immunoexcitotoxicity (TBI, PCS, PTSD)

[Lemuel 71]

How do I submit an article?  Or get someone else to help research and flesh it out?

Basic start:

Berta, Bronco, and other primaries, if you are listening, get your crew to contact NIH and help do an article on this.  (immunoexcitotoxicity)

The primary source or beginning is a concussion, even mild ones.  Could be from a fall as a toddler or at any time in your life.   So, PTSD is simply a symptom of a Post-Concussion Syndrome.  Started harping on the organicity of PTSD in 1987 along with the writing off simple PCS as adjustment disorders.  Did a fast on the Mall in DC in 1995.  Was visited by a group of neurologists led by an NIU neurologist, during the American Neurology Convention, who said NIH would look into it.

If the military didn't pick up anything in those induction scores or if they accepted you for duty and subsequently, because of military exposure your condition is aggravated to the point of interfering with daily life including employability, the VA owes you compensation.  That is the reason Yale has won the Discharge Review Case and is on the verge of winning a class action case on claims more than a year old.

Between 1995 and 1998 the number of PCS studies in the NIH Library more than quadrupled.  She, (the NIH neurologist) was good to her word.  Must have said something at the convention to get it started.

But look at the inertia of getting something done.  2008 an article in a newspaper cause Congress to finally recognize and compensate PCS calling it TBI.  But PCS also happens in just exposure to a blast.  Repeated outgoing heavy artillery brought a lot of vets into the PTSD groups I attended between 1984 and 1995.  PTSD was the only peg they could hang their hat on.  Even mild, moderate and severe TBI had found themselves in the "Adjustment Disorder" diagnosis and couldn't find any peg to hang a compensation claim on other than PTSD between 1980 and 2008.  Before that they just had to accept adjustment disorder.  There is no difference between being close to an improvised explosive and an incoming RPG (simply rockets in Vietnam) But the VA appears to be on the bend of recognizing only improvised explosives, not incoming heavy artillery or continuous exposure to outgoing from your enclosed turret on a ship or camouflaged field howitzer.

Well, yes, PCS causes an adjustment disorder.  But as long as you are treating it as a behavioral problem instead of an adjustment to an organic problem (immunoexcitotoxicity) the necessary adjustments won't be made to even have a semblance of a normal life.  And an organic treatment has no chance of being appropriately directed.  

It is easy for physicians to see that diabetes is an organic problem that will never cure.  It can only be maintained and controlled through continuing care.  But they cannot recognize that with PCS or even that it is PCS they are dealing with.

Cerebral malaria also brings on immunoexcitotoxicity with the exact same problems of PCS.  But those victims from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Somalia and the current wars are still "adjustment disorders" or hanging their hats on PTSD.  

The present pressure of having therapists put an "end date" on therapy simply doesn't recognize the problem.  Some epileptic drugs help.  But you won't be given them unless you get an EEG that shows something.  For me the 2015 Rx for Keppra was life changing.  At 74 I became more employable than I was at 34.  All of my friends and family noticed a huge difference.

And the VA doesn't want to confirm temporal lobe seizures (the center, I believe, for immunoexcitotoxicity) because it is a situation like diabetes, requiring continuing care and, often, ultimately compensation because of progression.

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by Lemuel
clarity (see edit history)

[broncovet 4,386]

Im having some difficulty understanding your question.  

You posted:

Quote

If the military didn't pick up anything in those induction scores or if they accepted you for duty and subsequently, because of military exposure your condition is aggravated to the point of interfering with daily life including employability, the VA owes you compensation. 

This is part of it but not all.  There is a presumptive that your disorder occured in service IF:

1.  Your pre service physical shows you didnt have the disorder prior to service AND

2.  You get a diagnosis of PTSD/TBI within a year of exit from service.  

     VA can rebut this presumption.  Example:

  You have no tbi symptom, diagnosis, or treatment prior to service.  But, you had an automobile accident after service which demonstated TBI symptom.  

[Lemuel 71]

12 hours ago, broncovet said:

Im having some difficulty understanding your question.  

