RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT RISK FACTORS LIKE TRAUMATIC BRAIN
INJURY AND POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER-- COMMONLY FOUND IN
MILITARY VETERANS-- CAN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE
LIKELIHOOD OF DEVELOPING ALZHEIMER'S OR DEMENTIA.
IN 2015, NEARLY HALF A MILLION VETERANS WERE REPORTED TO BE
LIVING WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE.
IT'S A NUMBER THAT CONTINUES TO INCREASE AS THIS POPULATION
AGES.
SINCE 2012, THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN FOLLOWING
THIS GROWING EVIDENCE OF MILITARY-RELATED RISK FACTORS
FOR DEMENTIA.
EARLIER, I SPOKE WITH THE CO-AUTHOR OF THEIR LATEST
REPORT, DR.
MICHAEL JAFFEE, VICE CHAIR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
FLORIDA'S DEPARTMENT OF NEUROLOGY AND FORMER NATIONAL
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE AND VETERANS BRAIN INJURY CENTER.
HE TELLS US MORE ABOUT THEIR FINDINGS AND WHAT IT COULD MEAN
FOR MILLIONS OF CURRENT SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN.
HI ARE DR.
JAFFEE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
IT'S MY PLEASURE TO BE HERE PAM.
YOU CO-AUTHORED THIS PAPER REMITTED TO ALZHEIMER'S AND VET
BSHES RELATED TO ALZHEIMER'S AND VETERANS, RELATED TO NEUROLOGY,
TO ALZHEIMER'S.
YOU MET AGAIN IN 2016, NOW YOU'VE PUT THIS REPORT TOGETHER.
TELL US WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED.
I THINK WE'RE CONTINUING TO LEARN IMPORTANT ASPECTS
MR.
VETERANS AROUND THE INCIDENCES EVER DMEN ASHA?
OIFERG THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MILITARY SERVICE AND
VARIOUS MILITARY RISK FACTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMENTIA
LATER IN LIFE.
WE LOOKED AT THE STATE OF THE SCIENCE AND THIS MEETING WAS PUT
TOGETHER BY THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION WHO HAS A GREAT
INTEREST INTO THIS TOPIC.
WE WERE ABLE TO GET A BETTER WINDOW INTO THE MECHANISMS THAT
WERE HAPPENING IN THE BRAIN THAT WERE ALLOWING THE DEVELOPMENT OF
DEMENTIA IN THESE MILITARY MEMBERS WHO HAD SERVED.
I THINK NOW WE ARE NOT ONLY LEARNING THAT THE RELATIONSHIP
EXIFTSD BUT EXACTLY WHY IT IS HAPPENING.
THE HOPE IS THAT IT WILL OPEN UP WINDOWS OF UNDERSTANDING, TO
MAKE INTERVENTIONS TO PROVIDE TREATMENTS TO VETS T VETERANS
AND THEIR FAMILIES.
WHAT HAPPENS THAT ARE SIGNINGS THAT HE OR SHE IS
COMING DOWN WITH DEMENTIA OR ALZHEIMER'S AND HOW IS THAT
DIFFERENT FROM SOMEBODY WHO IS A VETERAN COMPARED TO SOMEBODY
WHOLESALE DIDN'T SERVE IN THE MILITARY AND ALSO COMES DOWN
WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE?
THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WOULD SHARE IN COMMON IS SOME
DECLINE IN MEMORY AND ATTENTION.
SOME ADDITIONAL FINDINGS THAT WAS ALSO OF NOTE IN THE VETERAN
POPULATION IS THAT THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE SOME ABNORMALITIES IN
EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS WHICH IS THE ABILITIES TO MULTITASK OR TO
CARRY OUT DIFFERENT ITEMS AT ONCE.
SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE RISK FACTORS, AFFECTING THE MILITARY
VETERANS MORE, TRAUMATIC BRAIN JURY, RISK OF POSTTRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER, IF THEY ARE SUFERTION FROM SYMPTOMS OF BOTH
IT TURNS OUT THAT MAY HAVE AN ADDITIVE DIMENSION TO THEIR RISK
AND ADDITIONAL EMOTIONAL CHALLENGE THAT DEAL WITH
CO-MORBID ISSUES THEY HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH.
I IMAGINE IF FINDING OUT TRAUMATIC BRAIN JUNIOR AND PTSD
KIND OF HELP MOVE THIS ALONG, CORRECT?
THAT SEEMS THEY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED
RISK IN DEVELOPMENT, UNDERSTANDING EXACTLY WHAT
CHANGES ARE HAPPENING FROM THOSE VETERANS W.H.O.
