Department of Defense awards $60 million for study of PTSD

"The Department of Defense has awarded the largest grant ever for study of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury to a nationwide network of research centers led by the UCSD School of Medicine.

The $60 million in funding will allow doctors at the University of California San Diego and nine other research hospitals "“ collectively called the PTSD/TBI Clinical Consortium "“ to pursue novel treatments for the growing number of troops and civilians with either condition.

It is one the largest research grants UCSD has received, Leslie Franz, a spokeswoman for the university, said after the project was announced yesterday.

"This is really a strategic win for San Diego," said Dr. Mark Wiederhold, a PTSD researcher and president of the Virtual Reality Medical Center in Sorrento Valley who is not involved in the consortium. "This program is going to go a long way toward addressing the comprehensive care . . . to support these complex injuries."

PTSD and TBI frequently are called the "signature" wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 300,000 veterans of these conflicts suffer from PTSD or major depression, and about 320,000 likely have sustained brain injuries in the field, according to a RAND Corp. study released in April."