You posted:

This is part of it but not all.  There is a presumptive that your disorder occured in service IF:

1.  Your pre service physical shows you didnt have the disorder prior to service AND

2.  You get a diagnosis of PTSD/TBI within a year of exit from service.  

     VA can rebut this presumption.  Example:

  You have no tbi symptom, diagnosis, or treatment prior to service.  But, you had an automobile accident after service which demonstated TBI symptom.  

Bronco, thanks.  There is a lot more.  I did an edit to make the question clearer.  Font was too small and overlooked.  The rest of the question had been copied and pasted with a larger font.

I'm asking how to post an article and for help to flesh it out.  Actually I need a ghost writer who can organize more than 5 pages in an organized manner.  Not surprised you didn't catch the question.  That is why I need a ghost writer because of my TBI symptoms, to do a book.

For seizures:

The Veteran I tried to get SC for seizure residuals of cerebral malaria had a grand mall seizure within the year.  It wasn't documented other than observance by the family.  The paramedics arrived but didn't transport.  Told the vet to go to the doctor the next day.  No money and no insurance caused no documentation.  The Vet didn't discover his access to the VA until an employer referred him a couple of years later.  The dispatch recorded the dispatch to the address but there was no medical report.  The VA didn't accept that to connect his seizures.  Eventually, after a 9 year fight, he was granted 100% PTSD.  The VA steered away from SC any of his mental health condition to p. falciparum malaria (cerebral malaria).  Obviously not wanting to create a category of disability source. 

In 1998, at the Sub Committee on Veterans Benefits, the VA Chief of Neurology, a DR Boos, referenced a bogus study that was done on 20 vets in Vietnam immediately subsequent to having p. falciparum malaria.  I say bogus because, although the study passed peer review and was published, it broke the cardinal rule of not having a valid control group.  It compared two groups of ten veterans with p. falciparum malaria.  The report only recorded 18, 9 in each group, after one didn't recover and was sent home with a "pre-existing" mental health condition.  The only way you can know there were originally 10 in each group is by the separate report is to catch the separate report on the 20th victim by one of the other participants Kastl, etal group study.  I could post an article I wrote but couldn't get published about the Kastl, etal study also.

Many vets with lower but acceptable induction scores need a lot of help.  Henry wasn't that bad from his MOS until after the episode of malaria.  Anosognosia resulting from that and self medication with ETOH led to alcoholism and an aggravation of the seizures which was never SC even as secondary to the PTSD induced alcoholism.  No precedence in his case because we couldn't get into a court.  And within days of opening the CAVC the DRO granted him 100% PTSD.  A lock out of what should have been assistance to many.  What is the VA's resistance to SC seizures?

And, for example, my PTSD symptoms showed up but were not documented within a year as are most unless you count family or friends observance of your excessive drinking after you returned.  VA tends to ignore such claims.  

 And the TBI symptoms were only documented as adverse performance marks.  (not extremely bad but noting an effort was being made to not mark me down because of a recent 30 day hospitalization.)  The PTSD symptoms can take years to show.  

A WWII veteran in the mid 1980s woke up from a nightmare of hand to hand combat and discovered he had strangled his wife in bed next to him.

The first TBI/PTSD symptoms may have to be documented in police records.  Arrest for DUI or DAD or other substance abuse.  To get a full article we need to flesh this out a lot.

There is a lot in my 36 years of dealing with the VA to put in a book.  A ghost writer or additional author/ghost writer could put a lot together.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Lemuel
clarity, typo (see edit history)

[broncovet 4,386]

You asked, 

Quote

How do I submit an article?

You "submit an article" just like you did, you can post your opinions on hadit.  

Now, if you are asking "how to submit an article" in a scientific journal, this normally requires original scientific research as well as peer review.  

If you are asking how to submit an article "to VA" in regard to your claim, then you can send a 21-4138 as to your opinions to VA.  

However, there are 2 different classes of evidence for VA:

1.  Lay Evidence  You need not have any medical background to submit lay evidence.  You can testify things like, "I was hit on the head on/about June 14, 1989 from a blow from a weapon in training".    You dont need any medical training to describe what you personally observed.  And, the VA can not reject your testimony based on the fact you are an 'interested party'.  

2.  Medical evidence.  All claims require medical evidence to succeed.  They require a medical diagnosis, as well as a nexus.  You can not provide this evidence, UNLESS you have a medical degree or medical training.  The VA does not consider you "competent" to diagnose or offer a medical opinion as to TBI.  Only a doctor or medical professional can do that.  

