Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after experiencing a traumatic event and may lead to poor recovery and psychological difficulties. Studies over the past few years have shown that admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with the development of PTSD.

There are several established reasons why PTSD might be associated with admittance to ICU. For instance, life-threatening injuries and the psychological trauma associated with witnessing a traumatic event can increase the risk of developing PTSD. Additionally, people with a psychiatric history are more likely to be admitted to ICU for a traumatic injury than the general population.

An Australian team of researchers recently conducted a study to determine if admittance to ICU itself increased the risk of developing PTSD, and to uncover any other factors that might increase that risk even further. They found that, independent from any other risk factor, people admitted to ICU were three times as likely to develop PTSD. Other factors that increased this risk were:

1. The presence of a mild traumatic brain injury
2. Female gender
3. History of trauma or psychiatric disorder
4. Longer length of hospital admission

The research team cited 3 possible reasons that ICU admission could increase the risk of PTSD. Sleep disturbance, increased stress, and delirium from certain drugs could all play a role in how the brain processes traumatic events. Screening tools to identify high-risk patients and low doses of sleep agents may be effective interventions.

O’Donnell ML, Creamer M, Holmes ACN, et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder after injury: Does admission to intensive care unit increase risk? Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. (February 2010).

As reported by CQ, President Obama nominated Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas as secretary of Health and Human Services. No confirmation hearing has been scheduled yet, but Sebelius will eventually go before the Senate Finance Committee. BIAA will continue to monitor this nomination.

Also this week, The Rand Corporation published an important comprehensive study of the mental health and cognitive needs of U.S. servicemembers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. This groundbreaking study – which focuses specifically on the post-deployment health-related needs and economic costs associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression and TBI – estimates that 320,000 servicemembers may have experienced TBI as a result of recent combat operations.The study is the first of its kind to consider mental health and cognitive problems associated with deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq from a broad societal perspective. BIAA is working to help disseminate the study’s findings to Members of Congress.

The study can be accessed by visiting http://rand.org/multi/military/veterans/.

Also this week, BIAA submitted a Comment Letter on a Proposed Rule by the Department of Veterans Affairs to overhaul the Schedule for Rating Disability when it comes to TBI.

Although BIAA’s letter acknowledges that the Proposed Rule constitutes an improvement from current regulations, it also communicates several concerns and suggestions for further improvement of the disability ratings system in regards to TBI.

To view a copy of BIAA’s Comment Letter to the VA, please visit our website at http://www.biausa.org/policyissues.htm.

According to Linda J. Bilmes, a former chief financial officer and assistant secretary of the US Commerce Department, it will cost $662 billion over the next 40 years to care for returned veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bilmes, who now lectures on public policy at the John F Kennedy School of Government, accuses the Bush administration of being unprepared for what disability benefits and medical care will cost for veterans.

The costs are increased by the fact that more soldiers are surviving their injuries. In Vietnam the wounds per death ratio was 2.6:1, now it is 16:1. In addition there is a large number of soldiers who have disabilities as mental health conditions.

Source: www.newsdaily.com

Fisher House, a new residence on the grounds of Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Hospital, gives families of military soldiers a place to stay while loved ones recover

Name : Lauren McSherry Photographs Norbert von der Groeben

Eight weeks after their son was injured in Iraq, Tim and Linda Perry carried their suitcases into a newly decorated bedroom at the Fisher House in Palo Alto. It had been a long journey from their Somers, Conn. home — in more ways than one.

On Feb. 22, an explosive-laden truck slammed into a bunker where their 20-year-old son Daniel — an Army sniper with the 101st Airborne, 2nd Platoon near Ramadi, about 70 miles west of Baghdad — was staying. The blast sprayed him with shrapnel, broke his right arm, burned part of his face, shredded his left ear and nearly blinded his left eye.

But the worst and most lasting of his injuries was to his brain.

After days and nights by Daniel’s bedside at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where soldiers seriously injured in Iraq are flown, nothing could stop the Perry’s from accompanying their son to the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs Hospital, one of four military-run Traumatic Brain Injury Units in the United States.

