” he says. “We’ve done a lot of work in the lab now for a long time, and we’d really like to see it out in the real world.” Anyone from Langley wants to give Rosenfeld a shout, he’s ready to put some electrodes together in the hope that he can help stop the next attack.

Photo: Brown University

buglerbilly

13-09-10, 04:12 AM

Darpa Wants Remote Controls to Master Troop Minds

By Katie Drummond September 9, 2010 | 12:00 pm

The Pentagon’s blue-sky research arm wants to trick out troops’ brains, from the areas that regulate alertness and cognition to pain treatment and psychiatric well-being. And the scientists want to do it all from the outside in — with a gadget installed inside the troops’ helmets. “Remote Control of Brain Activity Using Ultrasound,” the Defense Department’s Armed with Science blog promises.

It’s the latest out-there project in the military’s growing arsenal of brain-based research. In recent months alone, the Pentagon’s funded projects to optimize troop’s minds, prevent injuries and even preemptively assess cognitive ability and vulnerability to traumatic stress. Now, Darpa’s funding one lab that’s trying to do it all — from boosting troop smarts to preventing traumatic brain injuries.

Arizona State University neuroscientist William Tyler has been working with funding from the Army Research Laboratory for years. That neurotechnology work has now caught the eye of Darpa, which awarded his lab a Young Faculty Award to improve upon non-invasive approaches to brain stimulation.

“When people ask what this kind of device could do, I ask them what their brain does for them,” Tyler tells Danger Room. “The brain serves all the functions of your body, and if you knew the neuroanatomy, then you can start to regulate each one of those functions.”

Already, scientists have devised cutting-edge brain stimulation methods to treat medical disorders, like Parkinson’s disease or severe depression. But current deep-brain approaches require invasive surgery to implant electrodes and batteries, and external ultrasound stimulation can’t penetrate “the deep brain circuits where many diseased circuits reside,” Tyler writes at Armed With Science.

Now, Tyler and his research team have created a “transcranial pulsed ultrasound” that’s able to stimulate a myriad of brain circuits from the outside in. The device has already proven capable of targeting deep brain regions, unlike existing methods. And it’s capable of zeroing in on extremely specific brain zones, as small as two or three millimeters. Plus, prototype devices are small enough to be fitted inside a typical helmet.

“Going deep beneath the skull and having extremely specific spatial resolution are two huge advantages over existing approaches,” Tyler says. “Depth and specificity are what allow the ultrasound to do what other methods can’t.”

With Darpa’s funding, Tyler plans to expand the uses of the ultrasound and improve the device’s spacial resolution even more, making it a veritable all-in-one brain stimulation device. Using a microcontroller device, the ultrasound would stimulate different brain regions to boost troop alertness and cognition, relieve stress and pain, and protect them against traumatic brain injuries.

“The really damaging part of a TBI isn’t the initial injury,” Tyler says. “It’s the metabolic damage, the free radicals and the swelling that are happening in the hours afterward. If you can flick your remote and trigger an immediate intervention, you’d be curbing what might otherwise be lifelong brain damage.”

Photo: U.S Air Force

buglerbilly

15-09-10, 03:11 AM

Pentagon Plots Insta-Vaccines for Mystery Bugs

By Katie Drummond September 14, 2010 | 2:16 pm

The Pentagon’s efforts at speedier responses to infectious diseases is getting turbocharged, as researchers at Arizona State University kick off a program to develop vaccines that can inoculate against unknown pathogens — and do it within a week.

Darpa, the military’s out-there research agency, has given $5.3 million for the project to ASU’s Biodesign Institute. And the grant is only one part of a much bigger Darpa initiative, called Accelerated Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals. Earlier this year, the agency funded programs to produce vaccines using tobacco plants and a prophetic almanac that would anticipate pathogenic mutations before they happen.

Tobacco-based production would turn a year-long process into a four-week one. But for at-risk troops, Darpa wants something even faster: a vaccine to address any pathogen, developed in seven days and ready for injection shortly after.

“I don’t know if we can pull this off, but I think this basic idea might work,” ASU researcher Dr. Steven Albert Johnson says of his team’s plan. Using thousands of synthetic antibodies, called synbodies, they’ll create an immunity toolkit that can be combined in myriad ways to tackle virtually any pathogen.

“Take the bug, put it on a slide and then find appropriate bindings,” Johnson says. “If somebody gave you a Bug X, and you already had basically a Lego system of pre-made peptides, you find two that will bind and make a high-affinity agent.”

About 10,000 synbodies would be sufficient to stave off — in theory — any imaginable pathogen. But researchers estimate that around 100 will suffice for Darpa’s needs. Once the synbodies are made, they can be stockpiled and pulled out whenever a new threat emerges.

And if the method does take off, it’d offer a major boost for civilian vaccine production, too. But short of a massive deadly outbreak, we’d likely not get our vaccines quite so fast. For deployed troops, the Pentagon could invoke “emergency protocol” — meaning Darpa’s one-week timeline would skip over clinical trials and FDA approval, which can take up to a decade to complete.

Photo: U.S Air Force

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/darpa-plots-insta-vaccines-for-mystery-bugs/#more-30793#ixzz0zYXywAnM

buglerbilly

17-09-10, 03:51 PM

Military Fitness Gurus Tell Troops: You’re Too Flabby For CrossFit

By Katie Drummond September 17, 2010 | 9:30 am

More troops than ever are flipping tractor tires, lobbing 50-pound kettle bells and conquering the Three Bars of Death in an effort to become “tougher, faster, hard-bodied freedom fighter[s].” But some of them are also working out until they puke, faint or suffer permanent organ damage. Now, a team of medical researchers have a message for recruits: you’re probably not fit enough for CrossFit.

Ditto for P90X and Insanity. Together, the brutally intense fitness regimes are “the big three” being studied and evaluated in a review of high-intensity fitness programs by the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

All three are characterized by rigorous, explosive movements and an emphasis on rippling muscles and quick results (see here, here or here). And all three have garnered dedicated followings in military circles: CrossFit is already taught by several Army Captains and has become a mainstay in the Marine Corps. The program even names workout moves to honor deceased troops, like a grueling forward-and-backward sprint combo dubbed “Griff” for Air Force Staff Sgt. Travis L. Griffin.

“Our number one concern is growing anecdotal evidence of injuries,” CHAMP medical director Col. Francis O’Connor tells Danger Room. “Military leaders are interested in knowing how to handle these programs, and want more information, and we just don’t have adequate solid data.”

Indeed, CrossFit in particular has become linked to serious injury, including a 2008 lawsuit by former Navy sailor Makimba Mimms, who alleged that the program led to permanent disability from rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle fibers that can cause kidney failure.

Pain and suffering, though, have become something of a calling card among dedicated CrossFitters. “It can kill you,” program founder Greg Glassman told the New York Times in 2005. “I’ve always been completely honest about that.” The program’s own mascots include “Pukey” the clown and “Dr. Rhabdo,” whose kidneys are spilling out of his abdomen (t-shirts $32.00, S-XXXL).

Online, though, mobs of troops and veterans are quick to endorse the practical war-zone benefits of CrossFit and these other intense workout regimes. P90X’s “focus on push-ups, pull-ups and dumbbell training translated into the strength I needed to pull myself over walls and other obstacles downrange,” Army Lt. Col. Paul Cravey tells Air Force Times.

Already, CHAMP researchers have spent two days meeting with military leaders, fitness experts and members of the American College of Sports Medicine, to establish a research agenda. O’Connor anticipates published results and recommendations within 2-3 years, and expects subsequent studies on key issues.

And while the high-intensity fitness craze is relatively new, it coincides with another trend that makes the CHAMP review even more relevant: the lagging fitness levels of new recruits as a whole. Thirty-five percent of American youth are unfit to serve because of health problems. Compared to the Army’s new new training regime, which wants troops to embrace yoga and calisthenics, start slow to avoid injury and sweat their way to basic fitness levels, CrossFit’s standards seem all the more extreme.

“Certainly, we are addressing a perceived lack of fitness among recruits,” O’Connor says. “People are doing too much, too soon, too fast. Participants [in high-intensity programs] need baseline strength and flexibility, and they simply aren’t prepared.”

