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Released: 12-Apr-2012 6:15 PM EDT
Improv Comedy Workshop at UCLA to Help Military and Veteran Families Deal with Effects of War
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences

The UCLA Nathanson Family Resilience Center and the nonprofit Rx Laughter are teaming up with the legendary Second City Training Center to offer an innovative, humor-based project that uses improvisational comedy techniques to help military and veteran families deal with the traumatic effects of war.

Released: 30-Mar-2012 10:50 AM EDT
Psychologists Available to Discuss Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
American Psychological Association (APA)

Reports of post-traumatic stress disorder among members of the U.S. military are raising questions about how this psychological disorder is diagnosed and treated. Psychologists can help explain how someone is diagnosed with PTSD and how service members are particularly affected by combat. They can also discuss how PTSD can pose serious mental health issues for service members, veterans and their families. The following experts are available for interviews on this topic.

Released: 19-Mar-2012 9:00 AM EDT
Gulf, Balkan Wars Add New Dimensions to War Trauma; Book Sheds New Light on PTSD, and Its Often Devastating Aftermath
University of New Hampshire

A new book by a University of New Hampshire researcher and Vietnam-era disabled veteran sheds new light on the long-term psychological trauma experienced by the coalition force in recent wars in the Gulf and Balkans that, when left untreated, can have deadly consequences.

Released: 16-Feb-2012 7:20 PM EST
Military Service Changes Personality, Makes Vets Less Agreeable
Washington University in St. Louis

It’s no secret that battlefield trauma can leave veterans with deep emotional scars that impact their ability to function in civilian life. But new research led by Washington University in St. Louis suggests that military service, even without combat, has a subtle lingering effect on a man’s personality, making it potentially more difficult for veterans to get along with friends, family and co-workers.

Released: 13-Jan-2012 4:45 PM EST
AAMC Medical Schools Pledge to Improve Health of America's Veterans and Families
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)

First Lady Michelle Obama announced an unprecedented commitment made by more than 100 of the AAMC’s member medical schools to improve the health and wellness of military service members and their families as part of the Joining Forces initiative.

Released: 21-Dec-2011 12:00 PM EST
Training Addresses Returning Service Members’ Mental Health Needs
Vanderbilt University

A Vanderbilt-led workshop for military health care providers could lead to more post-deployment mental health referrals.

Released: 20-Dec-2011 10:15 AM EST
Future of Iraq: Florida State Expert Can Discuss Stability of War-Torn Nation
Florida State University

After nine years of war, American military forces have withdrawn from Iraq. A Florida State University political scientist is available to provide perspective on that nation’s stability.

Released: 14-Dec-2011 10:30 AM EST
War Zone Peacekeepers and Relief Workers Show No Increase in Mental Illness
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Despite similar traumatic exposures, peacekeepers and relief workers don't show the same mental health effects as combat veterans, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

2-Dec-2011 9:00 AM EST
Kidney Injury: A Serious Risk to the Health and Survival of Today’s Soldiers
American Society of Nephrology (ASN)

Highlights: 1) Abrupt kidney injury can lead to numerous complications that affect individuals’ health and survival. 2) Soldiers’ kidneys are often at risk and can fail among those burned during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. 3) Burned military patients with kidney injury are more likely to die than those without kidney injury.

Released: 22-Nov-2011 3:00 PM EST
Hire Heroes Act Will Help Change Perceptions of Veterans Entering Tough Job Market
Washington University in St. Louis

Veterans are returning home to an abysmal economy and a tough job market. “After World War II, employers used to snap up veterans because of their tremendous skills sets gained in the service – whether that be technical, leadership, or other job specific aptitudes,” says Monica Matthieu, PhD, research assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on veteran mental health. “But now, veterans are facing higher unemployment rates than civilians as employers may be concerned about veterans’ struggle with the mental and physical health aftereffects of military service,” she says.

Released: 18-Nov-2011 11:30 AM EST
Hope on the Horizon for Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

Researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are teaming up for a research project aimed at advancing the treatment of military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Released: 10-Nov-2011 1:00 PM EST
Veterans’ Mental Health Care Emphasizes Recovery and Return to Full and Meaningful Lives
American Psychological Association (APA)

Healthy recovery key to veterans' mental health, says Dr. Antonette M. Zeiss.

