Brain and Spine Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Titolo Law Firm : Las Vegas, Nevada

After legislation to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Act successfully passed by Congress last week, the bill still needs to be considered by the President for his signature into law. The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) anticipates this consideration will occur in the very near future.

This week saw major activity occur on H.R. 5613, legislation recently introduced which would place a moratorium until March 2009 on seven Medicaid regulations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services. On Wednesday, the bill was unanimously approved by the full House Energy and Commerce Committee, setting up a potential veto showdown with the White House. BIAA has strongly endorsed this legislation and submitted an official letter of endorsement to the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Murphy (R-PA), last week.

Also this week, The Rand Corporation published an important comprehensive study of the mental health and cognitive needs of U.S. servicemembers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. This groundbreaking study - which focuses specifically on the post-deployment health-related needs and economic costs associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression and TBI - estimates that 320,000 servicemembers may have experienced TBI as a result of recent combat operations.

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The ongoing efforts in the news to prevent and treat veterans brain injuries continue. 

Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) are pursuing efforts to find new ways to prevent and treat the increasing numbers of combat troops who are suffering from injuries due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). University research teams are also leading efforts to better diagnose and manage post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Of the more than 20,000 service members who have sustained injury in the war in Iraq, TBI from improvised explosive devices (IED) is the most common injury. In addition to efforts to better treat those with such injuries, the university is increasing the focus on diagnosing and treating PTSD. Currently, there is no single test to diagnose either TBI or PTSD. However, researchers at USU are studying the physical and behavioral consequences of moderate and severe TBI to characterize each injury and examine methods of identification and management. The TBI research focuses on injury caused by blasts of air following an explosion and attempts to promote recovery by using anti inflammatory medication and sensory stimulation to regenerate brain cells and growth of brain tissue.

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