HAVE BEEN -- WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO A MODERATE
TO SEVERE BRAIN INJURY OR SUFFERING FROM THE FIBLGHTS OF
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS.
THE MECHANISMS OF WHAT THESE THINGS ARE DOING INSIDE THE
BRAIN, WE'RE HOPING WE'LL MAKE MORE MEANINGFUL INTERVENTIONS
MORE QUICKLY IN THE COURSE.
YOU OAR NEUROLOGIST, A RETIRED U.S., AIR FORCE COLONEL.
TELL US ABOUT THAT SERVICE, WORKING WITH MEN AND WOMEN.
YOU SPENT TIME OVERSEAS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN, CORRECT?
I DID AND I SAW HOW CARE WAS BEING PROVIDED ON THE BAMENT
FEED FOR OUR SERVICE MEMBERS WHO SUSTAINED THESE INJURIES.
I TOOK THAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE HOME WITH ME, WHEN I
CAME HOME FROM DEPLOYMENT AND I HAD THE CHANCE TO SERVE AS
DIRECTOR OF THE THE BRAIN CENTER WHERE WE COORDINATED BETWEEN THE
VA AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, FOR OUR SERVICE MEMBERS
INJURED ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
FOCUSED OPENED THAT INITIAL POINT OF CARE MANAGEMENT, TRYING
TO DO THE BEST WE COULD IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING THEM EARLY,
IDENTIFYING TREATMENTS THEY COULD USE EARLY.
AND THIS IS FOCUSING ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS AS WE FOLLOW THEM
OVER TIME, WHAT WE CAN DO TO KIND OF BETTER HANDLE THE
LASTING EFFECTS OF THROWS INJURIES.
WE SAW TOO ONE OF THE STATISTICS HERE IS ABOUT HALF A
MILLION VETERANS SUFFER FROM EITHER DEMENTIA OR ALZHEIMER'S,
THIS IS REALLY A BIG PROBLEM FOR THIS COMMUNITY ISN'T IT?
IT IS.
WE ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE.
WE DO -- ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS WILL CONTINUE.
SINCE 2008 THERE'S BEEN A 22% INCREASE IN OUR VETERANS WHO
HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH DEMENTIA AND THIS IS BECOMING A
MAJOR ISSUE FOR OUR VETERANS WHO SERVE AND THEIR FAMILIES AS WELL
AS THE VA SYSTEM.
BEFORE WE LET YOU GO, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL US WOULD BE THE
SHORT TERM GOAL HERE AND THEN PERHAPS THE LONG TERM GOAL WHEN
IT COMES TO FIGHTING AD?
THE SHORT TERM GOAL BECAUSE OF THE RISKS, WE NEED TO BE MORE
DILIGENT IN SCREENING OUR SERVICE MEMBERS AND WE CAN
IDENTIFY CHANGES, THE EARLIER WE CAN IDENTIFY WE WOULD LIKE TO BE
ABLE TO AFFECT THE THINGS HAD A WOULD BE WORSENING IT AND TRY TO
ADVOCATE FOR EARLY SCREENING AND DETECTION WHENEVER OUR VETERANS
ENCOUNTER THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
LONG TERM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HAVE FOUND IS FROM THE EARLY
ASPECTS WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE ASSOCIATION FROM THE MOST RECENT
RESEARCH THAT WAS REVIEWED AT THE STATE-OF-THE-ART SCIENCE
HELD AT THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION, THE CHANGES
HAPPENING INSIDE THE BRAIN, EVERYTHING FROM GENETIC CHANGES,
AND FOLLOW LONGITUDINALLY OUR SERVICE MEMBERS AND VETERANS
OVER TIME SO WE CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW THEE CHANGES OCCUR, WHAT
STAGE THEY OCCUR AND THAT I BELIEVE WILL OPEN THE WINDOW FOR
MORE MEANINGFUL TREATMENT AND POSSIBLY DEVELOPMENT OF MORE
EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR THE DEMENTIA POPULATION.
DR.
JAFFEE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK AND
RESEARCH IN THIS AREA AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR
COUNTRY.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR JOINING US TODAY.
IT IS A REAL PRIVILEGE
DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION ABOUT THE PREVALENCE OF
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN VETERANS?
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.
SEND US YOUR TAKE ON THIS OR ANY OTHER TOPIC THAT MATTERS MOST TO
YOU.
YOU CAN REACH US BY EMAIL OR VIA OUR TWITTER OR FACEBOOK PAGE,
@YOURSOUTHFL.
LEAVE US A COMMENT OR POST A VIDEO.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.