Jim
Fausone
Veteran
Disability Attorney
VA
Healthcare does a tremendous amount of research and works to get that
information out into the public.
As
part of an effort to inform Veterans and others about their risk for developing
the disease, Timothy, of VA's Office of Research
and Development,
appeared on The
National Defense, a
syndicated radio program provided to radio stations nationwide by the Veterans
of Foreign Wars.
According
to Dr. O'Leary, type 2 (adult onset) diabetes affects nearly 20 percent of
Veterans who use VA health care, compared to about 8 percent of the general
public.
Diabetes
is the leading cause of blindness, kidney, disease, and amputation in the
United States, and that up to 80 percent of patients with diabetes will face a
heart attack or stroke. Dr. O'Leary said that VA is finding that group therapy
is proving to be a successful method to help people control their blood sugar
levels; that using pedometers encourages physical activities to help keep
diabetes under control; and that coaching and counseling is an important aspect
of managing the disease.
If
you are a veteran and have diabetes you should get treatment. The VA may
be able to help and you may be entitled to disability compensation. Do
not ignore this condition.
Veterans
exposed to blasts may still have brain damage even if they have no symptoms,
according to a study led by researchers at VA's Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research
Education and Clinical Center
(MIRECC) in Durham, N.C., and Duke University. The results of the study were
reported on in U.S.
News and World Report
and a number of other publications.
The
research suggested that a lack of symptoms of traumatic brain injury after a
blast may not indicate the extent of brain damage caused by the blast.
In
the study, researchers divided 45 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans into three
groups: those who had been exposed to blasts and had symptoms of TBI; those
who'd been exposed to blasts and had no TBI symptoms; and those with no blast exposure.
The participants underwent scans to look for damage in the brain's white
matter, as well as tests to assess their mental abilities. Veterans who were
exposed to blasts but had no symptoms had brain damage similar to that seen in
those with symptoms of TBI. So this contradicts a position taken by VA
Benefits that a lack of symptoms in service means no injury.
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