By that time, nearly two months after the blast, Daniel had emerged from seven days in a medically induced coma and was walking and talking. His body was healing quickly, but his memory wasn’t.

Walter Reed doctors told the Perry’s it was the worst memory loss they had ever witnessed and presented them with a choice of four brain trauma centers. The Perry’s chose Palo Alto because they were told it ranked No. 1.

Tim arrived April 6 at the Palo Alto VA with Daniel, who remains on active duty. Linda came a few days later after tending to last-minute details at their home.

Their arrival was timely: On April 19, the Palo Alto VA held grand-opening ceremonies for the new Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher House, which accommodates families such as the Perrys. The stately 21-suite, $5 million temporary residence is located on the Palo Alto VA grounds near Foothill Expressway and Arastradero Road.

Daniel’s situation is not unusual. Brain injuries are a hallmark of the Iraq War, attributed in part to improvements in body armor that enables soldiers to survive blasts that killed earlier generations of troops.

Brain injuries affect an estimated 62 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center at Walter Reed.

That 62 percent translates to more than 10,500 of the 17,000 U.S. soldiers so far wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the Department of Defense.

In previous wars, brain injuries accounted for just 20 percent of injuries.

But the frequency of attacks by rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices and land mines in Iraq and improvements in protective devices, such as Kevlar helmets and body armor, means soldiers are more likely to encounter — and survive — an explosion.

Brain-trauma center officials at the Palo Alto VA are preparing for the arrival of families accompanying soldiers seeking long-term intensive rehabilitation. The opening of a Fisher House is a major element of the preparations.

Family members can stay for free and as long as needed. The only condition is their homes must be located a significant commuting distance from the hospital, more than 50 miles.

Some families, like the Perrys, have come across the country to be with their loved ones.

The colonial-revival home, with its brick facade and tall white columns, is the 34th Fisher House built — at least one Fisher House has been constructed at every major military medical center.

Money to build the houses comes from private donors and is matched by the Fisher House Foundation. Zachary Fisher, who died in 1999 at 89, made his fortune in New York real estate and construction. Blocked from serving in World War II by a leg injury, he dedicated his efforts and funds to helping servicemen and the military.

He and his wife, Elizabeth, launched the Fisher House program in 1990, dedicating more than $20 million to building homes for families of hospitalized military personnel.

More than 153,000 days of lodging are now provided by Fisher Houses each year, saving families an estimated $5 million annually. More than 35,000 families have stayed in Fisher Houses.

The16,000-square-foot structure in Palo Alto is about three times the size of the original Fisher House.

Its understated exterior only hints at its palatial interior, akin to a five-star hotel.

A dining room seats up to 36 and the kitchen has a wall of refrigerators, two of every type of appliance and marble-topped counters. The bedrooms have flat-screen TVs, and every room is filled with expensive-looking furniture, from plush armchairs to darkly stained sideboards of carved wood and coffee tables that aren’t the sort for resting feet on.

There are two wings of bedrooms on the bottom floor and more bedrooms on the second floor.

For Tim and Linda Perry, the house offers one priceless amenity: It allows them to be with their son. Their bedroom window even looks out to his room in the wing housing the brain-trauma unit.

The Fisher House is already their home away from home. They unpacked with the understanding the house could be their residence for some time — Daniel could be receiving treatment for up to one year.

The Perrys have made sacrifices to come to Palo Alto. They left their house, their eldest son, Jason, and granddaughter in Connecticut, and currently have no steady source of income.

“I’d lose everything for Danny,” Linda said. “We’re going to take it day by day.”

But financial considerations are looming. She and Tim are getting by on credit cards, money from friends and family and donations from their church back home and former church in Gilroy, where they lived until last year. Their health insurance ends in July.

At the time they received the call about Daniel’s injury, Tim was looking for work.

Linda thought a prospective employer was on the line, but when she saw Tim on his knees cradling the phone, she knew something was terribly wrong.

“(The officer) told me only that Danny was a VS3, which is very seriously injured. Three being the worst,” Tim said.

The following day, they packed their bags and rushed to join their son at Walter Reed.