And while O’Connor’s team is interested in evaluating the physiological pros and cons of the programs, they’re also trying to figure out why troops are so gung-ho about the grueling, exhausting, physical fitness puke-fests. O’Connor, for one, has his own theory.

“What attracts people to these programs?” he asks. “Frankly, I suspect that in some cases it’s because the commercials really do make them look sexy.”

Photo: U.S Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/#ixzz0znKOuIVg

buglerbilly

19-09-10, 06:15 AM

JBLM Scrutinized Over Breakdowns

September 18, 2010

Stars and Stripes|by Megan McCloskey

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. -- First the medical center at this sprawling joint military base was alleged to have turned away National Guard soldiers seeking help for war wounds on the grounds that they were merely “weekend warriors” who were feigning injuries.

Then a dozen Soldiers based here were accused of involvement in one of the worst war crimes allegedly committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

And then three Soldiers associated with the base suffered dangerous public mental breakdowns after returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to confrontations with police and the deaths of two of them.

Now multiple criminal and military investigations are under way into the conduct of Lewis-McChord troops and the adequacy of the medical and mental health care they are receiving when they come home from war.

“We’re wrapping our arms around this in a holistic way,” Col. Thomas Brittain, the Lewis-McChord garrison commander, told Stars and Stripes regarding efforts to cope with the needs of returning troops.

He added that Army officials had warned the base to pay special attention to the mental health needs of the 5th Stryker Brigade as its members returned from intensive engagements in Afghanistan.

“We were told to take a very good look at our 5-2 coming back,” Brittain said.

Five Soldiers with the 5th Stryker Brigade are currently confined to military jails, charged with conspiracy and murder for allegedly orchestrating the slayings of three Afghan civilians.

The Soldiers, who returned in the spring from a yearlong tour in Kandahar province, are alleged to have thrown grenades and shot at three Afghan men in separate incidents, according to the charging documents. Seven other Soldiers are charged with participating in the cover-up. Other charges include smoking hashish and mutilating corpses.

But the parents of one of the accused, Spc. Adam C. Winfield, said they can’t understand why it took months for the crimes to come to light, because they said they passed on urgent warnings to Lewis-McChord authorities about what was happening. Winfield had told his parents about the first murder and said he was aware of plans for more, according to Winfield’s lawyer, Eric Montalvo.

The Stryker Soldiers were among an estimated 14,000 servicemembers who have returned to Lewis-McChord from Iraq and Afghanistan over the last five months, where they are supposed to be welcomed by a medical center that the Army says has more mental health providers on staff than any other U.S. base.

Yet those resources were not enough to prevent three Soldiers associated with Lewis-McChord from suffering separate violent mental breakdowns in August and September, unrelated to the Afghan incident.

Army Spc. Brandon Barrett, 28, was dressed in full battle gear, clutching a rifle outside a hotel in Salt Lake City on Aug. 27, telling passersby that he was “in training.” When police arrived, Barrett shot one officer in the leg. The police returned fire, and Barrett was killed.

Barrett had returned a month earlier from Afghanistan after serving with the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. His first weekend back, he was charged with drunken driving and was called out in formation. Shortly afterward, angry about that treatment and believing that he wouldn’t be allowed his 30-day post-deployment leave, he went AWOL.

But Lewis-McChord officials never told Barrett’s family that the soldier was AWOL, according Barrett’s brother, Shane. So when the soldier showed up in Arizona to spend time with his family, they assumed he was on authorized leave.

After leaving his family home, Barrett sent a text message to a fellow soldier, advising him to watch the news because he was going to be sending the Army a message, according to his unit’s chaplain, Capt. Scott Koeman. That soldier alerted his commanders, who got in touch with Tucson police. Their inquiries into Barrett’s whereabouts were the first time the family became aware of his AWOL status, Shane Barrett said.

“The Army had over a month to contact the family,” he said. “We could have done something. Anything. And this tragedy could have been avoided.”

On Sept. 6, Robert Quinones, 29, took three people hostage at gunpoint at a Fort Stewart, Ga., hospital, demanding mental health treatment. Quinones, a specialist with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, had served in Iraq and was medically discharged from the Army earlier this year while based at Lewis-McChord,

“He hadn’t gotten the care that he wanted and he wanted it now,” Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Phillips, a senior Fort Stewart commander, told The Associated Press. “He’d had some experiences that could lead one to believe there were aftereffects to his service.”

One night later, Spc. Nikkolas Lookabill, 22, was shot dead by police in Vancouver, Wash. Police said that Lookabill, who served in Iraq with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, an Oregon National Guard unit, had been wielding a handgun on a city street and was acting in a threatening manner.

Some critics within the military fault the Madigan Army Medical Center at Lewis-McChord for failing to adequately address the mental health needs of returning Soldiers.

“No one thinks there’s an issue until somebody does something really ridiculous,” said one infantry sergeant who is currently in the process of a medical discharge for PTSD and who asked not be identified.

An officer who just returned from Afghanistan said he had been praising the quality of care at Madigan to his Soldiers while deployed, but grew disillusioned once back at the base.

In one case, the officer said, his unit had flagged a soldier suffering mental health problems as too high-risk to be allowed to go on leave, but Madigan providers “shuffled him off” with a prescription and cleared the soldier for leave. The soldier flew home, experienced a mental breakdown, and his platoon leadership had to fly down and get him into mental health treatment at another installation.

But base officials say they are providing adequate treatment to returning troops. Brittain noted that officials have added a family component to the redeployment process about 30 days before a unit returns and also have started doing platoon-level briefings with a behavioral health professional.

Moreover, base, mission and medical leaders meet monthly to track key indicators, such as spikes in domestic violence or drunken driving incidents.

“So we can ask: Is there something we’re not doing?’” said Col. Jerry Penner, the commander of the Madigan medical center.

Penner said he has heard only praise for the care Madigan is providing, although he acknowledged that unit officers are sometimes frustrated by the process involved in admitting a soldier suffering mental health issues. If the soldier resists treatment and is not forthcoming about symptoms he may be suffering, Penner said, doctors may not detect the need to admit him.

When commanders push the issue, Penner said he is sometimes called in as a “tie-breaker,” and in the last few weeks he said he has twice erred on the side of the commander and admitted the soldier.

Soldiers don’t need an appointment to see a behavioral health provider, but some complain that when distraught and in need of help, the first thing they are directed to do is sit down at a computer and complete a lengthy survey.

“I can understand where Soldiers are coming from,” said Joe Etherage, acting chief of psychology at Madigan Army Medical Center. But he said that collecting the information gives the base an extensive record to keep track of issues and treatment and helps us “ensure everyone’s doing a good job.”

Meanwhile, the Army is currently conducting three separate investigations into allegations that Madigan treated demobilizing National Guard Soldiers as “second-class citizens,” shunning their requests for medical treatment.

More than 180 Soldiers with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team needed medical care after returning in April from their yearlong tour in Iraq.

“We were totally just ignored and considered fakers,” said Sgt. Jason Greenless, one of the members of the National Guard unit, who needed surgery on his leg.

Instead of being assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion so they could get treatment, a majority were sent home and were told by officials at Madigan and the base’s Soldier Readiness Center to use Tricare or the Veterans Affairs health system because the base needed to focus on the active-duty Soldiers — “their own boys” who were returning.

“And that was actually said,” Greenless said. “Basically, we were told we didn’t belong and we needed to go home.”

In a PowerPoint presentation prepared by the acting chief of Madigan’s family practice department, the National Guard Soldiers were depicted as “weekend warriors” who were feigning injuries to maintain their active-duty pay.

Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, later wrote a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, D.-Ore., apologizing for the slide presentation and saying Madigan leadership had been unaware of it.

Penner said he could not comment on the National Guard allegations because they are under investigation. But he said he believes the situation was an aberration and not representative of how Madigan treats the reserve Soldiers who demobilize through Lewis-McChord.

