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The COlonel's comments on his email to me say the main point of how critical TBI info is-

VA has spent millions recently on State of the ART equipment to properly assess TBI issues in veterans.

(Note: Proof of a concussion during military service, may help you get service connected if now diagnosed with depression) comment from Col. Dan-he is right!

"also see: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/31/AR2007053101608.html

www.medscape.com/viewarticle/558116

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=247140

Effects of concussions can be long term

When athletes get depressed after suffering a concussion, coaches, other players and even doctors tend to take the symptom lightly, writing it off as a psychological fallout of being sidelined from the game.

But a new Canadian study suggests depression is actually a physical outcome of such head injuries, which appear to undermine activity in key regions of the brain.

Using sophisticated MRI scans that track cerebral function in real time, the research by the Montreal Neurological Institute focused on elite-level athletes. The results, though, have "huge" implications for the general population, given the large number of people who suffer mild head injury, says Dr. Alain Ptito of the McGill University institute, the study's lead author.

He said he has also offered to study Canadian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, many of whom he suspects have endured concussions with potentially serious consequences, and do not even know it.

"They have all this body armour and reinforced vehicles, but warfare has changed and they have these improvised explosive devices and it's like the soldiers are in this tin can and their brains are shaken, but nothing is apparent," said the psychiatrist. "Then they have all these symptoms and they can't explain them."

The findings of the study, published this week in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, suggest that people with such depression should be more aggressively treated.

The link between depression and concussion -- indicated in some previous studies -- has sparked much controversy lately in the United States, where the National Football League has downplayed the injuries' long-term effects. The issue coalesced recently around Andre Waters, a former NFL safety who committed suicide in November. He had been depressed for some time, and has said he suffered more than 15 concussions during his career.

Chris Nowinski, a former college football player and WWE pro wrestler who has championed the cause of concussion in sports, said yesterday he has spoken to former high school players who sustained multiple concussions and still have depression problems in middle age. Organizers at all levels of contact sport should pay heed to the Montreal study, he said.

"That kind of evidence is extremely powerful to support the concept that concussions are far more serious injuries than we've been treating them," said Mr. Nowinski, author of the book Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis.

Dr. Ptito's research looked at 56 male athletes, 40 with concussions. Of the latter, some reported no depression, while others were classified with mild or moderate depression, according to their answers on a questionnaire.

They were also subjected to functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which tracks brain activity as the subject performs a mental task.

The tests revealed that all the depressed athletes had reduced activity in the areas of the brain that have been linked to major depression. Further analysis found lower grey matter density in those areas, too.

The results could likely also be applied to the "epidemic" of Canadians who suffer mild head injuries in car accidents, workplace mishaps and the like, Dr. Ptito said.

tblackwell@nationalpost.com"

GRADUATE ! Nov 2nd 2007 American Military University !

When thousands of Americans faced annihilation in the 1800s Chief

Osceola's response to his people, the Seminoles, was

simply "They(the US Army)have guns, but so do we."

Sameo to us -They (VA) have 38 CFR ,38 USC, and M21-1- but so do we.

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I would be interested in studies on how to treat what I'll call 'organic depression/anxiaty'.

Only speaking for myself, I have found medication does absolutly nothing for my depression/anxiaty. I've tried them all. Many of them make things worse.

Therapy is about as useless because depression/anxiaty is not caused by a personal or social event.

Time

Edited by timetowinarace
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