Not just TBI, "post-deployment syndrome"
Published: August 30, 2010
TBI is the "signature wound" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but the science on exactly what it is and how to treat it is limited. But about 1,000 DoD and VA care providers are gathered in Washington to discuss what is known, swap best treatment practices among the services and learn about new research at the 4th annual TBI Military Training Conference.
Col. Robert Saum, who recently took over the Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and TBI after the previous director left amid accusations of failure, joked that he had been on the job for "two months, nine days and 47 minutes."
Then he got tearful as he told the audience that he is the father of a sergeant who has mild TBI, "so this is personal to me that you're here."
TBI so often comes with a litany of other issues - PTSD, depression, sleep disorders, anxiety, substance abuse - that one VA doctor who presented at the conference sweeps it all up into one broad category he calls "post-deployment syndrome."
It's those muddy waters that will be a main topic of discussion at the conference. Only part of the first day of the 2-day conference was open to the press, but it seemed there will be a lively debate about how big a role drugs should play in treating TBI. Some of the presenters chided doctors for too often reaching for the prescription pad - but nonetheless got questions in a Q&A session about possible drugs to prescribe.
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