WASHINGTON — Continuing a pattern of easing the way for Gulf War veterans to seek care and compensation, VA has extended the presumptive period for them to file claims for benefits for previously undiagnosed illnesses.

WASHINGTON — On Dec. 27, when the U.S. military was only two days away from completing its pullout of troops of Iraq, came casualty reports from Afghanistan, a stark reminder of the war still being fought: Three soldiers died, in Paktia, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device.

WASHINGTON — VA has expanded traumatic injury benefits to include servicemembers who suffered injuries in the genitourinary organs during their service. These servicemembers will now be eligible for Servicemember Group Life Insurance Traumatic Injury Protection (TSGLI).

WASHINGTON, DC — Of all of the injuries servicemembers suffer on the battlefield, among the most feared, psychologically as well as physically, are genitourinary. In fact, a recent report offered anecdotal information that some servicemembers have “do not resuscitate” pacts with their fellow warriors in case of this type of injury, as well as other devastating wounds.

WASHINGTON — Military veterans injured between 2001 and 2005 are now retroactively eligible for traumatic injury benefits, even if they never deployed overseas to battle zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BETHESDA, MD — Recent projects being overseen or funded at NIH hope to shed light on the biology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and give physicians and future researchers better tools to understand, diagnose and treat the condition. 

WASHINGTON — A recent report on federal government plans to curb drug abuse puts added emphasis on the active-duty military and the veteran population. It also focuses more attention on misuse of prescription drugs and, as far as recovery efforts go, on mental health.   

WASHINGTON — While VA has quickly rolled out its new caregiver-assistance program for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, speed may have come at the expense of transparency and consistency. Or, so said caregivers who report trouble understanding the limitations of the act, as well as disparities in how VA determines the size of the caregiver stipend.

WASHINGTON — Nearly three out of five Native American women have been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners in what now “has reached epidemic rates,” a federal official told a Senate committee last month.

SAN FRANCISCO — Research into PTSD has accelerated exponentially over the last decade. Where once it was understood as little more than a loose collection of symptoms, now researchers are beginning to define the pathology of the disease as well as what effects it might have on other bodily systems. And, as patients with PTSD age, more is being understood about how PTSD will affect health the rest of their lives.