Remember last year when a VA official sent out a memo telling VA psychiatrists to use the label "anxiety disorder" instead of "PTSD" in order to deny claims? Well, here's a more subtle approach: Find a "pre-existing condition" (my phrase), so that the presumption of mental/physical soundness at the point of enlistment can be voided (my interpretation).
Plus, here is the usual military sensitivity----NOT!1-------laid bare: We're not doing this to HELP you. A VA psychiatrist said to a claimant he was "evaluating", withOUT the claimant's having asked, "My job is NOT to help you!1"
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_he_me/us_med_predicting_ptsd;_ylt=Avhpe4RNb6RTVebcoY5Ho2B0fNdFMilitary experiment seeks to predict PTSD
.... Sheets is part of a military experiment to try to
predict who's most at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding underlying triggers might help reduce the burden of those who return psychologically wounded — if they can get early help. ....
Military doctors have been mystified as to why certain warfighters exposed to bombings and bloodshed develop paralyzing stress symptoms while others who witness the same trauma shake it off.
Studies on veterans and civilians point to some clues.
Childhood abuse, history of mental illness and severity of trauma seem to raise a person's risk. Having a social net and a coping strategy appear to offer some protection. ....
New PTSD studies are using technology to try to get at the answer. Select Marine and Army units are undergoing a battery of physical and mental tests before deployment
including genetic testing, brain imaging and stress exams. They are followed in war zones and upon return. ....
"We're doing this
not to make you better prepared to go do what you have to do in Afghanistan. We're
not doing this to make your health any better," said Dr. William Nash, a retired Navy psychiatrist and study co-investigator. "We're doing this so that we can learn more about how to protect Marines from stress injuries like PSTD." ....
Groundbreaking research published last year on adult survivors of child abuse suggests that specific variations of a
gene increased their chances of developing PTSD. Scientists believe there may be many other gene variants that contribute to PTSD risk. ....
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