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VA Continues to Play Key Role in PTSD Research
February 28, 2005
From VA Research Currents Vol.5, No.2/Feb.2005
Update from Clinical Science Research and Development
By Brian G. Schuster, MD, PhD, Director
 Recent reports indicate that as many as 10 to 20 percent of service
personnel deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan may be diagnosed with posttraumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), presenting future healthcare challenges for
VA. Until relatively recently, a diagnosis of PTSD was rarely made and
generally only applied to veterans. It is no wonder that interest in and knowledge
about PTSD has expanded greatly with recent military deployments and
world events. Now we recognize the disorder in the general population as
well as the military/veteran populations.
VA research has played a major role in the expansion of our understanding
of PTSD, as well as in the development of new diagnostic tools and treatments.
Some of the most significant research advances in PTSD have been
made by VA scientists. Examples include the application of leading-edge
neuroimaging technologies to define involvement of critical brain structures
and circuitry; the delineation of neurochemical
and neuroendocrine abnormalities;
and the conduct of novel
treatment trials to ameliorate symptoms.
VA currently supports PTSD
programs across the research continuum,
from bench to bedside. The
program includes fundamental biological
investigations, clinically relevant
animal models, clinical research, small
interventional trials, and even large
multisite cooperative studies such as
"Risperidone Treatment for Military
Service Related Chronic Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder" and "Integrating
Clinical Practice Guidelines for
Smoking Cessation into Mental Health
Care for Veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder." These broad efforts
involving many individual VA investigators
will no doubt lead to better understanding
of the underlying causes, as
well as to better clinical care.
Notwithstanding the exceptional
productivity of our VA researchers, we
recognize that effectively designing
PTSD interventions, including prevention
strategies, will require the consistent
application of many resources. In
this regard, ORD is working
collaboratively within VHA, including
Patient Care Services and the National
Center for PTSD, and with other
major federal funding agencies to
promote PTSD research. For example,
recognizing that some soldiers exposed
to traumatic conditions develop PTSD
while some remain resilient is of
particular interest to both DoD and
VA, particularly with regard to establishing
early interventions.
Our goal is to work effectively with
our partners in advancing the clinical
care of affected veterans by supporting
meritorious research. Funding opportunities
with our research partners are
posted at www.va.gov/resdev.
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