Released: 13-Oct-2011 9:00 AM EDT
Headaches Take Toll on Soldiers
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Headaches, a virtually universal human complaint at one time or another, are among the top reasons for medical evacuation of military personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan, and for ongoing depletion of active-duty ranks in those countries, according to research led by Johns Hopkins specialists. Just one-third of soldiers sent home because of headaches return to duty in either place, the research shows.

Released: 7-Oct-2011 1:40 PM EDT
Center for Study of Working Class Life Releases Study on U.S. Military Casualties in Afghanistan
Stony Brook University

The Center for Study of Working Class Life released its report "American Military Deaths in Afghanistan, and the Communities from Which These Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines Came.," today, the tenth anniversary of the start of the current war in Afghanistan.

Released: 6-Oct-2011 12:25 PM EDT
Scholar Available to Provide Historical Perspective on 10th Anniversary of Afghanistan Invasion
Florida State University

Friday, Oct. 7, marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, launched to remove al-Qaida from its safe haven in that country and topple the Taliban government. A decade later, some 130,000 American troops are still stationed in that troubled nation, with no definitive end to the conflict in sight.

Released: 4-Oct-2011 10:00 AM EDT
New Diagnosis Proposed for Iraq/Afghanistan War Veterans with Respiratory Symptoms
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have a high rate of breathing-related symptoms leading to lung function testing, reports a paper in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Released: 3-Oct-2011 4:10 PM EDT
IED Research Aimed at Reducing Soldiers' Amputations, Leg Injuries
Mississippi State University

A Mississippi State University researcher in biomedical engineering examines through computer modeling and simulation how high-impact explosions, including IEDs, affect soldiers' legs. This researcher will present findings at a NATO conference on Tuesday.

Released: 26-Sep-2011 11:15 AM EDT
Re-Engineering Afghanistan
IEEE Spectrum Magazine

Reconstructing Afghanistan's electrical sector has cost billions of U.S. dollars--to little avail.

Released: 8-Sep-2011 8:00 AM EDT
Death Tolls Spur Pro-War Stance
Washington University in St. Louis

Mounting casualities in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars might seem like a reason for people to denounce the war and demand a way out. But a new “sunk-cost” psychology study finds that highlighting casualties before asking for opinions on these wars actually sways people toward a pro-war attitude. This sunk-cost mindset may also explain why losers stay in stock market.

Released: 6-Sep-2011 11:00 AM EDT
9/11 Impact Less in Europe, Says WUSTL Anthropologist
Washington University in St. Louis

Key differences in how Muslims were perceived before 9/11 in the United States and Western Europe played a key role in how much — or how little — attitudes of Muslims have changed there since 9/11, says John R. Bowen, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

18-Aug-2011 12:25 PM EDT
Study Links Low DHA Levels to Suicide Risk Among U.S. Military Personnel
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU)

Low levels of the highly unsaturated omega-3 essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, may be associated with increased risk of suicide.

15-Aug-2011 12:15 PM EDT
Extramarital Sex and Divorce More Common Among Veterans
American Sociological Association (ASA)

Veterans were significantly more likely to have ever engaged in extramarital sex and ever gotten divorced than people who were never in the military, according to new research to be presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

Released: 15-Aug-2011 4:20 PM EDT
Disabled Veterans’ Lives Improved Through Participation in Civic Service Program
Washington University in St. Louis

Post-9/11 disabled veterans furthered their education, improved employment prospects and continued to serve their community through participating in The Mission Continues’ Fellowship Program finds a new study by the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Released: 10-Aug-2011 2:30 PM EDT
Afghanistan’s Highest Mountain Accessible to Climbers Once Again
Wildlife Conservation Society

Closed off from the outside world for decades due to regional insecurity, Afghanistan’s highest mountain—Mount Noshaq—is once again accessible to the mountaineering community, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, Australian Geographic Outdoor, and other groups.