“We treat Soldiers as Soldiers,” Penner said.

buglerbilly

21-09-10, 02:12 AM

CrossFit Troops Fight For Their Right to Curl Until They Hurl

By Katie Drummond September 20, 2010 | 10:53 am

The military’s growing legions of CrossFit devotees have a message for the medical researchers worried about their extreme workouts: don’t get between us and our squat-thrusts.

Danger Room reported last week that CrossFit, along with other “high-intensity” exercise programs like P90X and Insanity, would be undergoing a review by the Consortium for Health and Military Performance, or CHAMP, at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Researchers are concerned that today’s recruits might be too flabby for the puke-inducing workout sessions, but troops were quick to offer their own tips for researchers where physical fitness is concerned.

“I wish that the Army would come and study me,” a servicemember posts on CrossFit’s message forum. “At my current base, the fitness center is starting to push back against the many crossfitters…I find this attitude infuriating. Our Base has a 25% PT [physical training] fail rate. I wonder how many crossfitters are failing.”

The military’s training programs have recently been the topic of debate, as the top brass institute changes meant to better prepare today’s troops. But with 35 percent of American youth deemed unfit to serve, they’re also forced to tailor programs to a flabbier, more injury-prone generation. CrossFit followers say their workouts, when led by trained instructors and done safely, can help whip weak-kneed recruits into top shape.

“Every Soldier does Crossfit or they get their nuts smashed,” reads another comment on CrossFit’s forum from a company commander at Schofield Barracks, who cops to “puk my guts out” doing their first-ever CrossFit workout in Iraq heat. “I’ve noticed marked improvements in their performance, a lower injury rate, and an increased ability to perform at a higher level of physical intensity in full kit.”

“For those of you that are in the military,” the commenter adds, “stand up and help revolutionize the way we conduct physical training.”

The biggest concern among CHAMP researchers, according to medical director Col. Francis O’Connor, are anecdotal reports of injury from troops pushing themselves too hard, too fast. But that doesn’t mean the group wants to see CrossFit, and other high-intensity programs, banned from bases. “Everyone has their own deficits, and people need to be properly screened and trained appropriately,” he tells Danger Room.

CrossFit’s official program, for one, advises scaled training that includes rest weeks and constant variety. It’s a model they see as a means of attaining peak fitness, without overuse injuries that often run rampant among new recruits. At CrossFit affiliate gyms, which are scattered across the country, certified trainers work one-on-one with participants. Troops who use CrossFit and other programs tell Danger Room that the same is often true on military bases. And some admit that while they’ve suffered injuries, the afflictions are often a product of their own zealousness.

“Four days into P90X (after Arms and Shoulders) I could barely move my arms and my chest burned for days…other signs started showing and after six days I had definite indicators to early rhabdomyolysis,” a Danger Room commenter writes. “Luckily I was the only one pushing me (not a drill sergeant or peer pressure) and I had the common sense to halt my workout, regroup and recover.”

CHAMP researchers plan to start their study by talking to troops, and their leaders, who swear by different programs. And judging by CrossFit’s vocal online community, they’ll have no shortage of emphatic input. Whether or not CrossFit workouts are part of CHAMP’s eventual recommendations, there’s one point on which everyone agrees: the military’s outmoded model of push-ups, sprints and weigh-ins needs to change.

“Now that I’m out, I have the knees of a 60 year old, stretched ankle tendons, worn cartilage in the hips, lost hearing, and a number of other problems. And I just turned 30,” writes one veteran in Danger Room’s comments section. “The balancing act is creating a training regime which is tough enough to train and prepare the body without permanently damaging it. It’s a delicate balance that no one has fully figured out yet. I’m glad they’re at least paying attention to it, even if there is no perfect answer.”

[I]Photo: U.S Air Force

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/crossfit-troops-fight-for-their-right-to-curl-until-they-hurl/#more-31159#ixzz107ODdVET

buglerbilly

21-09-10, 11:24 AM

Navy SEALs’ Instant Brain Injury Test Comes Up Short

By Katie Drummond September 21, 2010 | 12:13 am

The Navy SEALs’ much-hyped on-line test to detect traumatic brain injuries churns out a disconcertingly high rate of false positives, according to university researchers who’ve studied the test in healthy college students.

The finding is bad news for the SEALs, who signed a one-year contract last month with ImPACT Applications to implement the test. It’s an alternative to the Pentagon-mandated Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) tool that the Army surgeon general called “about as effective as a coin flip.”

But it’s also a preview of the results we can expect from a Pentagon-funded study by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC). They’re comparing ImPACT to several other neuroassessment tools, to determine whether any are fit to replace the ANAM as the military’s go-to brain injury test. At least 11,500 troops are suffering from traumatic brain injuries, according to ProPublica.

http://www.health.mil/dhb/meetings/2008-06-10/03a_Schwab.pdf

ImPACT — if effective — would be particularly helpful for the SEALs. The test is taken online, meaning it’d theoretically be available in far-out regions where crews often operate. It’s also entirely computerized, so service members can obtain quick results wherever they are, without a medical specialist on hand.

The SEALS are still using ANAM among active duty crew members, but they’re also touting the benefits of ImPACT, and claim the test is more effective and easier to use than the alternatives.

“We can quickly assess if an operator has suffered a head injury that requires him to be removed from the fight temporarily, or sent to a medical facility for further testing,” Navy Special Warfare Group spokesperson Lt. Catherine Wallace tells NextGov.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100915_9103.php

But those assessments might not be accurate, according to Professor Steven Broglio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In a 2007 study of ImPACT and two other brain injury tests — both also being reviewed by the DVBIC — Broglio evaluated 118 healthy college students. ImPACT yielded a 38.4 percent false positive rate, meaning it incorrectly diagnosed a vast swath of the students as impaired.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2140077/

The other two brain injury tests didn’t do much better. They reported 21.9 and 19.2 percent false positive results.

“Reliabilities on some output scores fell within a minimally acceptable range, but no single test had uniformly acceptable reliabilities,” Broglio’s study reads. “No single assessment technique should be used to the exclusion of the others or the physical examination.”

Still, the ANAM tool is in dire need of replacement. Earlier this year, a ProPublica investigation concluded that the military’s brain injury assessments had failed to diagnose thousands of troops, and that diagnoses often weren’t transferred to permanent medical files. Army surgeon general Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker told Congress that the ANAM was “fraught with problems,” and “about as effective as a coin flip.”

In other words, the DVBIC review — which includes 2,000 troops and concludes in 2011 — will likely offer a recommendation that’s little more than the lesser of all failures for TBI detection. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s plodding efforts at overhauling their management of the injuries continue, with plans for a TBI mega-database and long-term research into brain implants that might one day act as “replacement parts” for thousands of ailing vets.

Photo: Department of Defense

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/navy-seals-instant-brain-injury-test-comes-up-short/#more-31117#ixzz109dFfPs0

buglerbilly

24-09-10, 03:10 PM

Realistic casualty drills prepare helicopter force for Afghanistan

A Training and Adventure news article

24 Sep 10

Using real-life Amputees for this exercise is great not just for the realism but also for the fact OAP's (old age pensioners), which is what most of these Amputees are, are more than willing to help due to their usual strong support of the Armed Forces and the fact they most likely earn an amount of money, always useful to a pensioner...........

To prepare for operations in Afghanistan the Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) have been conducting battlefield casualty drills using state-of-the-art special effects to make the training as realistic as possible.

Real amputees act the part of battlefield casualties for the practical assessment stage of the team medic course at Merryfield Training Ground
[Picture: LA(Phot) Vicki Benwell, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

Based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, the CHF provides battlefield helicopter support as part of ongoing operations in the Helmand region of Afghanistan.

In preparation for this, personnel attend a three-day course run by the CHF medical section which consists of time in the classroom and practical training, enabling them to use a variety of proven techniques, skills and equipment.

The course differs from routine first aid training as it is specific to the type of potential injuries experienced in today's modern conflicts.

Injuries are often in unsafe environments, with limited access to further medical expertise and with limited equipment that can be carried by Service personnel on foot. This new approach to medical training has saved countless lives in-theatre and enabled those injured to be transported to the next level of medical care.

The final day of the course takes place under intense field conditions where the expertise of CHF medical staff and the CHF's military training unit are brought together to provide casualty scenarios with 'wounded' soldiers using battlefield simulations, blank ammunition and smoke.

