health.mil

Emma C. Anderson  |  health.mil

January 28, 2011

Army Maj. Gen. James K. Gilman, Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Fort Detrick introduces the "MHS Contribution to the Advancement of Health Sciences Research Symposium" Thursday. Researchers, doctors and medical scientists presented research findings on topics including infections, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and asthma at a research symposium held Jan. 27 at the 2011 MHS conference.
 
Maj. Gen. James K. Gilman, M.D., commander of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command stressed the link between research that enhances medical knowledge and delivering the best care possible to service members and their families.
 
“What we produce in terms of knowledge products is perhaps just as important, if not more so, than the all the ‘stuff’ we make,” Gilman said.
 
Army Lt. Col. Clinton Murray, M.D., program director for the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium for the Infectious Disease Fellowship explained his research on combat wound infections.
 
“We’re trying to look at the infectious complications of our casualties and figure out what excess morbidity and mortality is out there, and what risk factors we can identify to improve care,” Murray said.
 
He added that the infection rate has not changed significantly since the Vietnam War, but that his research may show a path to improve care and reduce rates of infection.
 
“We clearly need novel diagnostic and treatment modalities to improve combat casualty care from an infectious disease standpoint,” Murray said. “We also need to focus on guidelines in and out of the combat zone to really streamline therapy to improve overall outcome,” he added.
 
Troy Lisa Holbrook, Ph.D., a senior epidemiologist at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego discussed the use of morphine during the initial care of wounded warriors and her study that suggests its use may reduce post-traumatic stress disorder.
 
Holbrook acknowledged that more research is needed, but her research shows that the rate of morphine used during early resuscitation and acute trauma care may have a positive impact.
 
“Morphine, or possible other related opiate compounds administered immediately post injury may be a first line defense against PTSD in the battlefield,” Holbrook said.
 
Also at the symposium, Air Force Col. Randall Zernzach, M.D., the associate residency program director, Wright-Patterson Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Integrated Pediatric Residency, discussed his study of the contactin 4 gene in relation to the development of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, in children.
 
The study found that contactin 4 may be among the many genes implicated by autism, but that much more research is needed. Ron Miller, Ph.D., who works in the Air Force Office of Strategic Research, said Zernzach’s study brings the medical community closer to understanding ASD.
 
“As this research continues, more and more genetic risk factors will be identified, enabling us to treat at-risk children and provide them with the best treatment… and perhaps prevent the development of autism,” Miller said.
 
Thomas Williams, Ph.D., director of Health Program and Analysis and Evaluation Division for TRICARE Management Activity, presented his study of health care for asthma patients of various ethnicities.  The research analyzed factors such as asthma treatment patterns, specialist visits, emergency room visits and inhaler prescriptions, among others. The report compared treatment sought by and delivered to African American children, Hispanic children and Caucasian children who all had access to the same health care benefits.
 
The ability to study patients who fall under the same health care plan presents a great opportunity explained Capt. Peter Linz, M.D., research program manager for Navy Medicine and the head of the Clinical Investigation Department Naval Medical Center San Diego.  He added that he believes it is the military’s responsibility to conduct this type of research.
 
“We’ve known from other studies that they are differences between racial and ethnic groups,” Linz said. “We need to try to understand these differences and tailor our treatments to our patients.”
 
Gilman ended the session by emphasizing that cooperation and collaboration across the spectrum of military research is key to making medical advancements.
 
“Along with all of the MHS leaders in the room, I look forward to working together with you to make sure we continue to break down barriers,” Gilman said.

For more information about the 2011MHS Conference visit: http://www.health.mil/mhsconference.

Health Care [News]  |  research   2011mhsconference