PTSD, TBI, and Early Aging- War might be making young bodies old
Posted by defensebaseactcomp on September 6, 2012
If what they’re seeing is a form of early aging, it seems most common to those with both blast-related
concussion and PTSD— about 30% of the veterans being studied in a long-term research effort.
There is even imaging evidence of diminished gray matter in high-functioning areas of the brain, changes
that shouldn’t happen for decades, if at all.
by Gregg Zoroyo USA Today September 6, 2012
Civilian Contractors are provided much less care for these conditions and normally long after the fact, if at all.
BOSTON – A litany of physical or emotional problems spill out as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans make their
way, one by one, to the 11th floor of a VA hospital in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood.
The tragic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder or battlefield concussion are all too evident. Even more
alarming for researchers is emerging evidence that these newest American combat veterans — former GIs
and Marines in their 20s and 30s — appear to be growing old before their time. Scientists see early signs of
heart disease and diabetes, slowed metabolisms and obesity — maladies more common to middle age or
later.
“They should have been in the best shape of their lives,” says William Milberg, a Harvard Medical School
professor of psychology and project co-director. “The big worry, of course, is we’re going to be taking care of
them until they’re in their 70s.
What’s going to happen to them in the long run?”
Please read the entire story at USA Today
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Posted in Civilian Contractors, Defense Base Act, Defense Base Act Insurance, Department of Labor, Injured
Contractors, Political Watch, PTSD and TBI | Tagged: Defense Base Act, Defense Base Act Insurance
Companies, Diabetes, Early Aging, Heart DIsease, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, ptsd, TBI, Traumatic
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