Of course, if you are so inclined, you can attend  medical school and publish your own opinions and research.  

     I THINK what you are getting at, is how to submit a scientific article from a journal related to your medical conditions.  You can provide your doctor a copy of the applicable article.   He can decide if he thinks its applicable to your conditions or not.  

     Now, Im guessing you mean how do you WRITE such an article for publication.  Again, if you expect any sort of credibility, you would need to be considered an expert in the field, probably with a PHd or MD degree.  I have a Bachelor's degree, but its unrelated to medicine, so I can not "ghost write" your article either.     While I have written multiple articles for college, I am unqualified to write anything on TBI/medical or even close.   

Edited March 15, 2019 by broncovet (see edit history)

[Lemuel 71]

Thanks Bronco.

There are better writers on this board than I am.  Maybe someone would like to go through what I'm pasting here and edit.  They can even have all copyright rights.  I wrote this when my mind was working better.

After I submitted this the "Journal" reposted with the test results.  Still didn't compare to the patients induction scores.  And tests are suspect because the study is written in a way to fail peer review but get the writers out of Vietnam and out from under reprisal threats for not coming up with a predetermined outcome.

The "Study" will be my next post here.

Copy paste didn't work so I'm attaching the two articles to this post and deleting the rest in this edit.

Notice how the "Brain that  Misplaced its Body" and the testimony except for Dr. Boos, tie into immunoexitotoxity.

 

 

PEER REVIEW KASTL, ETAL.pdf

Edited March 16, 2019 by Lemuel
Copy paste didn't work, upload file (see edit history)

[Lemuel 71]

I'll edit the last and this as soon as I have time to put them in more readable form.  This was in columns and the columns didn't follow properly.  And the font of column 1 is different than column 2. The link above will only get the summary without paying $35.00 for the article.  The attached is the article quoted by DR. Boos in the above post with testimony at the House Subcommittee on VA Benefits in 1998.

There is an article by DR. Blocker on that "20th patient" meaning dropping him from the study required dropping one more from the other group from the study.  Suspect he was actually in the B group until he went into late delirium.  Like the delayed unconsciousness from a concussion. 

This should be enough to help anyone who wants to wade through it and come out screaming.  

I'm deleting the cut and paste and attaching the article.  Should be easier to read.

 

 

Psychological_Testing_of_Cerebral_Malaria_Patients.4.pdf

Edited March 16, 2019 by Lemuel
clarity (see edit history)

[broncovet 4,386]

While I admire your ingenuity, rebutting this study is "way beyond" my writing skills.   Normally, scientific studies are rebutted by their peers.  Since my degree is not related to psychology, its my opinion that you would need someone with a phd to research and refute this.  I really know nothing about mental illness, tbi, PTSD, and am wholly unqualified to write a rebuttal to this.  Neither would I be competent to "edit" this, either.  

I dont know anyone on hadit, either, that knows much about "cereberal malaria", either.  But good luck with this.  

Im still not even sure why you would want to refute this article...at least relative to VA benefits..

     Even if you were successful in locating someone with a phd willing to do this, I still dont get its relevance to Veterans health or benefits.  Im guessing you want some changes as to rating TBI.  While such a challenge is formidable, VA may or may not make any changes based on your findings.  

[Lemuel 71]

IT problem.docx

[Lemuel 71]

Now I have a dialog box that isn't covered by an upload banner.

Thanks Bronco.  I did try a phd but not a neurobehavioral psychologist and couldn't get one to do it because they weren't qualified or were prevented by VA Regulations from doing anything that would smell like an "expert witness.

But your post brought to mind a solution.  Now that I can afford it I can look for an "expert witness" to provide me with an affidavit to present to the court in my TBI/medical malpractice case to show VA intent.

Tried to contact Nils R. Varney, who is no longer connected to the VA but didn't get a response.  Might have to travel to his office in Iowa.  I know, from his testimony, that he would tear it apart.  Might try that next month when the snow flies go into hibernation.

[Lemuel 71]

How to get rid of the "download banner" overlaying the "Answer Box".   Sign out and resign in.  Problem solved.

For those who want more to understand immunoexcitotoxicity use this link.  Long difficult read from NIH:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3157093/