Other military families understand what the Perrys have experienced.

Tonia Sargent, who launched the fundraising effort to build the Palo Alto Fisher House, faced a similar situation more than a year ago when an officer called to notify her that her husband, Kenneth Sargent, at the time a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, had been wounded in Iraq. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury when a bullet pierced his right eye and exited through the left side of his head. His jaw was shattered and the right side of his body paralyzed.

When she arrived at the Palo Alto VA to be with her husband, Tonia had no place to stay. With months of hospital time ahead of her, she found herself facing the expensive rents and even more expensive hotel rates in the area.

Tonia couldn’t afford either. She had quit her job near their home at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, to help care for her husband in the hospital. She left her two teenage daughters with her disabled mother.

The first night she stayed in the VA’s “hometel,” a motel-type residence with rooms for outpatient veterans recovering from surgery. But the hospital could not guarantee her lodging, and the “hometel” is intended for veterans, not wives of active-duty military service members.

Tonia decided to do something. She called everyone she knew and started collecting donations. The first donation,$5,000, came from a nurse in the Spinal Cord Injury Center. (VA Nurses were familiar with the plight faced by some family members. They had been asked by military wives to let them stay past visiting hours and sleep by their husbands’ sides.)

For Tonia, the fund raising effort was empowering and helped counteract the sudden uncertainties in her life.

“I had been married to structure for 19 years,” she said, referring to being a military wife.

Another lasting and important change Tonia achieved was the appointment of a military liaison to assist families with coordinating medical care and filing medical-benefits paperwork.

The Fisher House that Tonia worked so hard to make a reality has already given back some semblance of normalcy to the Perry family.

Daniel walks to the house around 8 a.m. to have coffee with his parents, returning to the hospital for the morning routine of speech, physical and occupational therapy appointments. He is working on judgment, memory, reasoning, balance and emotions — all affected by his brain injury.

At noon Linda makes Daniel lunch before his appointment with his neuropsychologist.

Daniel would even like to live at the Fisher House instead of the brain-trauma ward, where he is the youngest patient.

It is more likely that he will live as an outpatient at the Menlo Park Veterans Affairs Hospital when he is well enough, commuting to the Palo Alto VA each day as part of his rehabilitation.

Daniel is adjusting to the civilian lifestyle. He is thinking about his future and considering going to college. He is enjoying some the freedoms he gave up when he entered the military at 18. But he says it’s difficult being away from his friends, many of whom are still stationed in Iraq.

“I wish I was helping out my guys,” he said with emotion, letting down his guard in a rare moment.

On a recent night at the Fisher House, Linda fixed a salad and cooked chicken and noodles, corn and biscuits.

Over dinner she broke the news they will have to resubmit all the paperwork for Daniel’s injury settlement. She had received word from the VA military liaison that day.

Daniel was frustrated by the news; Linda was nonplussed. Handling her son’s medical paperwork has become her full-time job. She totes a computer-carrying case filled with medical forms — so many documents have been generated in the weeks since Daniel’s return from Iraq that some have to be stored in their house in Connecticut.

After dinner, Tim washed dishes and Daniel cleared the table, just like at home.

It was time to return to the VA.
“I’ll see ya in the morning,” Daniel told his mom.
“Can I have kiss? And what time?” she asked.
“I’ll see you when I decide to get up,” he wisecracked.
“I’ll see you at 8.”
“8:15,” he compromised, stooping to kiss her. Then he walked in soldier mode out the door and down the path back to his hospital room in the brain-trauma wing.

Source: http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=1116

Over 1,500 British troops have returned from Iraq suffering from mental problems, including post traumatic stress disorder, Defence Secretary John Reid has revealed.

“Between January 2003 and December 2005 inclusive, 1,551 UK service personnel who had served in Iraq on Operation Telic were subsequently assessed by the Defence medical services as suffering from a mental health disorder,” Reid said.

“Between January 2003 and December 2005 inclusive, 1,551 UK service personnel who had served in Iraq on Operation Telic were subsequently assessed by the Defence medical services as suffering from a mental health disorder,” Reid said.