Using real amputees provides a level of realism to battlefield casualty training
[Picture: LA(Phot) Vicki Benwell, Crown Copyright/MOD 2010]

This testing phase is about putting the sailors and Royal Marines under stress in simulated worse-case scenarios.

It is clear from the reactions of the students that the realism provided concentrates the mind. Recent courses have provided a further twist for the trainees with the addition of an organisation called Amputees in Action.

The use of real amputees, and the outstanding effects created by make-up artists, provide a previously unrealised level of realism to the course which results in individuals being trained to an extremely high standard of battlefield care.

Service personnel who attend the course provide exceptionally positive feedback on the usefulness of the testing final day with nothing but praise for the 'casualties' and the sense of realism they bring.

The success of CHF medical training is due to the skills and experience of the medical section and the military training unit and ensures that those qualified are able to provide 'good medicine in bad places'.

buglerbilly

03-10-10, 02:00 PM

Traumatic brain injury leaves an often-invisible, life-altering wound

By Christian Davenport
Washington Post Staff Writer

Sunday, October 3, 2010; 4:06 AM

The doctor begins with an apology because the questions are rudimentary, almost insultingly so. But Robert Warren, fresh off the battlefield in Afghanistan and a surgeon's table, doesn't seem to mind.

Yes, he knows how old he is: 20. He knows his Army rank: specialist. He knows that it's Thursday, that it's June, that the year is 1020. Quickly, he corrects the small stumble: "It's 2010." He knows that his wife is Brittanie, that she's due with their first child any day now, and that they "got married two to three weeks before I went to that country."

Stumble No. 2: "That country."

David Williamson doesn't let it slide. "Which country?"

"Whatever country it was that I got blown up in," Warren says.

In a conference room at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, he purses his lips, and as he searches for the word "Afghanistan," he slides his hand over the left side of his head, which is cratered, like an apple with a bite taken out of it.

"Crap, I can't remember," he says finally.

Warren has trouble remembering a lot of things. Which isn't surprising, considering that several pieces of shrapnel tore through his skull after insurgents outside Kandahar blew up his truck with a rocket-propelled grenade in May. One piece came to rest in the center of Warren's brain - two millimeters from his carotid artery - where it remains, suspended like a piece of fruit in a gelatin mold, too dangerous to extract.

"I'm going to say three words and then have you say them back to me, okay?" says Williamson, a neuropsychiatrist who runs Bethesda's traumatic brain injury unit. "Apple. Desk. Rainbow."

Warren doesn't hesitate: "Apple. Desk. Rainbow."

He seems satisfied to have answered a question correctly. But repeating the words immediately isn't the point of the exercise; it's being able to repeat them in 10 minutes or so, after some other tests. A person with normal cognitive function will probably remember all three words. Patients with mild Alzheimer's might recall two. People with advanced dementia might remember only one, or none at all.

At the Bethesda hospital, the flow of brain-injured patients is constant. For nearly a decade, the United States has been fighting wars in which soldiers are routinely exposed to brain-rattling blasts that can send ripples of compressed air hurtling through the atmosphere at 1,600 feet per second. Now, the military is struggling to come to terms with an often-invisible wound.

The military brass are discovering that what used to be shrugged off as "getting your bell rung" can lead to serious consequences. In some cases, even apparently mild brain injuries can leave a soldier disqualified for service or require lifelong care that critics say the Department of Veterans Affairs isn't equipped to handle.

Since 2000, traumatic brain injury, or TBI, has been diagnosed in about 180,000 service members, the Pentagon says. But some advocates for patients say hundreds, if not thousands, more have suffered undiagnosed brain injuries. A Rand study in 2008 estimated the total number of service members with TBI to be about 320,000.

A small percentage of those injuries are as serious as Warren's. To let his brain swell and keep the blood flowing, thereby preventing the damage from worsening, doctors removed virtually the entire left side of his skull, a procedure known as a craniectomy.

Warren's physical wounds will heal, but three weeks after he was hit, military doctors are still discovering the extent of the damage.

Williamson plows ahead with other tests, revealing that Warren doesn't know where he is. "This is the U.S.A.?" he says. Warren cannot subtract seven from 135, but he can spell "world" - though not backward. He can recite the days of the week but can't come up with the words for necktie or button.

Finally, Williamson asks whether he can remember those three words he had to repeat. Sixteen minutes and 19 seconds have passed.

"Which words?" Warren says.

The patients on 7 East

No two traumatic brain injuries - signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - are the same, but the patients on 7 East, Williamson's TBI unit, demonstrate what life is like when the organ that turns a body into a person is damaged.

There's the Marine whose injury robbed him of the ability to understand speech even though he could still read, another who could no longer laugh, one who could see out of both eyes but only to the left, and one soldier who became dangerously impulsive and started spending thousands of dollars on junk he didn't need.

Although their injuries might not be as visible as a severed limb, TBI victims' damaged neurons and altered brain chemistry can cause all sorts of behavioral problems. Those injuries are about much more than a lump of tissue sitting between the temples. "It's about who they are," Williamson says. "How they see the world. How they process different experiences. It's about how their personality changes. It's about their humanity."

Many patients on 7 East suffer from little more than the general haziness that comes from having been too close to an explosion. Those concussions, often referred to as mild TBI, are the most common brain injuries in wars in which the enemies' weapon of choice is the makeshift bomb.

Severe TBI, such as Warren's, can lead to wholesale personality changes. But doctors now know that even mild TBI can have serious consequences. A blast "causes a change in how your brain functions," said Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson Jr., the Navy surgeon general. "People have been very, very slow to come to that conclusion, but it's true."

Established after trauma surgeons realized their brain-injured patients needed additional help, 7 East, one of the few units dedicated exclusively to TBI, is less than two years old. Patients usually land in the hospital's trauma unit first, but if they show any sign of cognitive impairment there - can't remember where you went to high school? - Williamson has authority to transfer them to his unit.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said in August that the military and the VA "simply cannot afford to be less than aggressive in our effort to identify, treat and rehabilitate TBI victims."

Williamson's unit, which can handle six patients, is a first, but insufficient, step. Next month, a $65 million medical center devoted to TBI, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological problems will open its doors at Bethesda; it will eventually treat about 20 patients.

But the military's awakening on the severity of traumatic brain injury comes nine years after the flow of victims began. Critics such as Cheryl Lynch, founder of American Veterans With Brain Injuries, say the delayed response is nothing short of a dereliction that has left severely injured veterans suffering for years. Her son, Chris Lynch, a former Army private who hit his head after falling 26 feet in a training exercise 10 years ago, was in and out of hospitals for years before getting treated at 7 East in the spring.

"The only appropriate place I know to send families for brain injury treatment is to Dr. Williamson," Cheryl Lynch said. "That's sad."

Every morning, Williamson gathers his team - nurses, doctors, social workers, therapists - to discuss their patients. Tall and genial, Williamson gives his patients his cellphone number and is known to reply to text messages at 5:30 a.m. He has close-cropped gray hair and a Scottish lilt that has faded a touch since he came to the United States to study at Johns Hopkins University 24 years ago.

At one recent meeting, the staff is especially concerned about Chris Lynch, who had been seen running down the hallway naked. "BIMs" - Lynch's term for brain injury moments such as this one - are no excuse for bad behavior, Williamson tells his team. Even though Lynch has a serious brain injury, "he still has the capacity to learn. Part of our job is to retrain him behaviorally."

The doctor tells his team to help the patient by treating him as they would a misbehaving child. "We want to cultivate guilt," he says. "Appeal to his sense of ethics."

Behavioral therapy is only part of the treatment. Much of Williamson's work is finding the right mix of medications - not always an easy task with patients whose brain chemistry is already altered.

Ever since his injury in 2000, Lynch has shown signs of manic behavior, swinging wildly from elation to depression and back again. Now, for the first time after years of shuffling in and out of hospitals, Lynch is getting what his mother thinks is the correct diagnosis: bipolar disorder.

The good news, Williamson says, is that there are drugs to treat it.