3-Aug-2011 4:45 PM EDT
Suicide Risk High for War Veterans in College, Study Finds
University of Utah

Results of a new survey of 525 college student veterans show rates of thinking of and attempting suicide are much higher than for college students in general.

28-Jul-2011 10:00 AM EDT
Suicide Risk High for War Veterans in College
American Psychological Association (APA)

Nearly half of college students who are U.S. military veterans reported thinking of suicide and 20 percent said they had planned to kill themselves, rates significantly higher than among college students in general, according to a study presented at the American Psychological Association’s 119th Annual Convention.

Released: 3-Aug-2011 12:40 PM EDT
Women Veterans’ Health: Sexx Matters
Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)

The physical and mental health problems affecting women veterans are a major issue within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense, and the catalyst for the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) congressional briefing, Women Veteran’s Health: Sexx Matters held on Tuesday, August 2.

Released: 3-Aug-2011 12:25 PM EDT
U of SC film ‘Soldier Girl’ Gives Rare Glimpse into Women’s Military Experience
University of South Carolina

A documentary featuring more than 30 women who share their military experiences. The women have served in every branch of the military, from World War II to Afghanistan.

29-Jul-2011 11:50 AM EDT
Persons Displaced by War at Increased Risk of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association

Residents of Sri Lanka who were internally displaced during the civil conflict that occurred in their country from 1983 to 2009 have a higher prevalence of war-related mental health conditions that include depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

Released: 1-Aug-2011 12:00 PM EDT
New Composite Material May Restore Damaged Soft Tissue
Johns Hopkins Medicine

--Potential uses include facial reconstruction for soldiers’ blast injuries. Biomedical engineers at Johns Hopkins have developed a new liquid material that in early experiments in rats and humans shows promise in restoring damaged soft tissue relatively safely and durably. The material, a composite of biological and synthetic molecules, is injected under the skin, then “set” using light to form a more solid structure, like using cold to set gelatin in a mold.

Released: 26-Jul-2011 6:35 PM EDT
Parents’ Military Deployments Take Emotional Toll on Teens
Health Behavior News Service

When military deployments call for their parents to serve abroad, adolescents have a tough time adjusting, and a new study shows their moods often lead to risky behavior.

Released: 20-Jul-2011 2:40 PM EDT
Staging the Transition from Soldier to 'Civilian'
University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky will present a compelling documentary drama based on riveting oral history interviews of student veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the New York Fringe Festival.

Released: 11-Jul-2011 12:00 PM EDT
A War Inside: Saving Veterans from Suicide
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

An estimated 18 American military veterans take their own lives every day - thousands each year - and those numbers are steadily increasing. Even after weathering the stresses of military life and the terrors of combat, these soldiers find themselves overwhelmed by the transition back into civilian life. Many have already survived one suicide attempt, but never received the extra help and support they needed, with tragic results. A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues discovered that veterans who have attempted suicide not only have an elevated risk of further suicide attempts, but face mortality risks from all causes at a rate three times greater than the general population. Their research was recently published in Biomed Central Public Health.

Released: 29-Jun-2011 12:55 PM EDT
A War Inside: Saving Veterans from Suicide
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

After weathering the stresses of military life and the terrors of combat, soldiers find themselves overwhelmed by the transition back into civilian life. Many have already survived one suicide attempt, but never received the extra help and support they needed, with tragic results. A team of researchers found that veterans who are repeat suicide attempters suffer significantly greater mortality rates due to suicide compared to both military and civilian peers.

Released: 27-Jun-2011 11:40 AM EDT
Wildlife Surviving Conflict in Afghanistan
Wildlife Conservation Society

A new survey conducted by WCS scientists, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), reveals that large mammals, including Asiatic black bears, gray wolves, markhor goats, and leopard cats are surviving in parts of Afghanistan after years of conflict.

Released: 27-Jun-2011 11:20 AM EDT
U.S.- Pakistan Must Restore Trust and Confidence
American University

U.S.-Pakistan relations are at a boiling point and must be restored to pre-tension levels says American University Expert, Akbar Ahmed. Ahmed was Pakistan’s former High Commissioner to Britain. He has advised incoming CIA Director General Petraeus and high-ranking officials in the Obama administration on Islam and foreign policy.

