A recent news release announces that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) will collaborate to fund research centered on improving the diagnosis and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Eric K. Shinseki, VA secretary, notes that the $100 million investment by the organizations, “in innovative research that will lead to treatments for PTSD and TBI is critical to providing the care our veterans have earned and deserved.”

The release reports that  The Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP) and the Chronic Effects of Neuotrauma Consortium (CENC) will be jointly managed by the VA and by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), on behalf of the DoD. 

According to CENC, its primary goal is to establish an understanding of the aftereffects of a mTBI. Researchers add that comorbidities will also be studied. “PTSD and mTBI are two of the most prevalent injuries suffered by our warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Jonathan Woodson, MD, assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, says. Woodson adds that these consortia will pave the way for the joining of leading scientists and researchers who are devoted to the health and welfare of servicemembers and veterans.

CAP reports that it will focus its studies on biomarker-based research encompassing PTSD, as well as prevention strategies, possible interventions, and improved treatments.

Additionally, as a part of an executive order signed by President Obama on August 31, the DoD, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education, will coordinate to develop a National Research Action plan that will encompass strategies to improve early diagnosis and treatment effectiveness for TBI and PTSD.

For more information, visit http://www.va.gov

Source: VA