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Daniel Zwerdling

Brain Wars

Aftershock: The Blast That Shook Psycho Platoon

Five soldiers injured in the same 2009 bomb blast are a case study in a new epidemic among America's troops, who are grappling with a combination of concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Brain Wars

Gov't Watchdog Criticizes Pentagon Center for PTSD, Brain Injuries

The Pentagon’s Defense Centers of Excellence are plagued by management weakness and obscure finances, according to recent Government Accountability Office reports.

Brain Wars

New Survey: Few Troops Exposed to Bomb Blasts Are Screened For Concussion

Only about 1 in 5 soldiers and Marines say they have been tested to determine if they have suffered brain injuries. Military officials hope the numbers will improve now that a new policy is in place.

Brain Wars

Critical Shortage of Army Neurologists for U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

A military memorandum says that new requirements for diagnosing and treating brain injury has resulted in a shortage of Army neurologists on battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Brain Wars

Army Plans New Guidelines to Resolve Denials of Purple Hearts to Brain-Injured Soldiers

The Army’s move comes in response to an investigation published last September by ProPublica and NPR that revealed some soldiers had been wrongly denied the medal despite regulations that made them eligible for it.

Brain Wars

Scientific Review Kicks Off to Weigh Treatment for Brain-Injured Soldiers

The National Institutes of Medicine convened the first of what's expected to be a series of public panels to help determine whether cognitive rehabilitation therapy could help heal troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Brain Wars

More Than 70 Members of Congress Demand Cognitive Treatment for Troops With Traumatic Brain Injuries

Citing an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, 74 members of Congress have signed a letter demanding that Tricare, the Pentagon’s health plan, provide treatment for troops with traumatic brain injuries.

Brain Wars

Congress to Investigate Pentagon Decision to Deny Coverage for Brain Injured Troops

Sen. Claire McCaskill's committee wants to examine a contract between Tricare, the Pentagon's health plan, and ECRI Institute, which found insufficient evidence to support cognitive rehabilitation therapy.

Brain Wars

American Legion Pushes For Coverage of Treatment for Troops With Brain Injuries

Citing an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, the nation’s largest veterans group is demanding that Tricare, the Pentagon’s health plan, pay for cognitive rehabilitation therapy

Brain Wars

Pentagon Told Congress It's Studying Brain-Damage Therapy

The Pentagon told Congress last month that it was studying the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation therapy for brain-injured soldiers, the same treatment the Pentagon's health plan refuses to cover.