New gene linked to PTSD identified
Investigators at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System have identified a new gene linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, published online in Molecular Psychiatry, indicate that a gene known to play a role in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress may also be [...]
Panel calls for annual PTSD screening
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Institute of Medicine recommended Friday that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan undergo annual screening for post-traumatic stress disorder and that federal agencies conduct more research to determine how well the various treatments for PTSD are working. Of the 2.6 million service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s estimated that [...]
Defence culture allowed rapists to be promoted
Storm of controversy … Air Force cadet known as ‘Kate’ (18), was one of the few who went public. Pic: Channel 10 Source: The Daily Telegrap DOZENS of abusers, including rapists who are still serving in the Australian Defence Force, have not only escaped punishment but have been protected and promoted, a damning review of [...]
Coming home is just the start
Long-distance love … Lieutenant Simon Watch on Skype with his family, wife Caetlin, Hannah, 2, and Emily, 4. Photo: Harrison Saragossi In the weeks before Lieutenant Simon Watch was deployed to Afghanistan, Caetlin Watch wished her husband would just leave. Tension grew as they prepared for what lay ahead. For Lieutenant Watch, it was six [...]
Multiple tours of duty allowed despite mental health risks
Connection? … Sergeant Blaine Diddam’s death and the number of times he was deployed. AUSTRALIAN special forces are being allowed to deploy on back-to-back tours of duty, sometimes doing half-a-dozen tours in as many years, despite the military acknowledging that such deployments may have a detrimental effect on mental health. The issue has been in [...]
Suicide rate now higher than combat toll
EMILY BOURKE: It’s the hidden death toll from the war in Afghanistan: more American soldiers are now dying through suicide than in combat. The spike in the number of troops taking their own lives is causing worry at the highest levels of the Obama administration, with the Defence Secretary Leon Panetta admitting he’s “very concerned”. [...]
Diggers turn to smoking to fight off stress and boredom
DIGGERS smoke at twice the rate of the wider community – and sailors can buy subsidised tobacco on warships in international waters. Sailors pay between $4 and $7 a pack duty free, depending on the ship, and are limited to two packs a day. Troops deployed to Afghanistan light up at alarming rates and purchase [...]
VA looking to technology to reduce suicide risks
WASHINGTON – The Veterans Affairs Department hopes to reduce the risk of suicide among veterans by making greater use of video conferences between patients and doctors and by gradually integrating its electronic health records with those maintained by the Defense Department, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki told mental health professionals Wednesday. Among active-duty troops, there has [...]
PTSD therapy reaches soldiers in the field
Just days after a suicide attack in Afghanistan like the one in April that killed three Ohio Guardsmen and wounded five others, another fight begins — for a soldier’s mental health. In battlefield interviews from Afghanistan with the dayton Daily News, two military mental health providers revealed how they’re trying to get the jump on [...]
