ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
There are many injuries military personnel can become afflicted with during their service, with head and brain injuries being among the most serious.
Tuesday, U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Angus King (I-Maine) – members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – introduced the Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2024 to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other research partners to comprehensively study the impacts of repetitive low-level blast injuries on veterans’ mental health.
“The legislation builds off the Precision Brain Health Initiative in the Commander John Scott Hannon Mental Health Care Improvement Act,” a release from Moran’s office noted. “This bill would require VA to create a ten-year research plan to establish the effects of repetitive low-level blast injuries, where benchmarks must be reported to Congress, in order to develop further legislation for veterans who suffer with the effects of these repetitive blast exposures.”
“Recent studies have tied low-level blasts, which servicemembers are exposed to during training and in combat, to high rates of brain and mental health conditions, as well as suicides,” Moran noted in the release. “This legislation will help us start to better understand why and how blast exposures are impacting servicemembers and veterans and make certain VA is able to quickly incorporate these findings into clinical care for our veterans to receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan. This legislation will help make certain veterans have the evidence-based health care and benefits they deserve, and I look forward to its passage.”
“Traumatic brain injuries are a common, yet misunderstood and often undetectable, injury — and they can be traced to large blasts in small amounts or smaller blasts that add up over time, so we need to address them in all their forms,” King noted in the release. “We have a duty to expand our understanding of the impact these blasts have on mental health, and to protect the long-term health and well-being of our military community. Here in Maine we know all too well the horrible tragedies that can occur when TBIs are left untreated. This commonsense bill builds off of previous efforts to ensure we deliver on our promise to provide our servicemembers, veterans and their families the very best care and support.”
The bill goes into more detail about what would be required.
“... A big-data assessment of the clinical and non-clinical interventions that are illustrating positive outcomes for patients within the health system of the Veterans Health Administration with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries, including a categorization of military occupational specialties known to experience higher levels of low-level repetitive blast injuries,” the bill noted. “Also, no fewer than two large-scale implementation studies of research-proven interventions within such health system for patients with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries, including a categorization of military occupational specialties known to experience higher levels of low-level repetitive blast injuries. Also, a translational research study on the use of growth hormone replacement therapy on the improvement of cognitive function, quality of life, brain structure, and other negative symptoms on patients within such health system with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries. Also, no fewer than four large-scale quality improvement studies on improving the diagnosis and care of veteran patients with likely low-level repetitive blast injuries.”
The bill also talks about a partnership with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
“No later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Precision Brain Health Research Act of 2024, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to enter into a contract with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine under which the National Academies shall: work in tandem with the initiative on validation of brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans; and no less frequently than once every two years, submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the work completed. The Secretary shall also conduct an assessment of all translational research studies in progress and planned under the initiative, including research. No later than 60 days after completion of the assessment conducted, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the assessment. No less frequently than once every two years, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the initiative.”
