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MHS's own Dr. Kilpatrick, will serve on HHS' Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research

From now on, military health workers will shove that needle a little deeper when administering anthrax vaccinations - but that extra pinch should prevent more pain later.A study that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October found that injecting the vaccine into a muscle rather than into the fat just under the skin greatly reduced side effects, including warmth, itching, redness, inflammation or nodules. Itching went from 23 percent of male volunteers to 5 percent when they were injected intramuscularly. Redness and inflammation went from 74 percent of male patients to 29 percent of male patients. Pain, however, went up about one percent.

The Army has dropped Lariam - the drug linked to side effects including suicidal tendencies, anxiety, aggression and paranoia - as its preferred protection against malaria because doctors had inadvertently prescribed it to people who should not take it. Lariam, the brand name for mefloquine, should not be given to anyone with symptoms of a brain injury, depression or anxiety disorder, which describes many troops who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Spouses of service members killed in combat would receive free military health care for life under a bill introduced Monday by Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. The chief effect of the legislation would be to prevent surviving spouses from being charged the same as retirees for using Tricare health benefit beginning three years after a service member's death, which is the case under current law.

Falls Church, Va. - The Department of Defense (DoD) is pleased to announce the successful launch of MiCare, the Military Health System's prototype personal health record (PHR) at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in Tacoma, Wa. MiCare is designed to help members of the military and their families more easily and effectively manage their health and wellness, regardless of their location and as they seek care inside and beyond the Military Health System. MiCare developed as a pilot project in partnership with Microsoft Corp. and Google.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report to evaluate the potential long-term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The study readily identified the lack of literature on blast-related TBI and the long-term effects of TBI when blast injury is a contributing factor. The five recommendations are listed in the article.

Treatment for servicemembers suffering from psychological trauma really is a brave new world. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was little research on effective treatments and not much pressure to add to what existed, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Sutton, at a Warrior Resilience Conference here, said her office has been working with the services to develop treatment programs and is researching best medical practices. But the effort isn't a simple matter of an open checkbook; results count.