Released: 23-Jun-2011 10:30 AM EDT
Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan Will Fail, and Could Signal an End to the American Empire
Cornell University

Barry Strauss, chair of the Department of History at Cornell University and an author of 11 books on military history, comments on the long-term implications of President Barak Obama’s plan for a substantial drawdown of American troops from Afghanistan.

Released: 13-Jun-2011 4:10 PM EDT
Mission Unaccomplished: Understanding the Health Needs of our Women Veterans
Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)

Women are the fastest growing segment in the US military, already accounting for approximately 14 percent of deployed forces. According to statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 20 percent of new recruits and 17 percent of Reserve and National Guard Forces are women. As the number of women continues to grow in the military, so does the need for health care specifically targeted to their unique concerns.

Released: 9-Jun-2011 9:00 AM EDT
Pentagon Budget May Dominate Panetta Confirmation Hearings
American University

Gordon Adams’s article appearing in Foreign Policy, "Unfinished Business: Ten huge challenges Bob Gates leaves behind," outlines challenges Panetta must solve as secretary of defense. Adams cautions “Panetta is going to have to get tougher, a lot tougher. . . .” to tame a bloated defense budget .

Released: 7-Jun-2011 10:45 AM EDT
Women Warriors Show Resilience Similar to Men
American Psychological Association (APA)

News release concludes that women are as resilient as men in combat.

27-May-2011 1:00 PM EDT
Blast-Related Brain Injuries Detected in U.S. Military
Washington University in St. Louis

An advanced imaging technique has revealed that some U.S. military personnel with mild blast-related traumatic brain injuries have abnormalities in the brain that have not been seen with other types of imaging.

Released: 18-May-2011 8:00 AM EDT
Occupational Lung Diseases in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Researchers have described a new respiratory disease in soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Released: 10-May-2011 8:55 AM EDT
Students Assemble Care Packages for Nurses in Iraq, Afghanistan
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Hopkins students salute nurses serving abroad in the U.S. armed forces with care packages for National Nurses' Week.

Released: 3-May-2011 3:15 PM EDT
Military Recruiting Videos Create Misconceptions About Real War, Research Suggests
Southeastern Louisiana University

War-based video games can sometimes create misleading perceptions of war for military recruits which could conflict with current military training.

Released: 2-May-2011 8:05 PM EDT
Osama Bin Laden’s Death: AU Experts Available for Commentary
American University

American University, ranked by Princeton Review as the most politically active campus in the nation, has professors available to provide expertise and commentary on President Barack Obama’s announcement of Osama Bin Laden’s death.

Released: 2-May-2011 7:30 PM EDT
Bin Laden: America’s Most Political Students React
American University

Student reaction from American University.

Released: 2-May-2011 4:55 PM EDT
Tweeting the Raid: Social Media, National Security and ‘Eyes on the Ground’
Wake Forest University

“This is the beginning of a new day. The importance of the individual voice has been heightened,” says Wake Forest University social media expert and professor of communication Ananda Mitra. It began when Sohaib Athar in Pakistan unwittingly live-tweeted the Bin Laden raid hours prior to the news breaking on social networking sites.

Released: 2-May-2011 4:40 PM EDT
Death of Bin Laden: Florida State University Experts Provide Analysis
Florida State University

Florida State University’s nationally regarded experts in terrorism, trauma, communications and economics are ready to answer media questions and provide analysis of the historical, political, cultural and economic ramifications of the death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

29-Apr-2011 1:35 PM EDT
Post-Deployment PTSD Symptoms More Common in Military Personnel with Prior Mental Health Disorders
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association

Military service members who screened positive for mental health disorders before deployment, or who were injured during deployment, were more likely to develop post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms than their colleagues without these risk factors, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Released: 2-May-2011 2:30 PM EDT
After Bin Laden - UMD Experts
University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland experts in terrorism, international security, politics, and more, can discuss the ramifications of the death of Osama Bin Laden - including the grim body count from his attacks, the areas of greatest vulnerability in the future, how the U.S. has improved connecting the dots, and the risks of summary assassination.



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