A rose is a telephone

After seeing Williamson in the morning, Robert Warren has an afternoon session with his speech therapist, who proudly tells him he's "come a long way" - quite an understatement considering Warren arrived in Bethesda on a ventilator and in a coma from which he didn't emerge for five days.

But now, just three weeks after he was hit, he denies any problems with speech or memory: "I say everything just like I did before I was in that country."

He still can't recall the word "Afghanistan," but he does know he's at the Bethesda naval hospital. Answering the therapist's rapid-fire questions, Warren demonstrates that he also knows that the door is closed, that the light is on, that paper burns, that he's not wearing red pajamas. But soon his concentration fades, and he slips.

"Do you eat a banana before you peel it?" she asks.

"Yep."

"Does it typically snow in July?"

It does.

Then the therapist shows him a rose and asks what it is.

"This would be a telephone," he says.

It hurts his family to see him like this, but they're mainly happy he's alive. When she first got word that Robert had been wounded, Brittanie, then eight months pregnant, collapsed. Her father took the phone and was told that the only thing they knew about Robert was that they didn't know whether he would live.

Now, amazingly, Warren, speaking with his same Arkansas drawl, shows flashes of his old self. When Brittanie tells him he's "full of it," he smiles, tickles the top of her head and says, "Yeah, full of Southern pride."

Warren, who dropped out of school and worked at Jiffy Lube and a poultry plant, finally got his GED diploma so he could enlist in the Arkansas National Guard.

Brittanie got pregnant, they married, and then an insurgent's blast sent several fragments, at least one as big as a pencil eraser, into his head.

When Warren holds his daughter for the first time at the naval hospital, his father-in-law asks what it feels like to be a dad. It's a simple question, but given the situation, a loaded one: Will Robert be able to care for the bundle in his arms? What will life be like when there are no more nurses and doctors tending to him around the clock?

"I don't know yet," he responds.

Everyday life as therapy

"How was your day?" John Barnes's mother asks as he walks in the door.

"Pretty good," he says, dropping his camouflage backpack in the foyer of their home in Tampa.

And it was. He woke up and showered. Shaved. Took his meds. Then he spent the day with his "life skills" coach, who was proud of his behavior except for a few off-color comments.

But Valerie Wallace is worried. Not just because she found a bowl of half-eaten egg noodles that her son left behind this morning in the shower - such surprises are normal when you live with someone as brain-damaged as Barnes - but because she also found a Benadryl in his shorts pocket and another one on the floor of his room.

A couple of years ago, a few loose pills would not have bothered her. Her son had made an amazing recovery from a 12-day coma after a piece of shrapnel pierced his brain near Baghdad in 2006. He vowed he would be walking again by the time his unit returned from Iraq, and he was, even though that meant ditching the wheelchair and dragging himself down the hospital hallway using the handrail.

After intensive therapy, he got so much better that when he was discharged from the hospital, VA doctors said he was well enough to live on his own. His mother imagined that he would have something of a normal life again. It seemed like total victory.

But once he got home, the problems really started. Barnes started drinking, then smoking pot and then inhaling gas from compressed-air canisters. He crashed his car four times.

Once he gets going, he can't stop, which is why his mother is so worried about the Benadryl, the only drug he can easily get his hands on now. One pill turns to two, then 12. Wallace, a labor and delivery nurse, wishes her son could realize that his actions have consequences; that driving under the influence leads to car crashes; that saying the first hateful thing that comes to mind alienates people, at best.

But Barnes can't think about consequences. The mortar round sent shrapnel tearing through his frontal lobe, the region in charge of decision making, reason and morality. As a result, Barnes is impulsive, always in the moment, like an especially reckless 13-year-old. He's 26 but needs round-the-clock supervision.

Finally, after Barnes had nearly killed himself several times with his reckless behavior, Wallace heard about Williamson's unit in Bethesda and had her son admitted. After a series of stays on 7 East, he emerged clean and sober, with new medications. Barnes went home with a plan that started with the basics: shower and shave every day, no illegal drugs, do your physical therapy, take your meds, go to all your appointments.

At home, each task Barnes completes earns him a check mark on a dry-erase board that Wallace has posted in the kitchen. The more check marks, the better his score. The better his score, the more allowance she gives him. Today, she's worried about the no-illicit-substances column, but for the moment lets it pass, asking again about his day.

He beat his life skills coach in bowling, 96-71, Barnes says proudly. But that wasn't his best moment - at least not in the eyes of Josh Shannon, the VA contractor who has worked with Barnes three days a week since he came home from Bethesda three months ago.

The best moment came as Barnes was checking out video games at Wal-Mart. Just then, an overweight African American woman walked by. And Barnes, who is white, said nothing. None of the impulsive, loud comments about her behind or her race that have gotten him in trouble since his injury. Just a once-up-and-down glance and a smirk. Then, only after she was out of earshot, he uttered one quick comment: "Two sacks of potatoes. No, 2.75 sacks."

Shannon celebrated Barnes's success: "Did you see that?" he said proudly.

Barnes had adhered to the 10-foot rule Shannon had been drilling into him - waiting until a person is out of earshot before saying anything derogatory. And Barnes had used their code word: One sack of potatoes is someone who is "merely overweight," Barnes explained. "Two point seven five and you have an ass like a . . ."

"John!" Shannon snapped. "Inappropriate!"

The life skills coach is a human prosthetic, a replacement not for a missing arm or leg but for a damaged frontal lobe. In his constant nitpicking - Barnes can't so much as toss a cigarette butt in Shannon's presence without a reprimand - Shannon does what Barnes's brain used to do. He corrects socially unacceptable behavior and mutes Barnes's impulses. Over time, Shannon thinks, Barnes's brain can be retrained so that he more closely resembles the person he used to be.

Before he was injured, Barnes led a fairly successful life. He had enlisted and been promoted to sergeant in the 101st Airborne. He was a husband and a father. But since the injury, his marriage dissolved; his wife now lives in Indiana with their 5-year-old son. And he developed a very bad habit of saying despicable things about people. In public. Loudly.

That's why Shannon takes him out into what he calls the "G.P." - the general public. It's everyday life as therapy. A few times a week, mostly in a diverse area north of Tampa, they circulate at the Wal-Mart, the bowling alley, among all sorts of people who used to trigger his derogatory and sometimes racist remarks. Wallace says her son was not a racist before the injury - something Shannon finds hard to believe.

Four years after his injury, Barnes is making progress. Still, without constant supervision, Wallace says, her son would "be dead within three months." With it, there are still signs of trouble.

Like the Benadryl.

He had a stash hidden in the well of his luggage where the retractable handle rests. But does he have more pills stashed elsewhere? She has other worries, too, about his impulsiveness, his erratic behavior and the fact that he always seems one bad decision from yet another crash.

He needs more help than one person can provide. Wallace has accepted that the burden is hers; she must care for her son for the rest of her life. But that leads to her scariest thought of all:

"What will happen to him if something happens to me?"

'The real test'

One month after getting hit, Warren remembers the word "Afghanistan." He remembers Kandahar. He remembers the moments before the rocket blew up his truck.

"I've seen tremendous improvement," his mother, Susan Bryant, tells Williamson during a meeting at the hospital.

"You really are doing very well," Williamson agrees.

But memory, language and the ability to think clearly - up to now the focus of his rehab - are not the only problems Warren might encounter. "There's one other area that's on my radar," Williamson tells Warren and his family. The area of the brain that's injured "is also involved in emotional regulation."

"In severe cases, we have some patients who get manic-depressive mood swings or they get profound depression or they have temper outbursts," the doctor warns.

In other words, Warren could start acting like John Barnes, requiring round-the-clock supervision. There's no way to tell. Some erratic behaviors might not show up for months or years, Williamson says. Warren and his family must wait and see how he does at home, where he'll face everyday challenges: getting a job, soothing a crying baby, remembering appointments, managing money.

"The real test," Williamson says, "is real life."

This article is part of year-long series on the impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars back home. A blog with firsthand accounts is at voices.washingtonpost.com/impact-of-war.

Good graphic here.............

