The new Warriors Research Institute and its
collaborators have a mission:
to define better treatments for the unique
health problems affecting hundreds of thousands
of war veterans and first responders.
These health problems are the conditions that persist in the aftermath of
modern warfare, usually for many years after the battle is over. They include
the devastating psychological effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
the persistent neurological difficulties resulting from traumatic brain injury
(TBI), and Gulf War Illness (GWI), the disabling condition resulting from
hazardous exposures during the 1990-1991 Gulf War.
he brain closely guards
its secrets. Scientists have
unlocked many of them, but
significant mysteries remain: What
happens to the warrior after intense
psychological trauma? Why is one
person—a soldier on the battlefield,
or a firefighter battling a blaze—
affected by a chronic cascade of
symptoms over his or her lifetime,
while another may respond favorably
to treatment of symptoms, or remain
asymptomatic altogether?
Military personnel and emergency
responders suffer from the long-term
effects of intense psychological trauma—
often repeated trauma—much more
commonly than the general population.
This often includes experiences where
T
their own lives are threatened, or they
witness devastating effects on others.
Traumatic exposure produces an
onslaught of acute psychological and
physical reactions. For many, these
reactions last long enough to become
symptoms; when symptoms become
chronic, people exposed to trauma
can develop PTSD. Some people
will live with mild to severe disability
attributed solely to PTSD, while others
simultaneously suffer from co-occurring
medical diagnoses, including mental
health conditions such as depression,
substance use disorders, and anxiety.
In addition, people with PTSD are at
increased risk for heart disease, chronic
pain, and certain types of cancer.
Getting to the bottom of PTSD and the
co-occurring conditions associated with
it is the primary focus of the institute.
Beyond the psychological trauma of war,
recent deployments have given rise to an
unprecedented number of returning war
veterans with medical conditions we are
just beginning to understand. As the
research within the institute grows, so
does the collaborative research programs
focused on the unique injuries of the
Gulf War and those from the current
Global War on Terror. Although
scientists have begun to decipher the
biological pathways that underlie
veterans’ symptoms, effective treatments
are not available for the hundreds of
thousands of veterans who continue to
suffer from these conditions. Researchers
at the Brain Injury Neurorehabilitation
sw.org | April 14 THE CATALYST
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