The number represents an increase of more than 200 cases diagnosed three months earlier up to the end of September last year, when 1,333 had been assessed as having mental illnesses.

“Of those 1,551 personnel, 208 were assessed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder,” the Defence Secretary said about the latest figures published Wednesday as a written parliamentary answer.

He also told MPs that a further 696 personnel were diagnosed with “an adjustment disorder, which will include some who have post traumatic symptoms not amounting to full PTSD but with some symptoms of post traumatic stress.”
Other personnel, Reid said, were diagnosed with a range of other mental health conditions, including mood and neurotic disorders, and psychoactive substance misuse.

But he insisted the total suffering from mental problems represented only around 1.5 percent. of total UK service personnel deployed in the region during the same period.

The total number of UK troops in Iraq has been gradually reduced to 7,000. Some 3,000 have been withdrawn since October 2003, when they were reduced from around 25,000 ground troops to 10,000 troops there.

Over 100 British soldiers have been killed in Iraq during the last three years, including 33 during the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Reid said that he did not know the total number of personnel treated for physical injuries sustained in theater as they were “not collated centrally.”
“Complete information on medical treatment could only be compiled from personal medical records which are held by individual unit commands,” he said.

The Defence Secretary said that he could not give a figure for the total number treated for physical injuries as cases “can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality.” Asked what provision is being made for the long-term care of British soldiers returning with a traumatic brain injury, he said there was a range of referral options depending upon the nature of the medical treatment required.

“In serious cases where it becomes apparent that the individual will be unable to remain within the armed forces, personnel will be medically discharged (or demobilized in the case of reservists),” he said.

Source: http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-235/0605036207162100.htm

Name: PAMELA GOULD
During their first few days in the United States, 13 officers from the Iraqi army visited the traditional tourist spots of the nation’s capital.

They walked to the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument and the White House, and spent time in the Smithsonian Institution.

At the Capitol, they were impressed by schoolchildren who had traveled there from Virginia Beach for a firsthand look at the nation’s legislative process.

But when it came time to pick up a few souvenirs for family, they were disappointed. They couldn’t find anything made in the USA.

Seeing tourist sites wasn’t the chief purpose for the soldiers’ 25-day trip to America, but it played an important role, according to NATO Political and Cultural Advisor Haider Abbud and Marine Lt. Col. Donald Hawkins.

Gaining an understanding of each others’ cultures has been critical as coalition forces have been helping Iraq’s new national army with the nation’s transition to a democracy.

Last year, American officers spent four months in Iraq training these soldiers on the collection, analysis and dissemination of information to create the Iraqi Lessons Learned Center in Baghdad.

This is the officers’ first trip abroad and their first opportunity to begin sharing what they’ve learned since establishing the center in November.

This week, the officers came to Quantico to the Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned. Before heading home, they’ll travel to Suffolk for a meeting at the joint services center for lessons learned and to the Army’s lessons-learned facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

The Marines established their center a little over two years ago to quickly make adjustments in operations in Afghanistan and then in Iraq.

The center employs a mix of Marines and civilians and looks at all aspects of the deployments–from doctrine to organization, training, leadership, facilities, materiel and people.

It currently has a four-member team researching traumatic brain injury in Iraq and Afghanistan. Other teams have studied things such as detention procedures.

Pre-deployment practices are constantly being evaluated and revised, said Hawkins, the Marine Corps center’s branch head for integration and technology.

“It is critical that the Iraqi armed forces are able to do this kind of analysis of their own military and make adjustments,” Hawkins said. That was the purpose in trying to sell them on creating their own center.

The sale to Lt. Gen. Nasier Abadi, deputy commander of the Iraqi joint forces, turned out to be an easy one, Hawkins said.

“I was prepared to brief him on the benefits and why you’d want the lessons-learned capability and within two minutes, the tables were turned,” Hawkins said.

Abadi began telling Hawkins of the importance not only for his country but for the region–especially with regard to dealing with terrorist activity.

“He had a global view of the need for this capability,” Hawkins said.

Sharing information among the two nations and continually refining operations “has a direct effect” on the ability of the United States to withdraw its troops, Hawkins said.