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/metro/traumatic-brain-injury/#/brain/

buglerbilly

06-10-10, 01:57 PM

Exoskeletons, Robo Rats and Synthetic Skin: The Pentagon’s Cyborg Army

By Katie Drummond October 6, 2010 | 7:00 am

Eyes that are alert and steady. Skin that's sensitive to the touch. Arms that bend and grasp. To an unknowing observer, troops in the next-generation military might look much like today's.

But those eyes are veiled by self-assembling contact lenses that transmit text messages and take blood pressure readings. That skin is made up of nanowires laid onto flexible rubber. And the arm underneath? A prosthetic -- controlled by brain implant.

The Pentagon wants troops to be faster, stronger and more resilient. And with help from robotics, nanotechnology and neuroscience, the military's cyborg army -- from human troops to rat-bot recruits -- is getting prepped for battle.

Above: Neurally-Controlled Prosthetics

In less than 10 years, Darpa's Revolutionizing Prosthetics program has transformed artificial limbs. Prosthetic arms, like the DEKA model, are already wired to respond to toe movements. Next up? Arms that are fully integrated with a wearer's neural signals.

A collaboration led by Johns Hopkins researchers will start human trials on their Modular Prosthetic Limb this year. Micro-arrays are implanted into the brain, allowing a user to operate the prosthetic -- which includes 22-degrees of motion, independent finger movement and weighs only 9 pounds -- with their thoughts alone.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/07/human-trials-ahead-for-darpas-mind-controlled-artificial-arm/

Photo: DEKA

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/pentagon-cyborg-army/?pid=74&pageid=30754#ixzz11ZxJ2YSp

buglerbilly

07-10-10, 03:02 AM

Extra provisions for troops suffering with mental health issues announced

A Defence Policy and Business news article

6 Oct 10

Plans to provide extra mental health nurses dedicated to caring for veterans experiencing mental health difficulties and a 24-hour helpline which will provide counselling and support to veterans have been announced today.

Mental health professional Captain Steven Michelwright (right) speaks with a serviceman at the Camp Bastion field hospital in southern Afghanistan (stock image)
[Picture: Corporal Rich Denton, Crown Copyright/MOD 2008]

Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox made the announcement of the new provisions to help Service personnel and former members of the Armed Forces who are suffering from mental health disorders following today's publication of a report by Dr Andrew Murrison MP on mental health services for serving personnel and veterans.

The report, 'Fighting Fit - A mental health plan for servicemen and veterans', can be seen in full at Related Links.

Dr Murrison's report, which was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron, makes a wide-ranging number of recommendations that the MOD and Department of Health will be looking to introduce.

Of these, the four principal recommendations are:

• incorporation of a structured mental health systems enquiry into existing medical examinations performed whilst serving;

A new purpose-built mental healthcare facility for Service personnel in Peterborough (stock image)
[Picture: Andy Cargill ABIPP, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

• an uplift in the number of mental health professionals conducting veterans outreach work from Mental Health Trusts in partnership with a leading mental health charity;

• a Veterans Information Service to be deployed 12 months after a person leaves the Armed Forces;

• trial of an online early intervention service for serving personnel and veterans.

The MOD will discuss these plans with the Department of Health, Dr Murrison, Combat Stress and other interested parties.

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

"Due to the urgency of the issue, I'm pleased to announce that we will put into place two key recommendations immediately - a dedicated 24-hour support line for veterans, and introducing 30 dedicated mental health nurses in Mental Health Trusts to ensure the right support is organised specifically for veterans."

buglerbilly

19-10-10, 01:38 AM

Pentagon Wants Screening Tests (And Troops) To ‘Predict Violent Behavior’

By Katie Drummond October 18, 2010 | 2:10 pm

If Pentagon brass can draw one conclusion from events like the Fort Hood shooting and the single-weekend suicides of four troops, it’s that they desperately need more effective ways to identify unstable service members — not to mention prevent them from resorting to deadly extremes. Now, a task force of civilian experts will review the military’s mental health screening programs, in an effort to establish “predictive indicators relating to pending violence.”

Right now, the military’s screening process is limited. Formal checks take place before enlistment and before granting a security clearance. After that, though, military techniques to spot worrisome behavior boil down to “informal checks… on a daily basis as the individuals interact with their co-workers,” according to an Oct. 6 Pentagon memo obtained by Inside Defense that announces the task force’s creation. And while different branches of the military also operate their own violence prevention programs, the initiatives revolve more around group classes and PSAs, and less around individual screening.

The task force, being coordinated by the Defense Science Board, hasn’t started its work yet. But the memo offers some insight into areas where the panel might suggest changes. First and foremost are the military’s current programs, which the task force will evaluate and consider replacing or ameliorating with other screening tools, procedures and protocols already being used within military branches or at civilian institutions.

Experts will also scout for better ways to store and manage screening results, “to correlate information across disparate sources, organizations, time frames and geographic locations.”

But the case of Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan shows that even the military’s comprehensive formal counseling and supervision only goes so far. In spite of observable “difficulties” that required extra professional attention, Hasan continued working as a resident at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. And Hasan’s disciplinary problems weren’t passed along to supervisors at his new assignments, according to a military investigation conducted after the shootings.

Day-to-day observations might make a key difference, and the task force will also look to the potential for military personnel to be allies in thwarting inside threats. The group will consider new troop training, to instruct service members on spotting “aberrant behavior” among their colleagues. The potential applicability of a service member’s “cyber behavior” is noted as another area of investigation.

But when military investigators aren’t cluing in to someone like Hasan — who was put on probation for proselytizing, openly denounced the Iraq war and praised suicide bombers online — it’s clear that the panel faces a formidable undertaking. Even assuming the Pentagon can significantly improve its screening programs, a fail-proof process is likely impossible. Darpa, the military’s blue-sky research agency, acknowledged as much while soliciting proposals for algorithm-based insider threat detection last week.

“When we look through the evidence after the fact, we often find a trail –- sometimes even an ‘obvious’ one,” Darpa notes. “The question is can we pick up the trail before the fact…? Why is that so hard?”

And whatever recommendations the task force offers, they’ll come mostly too late for today’s troops. With thousands of service members coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan within a year, and an estimated two-thirds of them already suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Admiral Michael Mullen anticipates “a growth in [in suicides] before we see a decline.”

Not to mention the other, overlapping problems that the Pentagon continues to struggle with: A “failing” suicide prevention program that’s in dire need of an overhaul, a top-tier treatment facility in flux, and gaping holes in the diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injuries — both of which trigger violent behavior. Combined, the factors are a reminder that even if the military’s able to spot at-risk troops, it’s still unclear how they plan to help them.

Photo: U.S. Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/pentagon-wants-screening-tests-and-troops-to-predict-violent-behavior/#more-33358#ixzz12kyD0MaL

buglerbilly

19-10-10, 03:44 PM

The Army’s ‘Breakthrough’ Brain-Injury Blood Test: Not Quite Magic Yet

By Katie Drummond October 19, 2010 | 7:02 am

Army brass last week declared a triumph over the diagnostic mystery of traumatic brain injuries, hyping a simple new blood test they say can detect mild forms of the injury — catching the trauma before it becomes more severe; before telltale symptoms manifest; or before troops sustain a second concussion. But with a dearth of supporting data and a history of failed research efforts, top military medical leaders might want to hold off on unfurling their victory banners.

“This is a breakthrough,” Col. Dallas Hack, director of the Army’s Combat Casualty Care Research Program, tells CNN. “It can make a significant benefit for mankind.”

That’s high praise for a blood test that military-funded docs have only tried on 34 patients, all of them admitted to hospital with symptoms of traumatic brain injuries, or TBI. The test, developed by Banyan Biomarkers, detects two blood proteins that don’t appear in the blood of uninjured people. Researchers think the proteins are released into the blood when the brain undergoes a startling blow, like getting rattled around in a Humvee that rolls over a roadside bomb.

If the test passes muster in subsequent trials, it would be a gamechanger for the Pentagon. Known as “the signature wound” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, traumatic brain injuries have skyrocketed among troops. In 2003, around 80 troops a month suffered TBIs. This year, according to the Pentagon’s Monthly Medical Surveillance Report, around 450 monthly TBIs were reported during battle. And those are only the brain injuries on the books: the military continues to struggle with troops going undiagnosed, either because they avoid medical care or because current TBI screenings tests are “basically a coin flip,” as Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker, the Army’s surgeon general, put it.
But with the Pentagon’s middling track record on TBI research, diagnosis and treatment, it’s hard to fathom that this latest test will actually live up to the Army’s hype. Just last month, it was revealed that independent medical experts who studied the Navy SEALs’ much-touted “instant brain injury test” had given it a failing grade. In fact, the neuroassessment tool yielded more false positives than even the military’s current, much-maligned screening program.

The Army has yet to publish their research study on the blood test, which would tap into TBIs before neurological symptoms, like headaches and confusion, show up — a major improvement on current military screenings or the SEALs test.

But independent medical experts are already tempering the Pentagon’s public euphoria.

“Banyan Biomarkers has identified some novel biomarkers in CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) …” Dr. Alan Faden, director of the Center for Shock, Trauma and Anestesiology Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told ABC News. “But at present there are insufficient data to support the ‘hype’ expressed by Col. Hack.”

A larger clinical trial, on 1,200 patients, is expected to conclude by 2013. Its success or failure will be the deciding factor in approval by the Food and Drug Administration. But even before the trial kicks off, Col. Hack says the Army wants prototypes of portable devices that can perform the test in combat.

So it might be two more years before troops find out whether or not the Army’s “breakthrough” is little more than false hope. And even if troops are one day more accurately diagnosed, adequate treatment for TBIs is still being investigated by military-funded researchers. Not to mention that service members often face redeployment, regardless of their damaged gray matter.

Photo: U.S. Army

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/the-armys-breakthrough-brain-injury-blood-test-not-quite-a-magic-bullet/#more-33440#ixzz12oPNZZiR

buglerbilly

27-10-10, 02:07 AM

Cell Phone App Tracks Troops' Mental Health

October 26, 2010

Stars and Stripes|by Leo Shane III

WASHINGTON -- Late Monday, Pentagon officials announced the release of a free smart phone application designed to help servicemembers and veterans to track their emotional health, with a focus on their return from deployments. The T2 Mood Tracker (from the National Center for Telehealth and Technology) is available for download here.

http://t2health.org/apps/t2-mood-tracker

Download here: http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/health/t2-mood-tracker_kozs.html

The program, which was honored earlier this year during the military's Apps4Army competition, allows users to quickly chart their stress and happiness levels on a daily basis. That information can be later shared with doctors and therapists, who can use the trends in their treatment recommendations.

"Therapists and physicians often have to rely on patient recall when trying to gather information about symptoms over the previous weeks or months. Research has shown that information collected after the fact, especially about mood, tends to be inaccurate," Perry Bosmajian, a psychologist with the center, said in a statement. "The best record of an experience is when it's recorded at the time and place it happens."

Currently the application is available only for smart phones using the Android operating system, but should be available for iPhone users early next year.

buglerbilly

27-10-10, 04:04 PM

Darpa: Fuse Nerves With Robot Limbs, Make Prosthetics Feel Real

By Katie Drummond October 27, 2010 | 7:00 am

Controlling robotic limbs with your brain is just step one. The Pentagon eventually wants artificial arms and legs to feel and perform just the same as naturally-grown ones. Which means step two is hooking up those prosthetics directly into severed nerves. That’ll allow the wearer to detect subtle sensations, respond to the brain’s neural signals, move with unprecedented agility, and “incorporat[e] the limb into the sense-of-self.”

Over the last decade, the Pentagon’s made remarkable progress in creating life-like prosthetic devices. And most of the advances are because of programs funded by Darpa, the far-out military research agency that’s also behind this latest project, called Reliable Peripheral Interfaces (RPI).

Already, Darpa’s funded ventures like the DEKA Arm, which relies on a joystick-style interface, and used “targeted muscle reinnervation surgery” for prosthetics that transmit neural signals from a bundle of nerves in the chest. Darpa-funded researchers at Johns Hopkins have even started human trials on their Modular Prosthetic Limb, which transmits cues to an artificial limb using brain-implanted micro-arrays.

But the RPI program taps into key shortcomings that persist in even the most sophisticated prosthetic devices. Existing neural-prosthetic interfaces aren’t sensitive enough to provide myriad signals — prototypes currently transmit around 500 events a second — or offer users a robust degree of freedom. Not to mention that current neural platforms have short life-spans and are tough to repair without invasive surgery, making them ill-suited to troops and vets in their 20s.

So Darpa’s after a prosthetic that can record motor-sensory signals right from peripheral nerves (those that are severed when a limb is lost) and then transmit responding feedback signals from the brain. That means an incredibly sensitive platform, “capable of detecting sufficiently strong motor-control signals and distinguishing them from sensory signals and other confounding signals,” in a region packed tightly with nerves. Once signals are detected, they’ll be decoded by algorithms and transmitted to the brain, where a user’s intended movements would be recoded and transmitted back to the prosthetic.

The end result would be a prosthetic that acts as a veritable extension of one’s own body. And a platform capable of accurately distinguishing between, and interpreting, different sensory signals — temperature, pressure, motion — would “allow the incorporation of the limb into the sense-of-self” and offer unprecedented freedom of movement for a prosthetic wearer.

The agency also wants an ultra-reliable platform, with an error rate of less than 0.1 percent and a lifespan of around 70 years. By comparison, current neural-recording interfaces last around two years before they need to be replaced. Sounds far-fetched, but Darpa’s already got one major lead: the agency’s new Neurophotonics Research Center will investigate fiber-optic prosthetic interfaces that can incorporate thousands of sensors into a single filament.

Photo: Sgt. Ray Lewis/Bouhammer.com

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/10/darpa-looks-to-fuse-nerves-with-robot-limbs-make-prosthetics-feel-real/#more-33972#ixzz13ZGoHuQ3

buglerbilly

27-10-10, 04:09 PM

ALL for advances in artifical limbs BUT we have a way to go yet.............

Christian Kandlbauer, man with bionic arm dies after car crash

Oct 23, 2010

Christian Kandlbauer passed his driving test in a specially adapted car

Christian Kandlbauer, 22, the first to drive using mind-controlled robotic arm was found in the wreckage of his Subaru. He was pronounced dead at the Graz hospital on Thursday.

After being electrocuted by 20,000 volts four years ago, he lost both his arms. He was fitted with robotic arm.

He was able to control all of the joints in his left prosthetic arm by merely thinking about what he wanted to do. He had a conventional prosthetic fitted on his right side.

It was the first project of its kind in Europe according to experts at the medical technology company, Otto Bock Healthcare, which developed the mind-controlled arm. Christian was the “guinea pig” for the four-year research project.

In a six-hour operation, surgeons at Vienna General Hospital transplanted the nerves that previously controlled his healthy limb to the chest muscles. The transplanted nerves allow electrical impulses from the brain to reach the muscles in the chest. The muscles amplify the signal and interpreted by a micro-computer to control prosthesis.

He was able to pass his driving test in a specially converted car using his prosthetic arms.

It was not known whether his bionic arm had caused the accident.

buglerbilly

02-11-10, 11:48 AM

U.S. military medics use old and new techniques to save wounded in Afghanistan

On the frontlines of the battle to save wounded soldiers' lives
U.S. military helicopter crews are key elements in the battle to save wounded soldiers' lives in Afghanistan, facing the risk of attack to pick up the injured, employing evolving frontline strategies to treat them and then racing to transport them to the hospital.

By David Brown, Washington Post

Monday, November 1, 2010; 5:13 PM

AT BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN Bleeding to death has always been the chief hazard of war wounds - and the control of bleeding the first task of the combat surgeon. Ambroise Pare knew that 460 years ago.

A French physician who treated some of the first combat wounds caused by firearms, Pare observed in 1550 that when amputating a limb there was less bleeding if blood vessels were tied off with silk thread rather than cauterized with a hot iron. For that and other gentler practices he became known as the "father of surgery."

Pare's professional descendants are still obsessed with bleeding.

The improvements in the care of casualties that have come out of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars almost all involve hemorrhage, the medical term for bleeding. They include better ways to stop it, keep it from restarting, and reverse it by restoring blood to the circulation (an option not available to Pare). They Improvements in treating hemorrhage are the main reason survival of battlefield casualties is so much greater now than in the past.

Data presented at a conference in August revealed that 8.8 percent of the U.S. combat casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan died, either on the battlefield or later of wounds. That compares with 16.5 percent of the Vietnam War's casualties and 22.8 percent of World War II's.

A different analysis compared battlefield injuries that occurred between 2003 and 2006. Those in the later year were more severe on average than those in 2003, but mortality wasn't significantly greater. For the subset of "blast injuries" - the most common cause of trauma - wounds in 2006 were more extensive, severe and likely to take a soldier permanently out of service than those of 2003. But they weren't more likely to be fatal.

The conclusion: Medical treatment has gotten better over the nine-year course of the wars.

Almost none of the improvement is the consequence of new drugs or new devices. Most of it, ironically, involves old technology and old practices that fell out of favor in the past 50 to 100 years and have been rediscovered and improved.

And nearly all of them involve blood.

After Mogadishu

The modern focus on battlefield hemorrhage came out of the disastrous military operation in Somalia in 1993 chronicled in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

Over a 15-hour period, about 170 U.S. soldiers were involved in a battle in the narrow streets of Mogadishu where they'd gone to capture a Somali warlord. Helicopters crashed, soldiers were trapped and fired on by civilians, and rescuers got lost. More than 100 troops were wounded, 14 died on the battlefield, and four died later at hospitals.

Several years after the event, military physicians analyzed every serious injury and death that occurred. They wanted to learn whether any could have been prevented, or if any of the care had unwittingly led to more casualties.

The analysis showed that bleeding was a huge problem, leading to most of the deaths. Several people bled to death from wounds in places where direct pressure wasn't possible, such as the chest or neck. One person, however, was saved by an improvised tourniquet on his thigh.

"The emphasis on hemorrhage control certainly stemmed from that episode," said John B. Holcomb, one of three surgeons who treated the wounded. "There was a lot of introspection. Frankly, I think the military was ready for a change."

The new treatment strategies weren't all hatched out of the Mogadishu experience. Many were already in development. But Somalia accelerated the process.

The single most important change was the endorsement of tourniquets, ancient devices that for the second half of the 20th century were considered too dangerous to use because extended use can cause tissue damage. The new ones optimize the force distributed across the strap and can be tightened and locked with one hand. Every soldier carries one, and medics carry a half-dozen.

Tourniquets are especially useful in wars where blast injuries, not gunshot wounds, predominate. Many makeshift bombs damage both legs or blow them entirely off. A person whose femoral arteries, the main arteries of the thigh, are both severed will die in about seven minutes. Today, many soldiers with such wounds arrive at the hospital with tourniquets on each leg and all bleeding stopped.

Their usefulness is so obvious that some soldiers here go on foot patrol with them loosely placed on each limb, ready to be tightened. Designers of the next-generation combat dress are trying to determine whether the devices can be built into the clothing, possibly with gas canisters that can be triggered to inflate them.

Military analysts estimate tourniquets have saved the lives of at least 1,000 U.S. soldiers, and possibly as many as 2,000, in the current wars.

Of course, many soldiers suffer wounds in places - such as the neck, chest, abdomen and groin - where tourniquets can't be used. An analysis of "potentially survivable" wounds in soldiers who died after reaching the hospital showed that 80 percent succumbed to hemorrhage, and 70 percent of the time it was from one of those "non-tourniquetable" sites.

A new generation of bandage, called Combat Gauze, may help solve that problem. The fabric is impregnated with kaolin, a powdered clay that stimulates blood clotting. It has proved more effective than clot-forming powders and granules, which often blew away or were washed out by bleeding.

Despite these devices, most soldiers with major trauma lose life-threatening amounts of blood. How medics respond to that condition is the second big innovation in hemorrhage care.

The innovation? Do less than you can and let the body run the show.

Simple assessments

Medics are now taught not to worry if a person's blood pressure is as low as 85/40 (normal is 120/80) as long as the patient is alert. People in shock - severe low blood pressure, which causes mental confusion or unconsciousness - get up to a liter of intravenous fluids. Others get a catheter that is capped and can be used later if needed to push fluids into a vein. Gone is the routine hanging of a bottle of fluid, part of the classic visual tableau of battlefield care.

The preference for keeping the blood pressure low in trauma victims - both because they can tolerate it and because raising it can dislodge clots and make matters worse - was well understood in World War I and World War II, according to Holcomb. But by the time of Vietnam, "it seems as if that concept was lost," he said.

In the adoption of an even older practice - one Hippocrates would endorse - medics are told to evaluate a patient's status only by looking at him, talking to him and taking his pulse. Pulse - now taken in the wrist, not the neck, because it's easier to find - is characterized as "absent," "weak" or "normal." On this assessment, lifesaving decisions can be made.

Magical powers

The third big blood-related innovation involves what happens in the emergency room's trauma bay and operating room.

In the past, patients in shock were resuscitated with IV fluid, supplemented with red blood cells. Now they're given whole blood or its equivalent in components.

Blood is a mixture of about 45 percent cells and 55 percent plasma. The latter consists of water, sugars, salts and proteins, including the "clotting factors" that trigger a cascade of reactions ending with the formation of a blood clot. As a trauma patient bleeds, those proteins are consumed. If transfusions consist mostly of oxygen-carrying red cells and not enough plasma, bleeding eventually goes out of control.

To prevent that, some military physicians give Factor VIIa, one of the proteins, to people getting 10 or more units of blood in 24 hours. (Such casualties are called "massively transfused" patients.) But there has never been a definitive answer on its effectiveness - and there is not likely to be, because randomized controlled studies, the kind most likely to provide an unbiased answer, are not permitted on the battlefield where the patients cannot give consent.

What does unequivocally work is whole blood.

Whole blood's near magical power to revive trauma patients was recognized on the Western Front in World War I. But when scientists later learned to separate and store blood components - red cells, plasma and clot-initiating particles called platelets - whole-blood transfusions fell out of favor.

But in some situations, where there is no blood bank, using whole blood freshly collected from donors is the only choice. The second battle of Fallujah in Iraq in November 2004 was one of them. Dozens of casualties were massively transfused with whole blood. All survived to be evacuated.

"It was just unbelievable that you could have this kind of success record. It made us stop and ask how this was happening," Jenkins recalled.

He and other military doctors later analyzed the experience of soldiers massively transfused at the main military hospital in Baghdad early in the war. The rate of survival was nearly nine times as high for the people who got whole blood (or the equivalent of it in components) as for those who got mostly red blood cells and IV fluid.

Military doctrine now is to give blood in a 1:1:1 ratio of red cells, plasma and platelets. But when surgeons occasionally turn to the "walking blood bank" of registered donors for whole-blood transfusions, they notice an especial benefit.

"It seems like you just give this stuff and it works," said Rodd Benfield, a Navy surgeon now operating at the hospital at Kandahar Air Field. "It's warm, it's fresh and it's blood!"

Replacing blood lost with whole blood or its equivalent in components doesn't just help restore clotting. It also reduces the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (a condition first recognized during the Vietnam war, where it was called Da Nang lung) and multi-organ failure. And the fresher it is, the better.

A study done by Holcomb and others showed that in massively transfused patients, mortality goes up if they get blood more than two weeks old. Old red cells don't carry oxygen as well as newer ones, and they don't form as strong clots. Fresher blood also helps reduce infection.

At the hospital here, where grievously wounded patients arrive every day, the goal is to give massively transfused patients blood less than 21 days old.

On a recent night, surgeons were operating on someone who had stepped on a mine and lost both legs at the knee. He'd received 13 units of blood in the appropriate components - about a pint more than an adult typically has in the circulatory system.

The anesthesiologist called for another unit of red cells. When it arrived, a nurse held the bag out for him to inspect.

"That blood is going to expire in four days," he said. "That's garbage."

He sent it back and got a newer one.

Great interactive graphic can be found here................what a US Medic carries.............

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/a-heavy-burden-graphic/index.html?sid=ST2010110104926