Abbud, who was born in Iraq but is now an American citizen, said he’s seen tremendous strides in Iraq’s progress since employing the lessons-learned practice of gathering information in the field, handing it off to analysts who condense it into critical reports and then forward it to the decision-makers.

“The civilian population have much greater confidence in the Iraqi army than in the past,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Abu Ahmad is commander of the Iraqi Lessons Learned Center. He accepted the position when others were reluctant for fear of reprisal.

“They were scared to work with American troops because they were afraid of retaliation,” Abbud said, translating Ahmad’s remarks.

But, after seeing the success of the program, Ahmad said others are now interested in taking part.

So far, the center’s system has resolved problems with pay, food and housing, as well as establishing an early retirement-type system for high-ranking officers of the former regime’s army.

This week, he planned to share information with his American counterparts relating to the roadside bombs that have continually wreaked havoc.

Ahmad is not the general’s real name. None of the Iraqis in the United States would be interviewed using their real names out of concern for their safety and that of their families.

Ahmad said one of the toughest tasks working with the Americans has been getting them to grasp the complexities of Iraqi culture. In his statement, he revealed that it’s not easy to grasp another’s culture without careful study.

“We’re here to teach the American people our nature,” said Ahmad, who understands and speaks English but is more comfortable with an interpreter.

“I think in America, there is one nature.”

Ahmad is pleased to be part of the new military system and with the progress of his nation in the post-Saddam era. He said his focus is “the liberty principle,” meaning freedom for all, not favoring any particular faction.

“I work under the Iraqi flag only. That is my doctrine,” he said.

He sees reestablishing ties with the United States and working with its military as an important step for his country.

“We’ve been away from the American for so long and we need to get back to working together,” he said.
To reach PAMELA GOULD: 540/735-1972

Source: http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/052006/05062006/188511

Thursday April 27, 10:45 pm ET

Key points:

- US Army and Neuren make significant progress in joint Traumatic Brain Injury programme confirming NNZ-2566 as a ‘very promising candidate for brain trauma’

- In the latest experiment NNZ-2566 shows significant reductions in non-convulsive seizures following traumatic brain injury

- Non-convulsive seizures are a significant predictor of outcome in Traumatic Brain Injury, are easily and practically detected and provide an important additional clinical endpoint

- This new therapeutic target of non-convulsive seizures will be included in NNZ-2566 Traumatic Brain Injury Phase 2 trial. This will result in increased sensitivity, earlier detection of effects and lower cost of trials compared to traditional methods

- The US Army and Neuren have filed a joint patent for non-convulsive seizures and NNZ-2566

MELBOURNE, Australia, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU – News) today announced that it has jointly filed a new patent with the US Army’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) as a result of new experiments showing its compound, NNZ-2566, significantly reduces non-convulsive seizures following traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Non-convulsive seizures often occur soon after brain injury and are an important predictor of patient recovery. Non-convulsive seizures are significant both as readily detectable predictors of clinical outcome from TBI as well as being a target for therapeutic intervention.
Dr. Frank Tortella, Chief of the Department of Applied Neurobiology at WRAIR and the Research Director for the Combat Casualty Care Research Program in Brain Trauma and Neuroprotection, said: “We are very encouraged by the results with Neuren’s drug. NNZ-2566 is a very promising therapeutic candidate for brain trauma as evidenced by efficacy across several models of experimental brain injury, and by its effect on trauma-induced non-convulsive seizures.”

“This clearly reinforces our perspective on the value and significance of non-convulsive seizures as a therapeutic target for drug intervention. Development of a safe, effective treatment for brain trauma that can be delivered after injury by those on the scene, including combat medics or civilian emergency medical personnel, without the need for extensive and time- consuming diagnostic workups is an extremely high priority for both our military and civilian medical communities,” Dr Tortella added.
NNZ-2566 is being developed by Neuren and the WRAIR for acute neurological conditions and NNZ-2566 has recently begun a Phase 1 safety and tolerability
trial. NNZ-2566 is also available in an oral form targeted towards chronic neurological conditions.

The benefit of Neuren’s drug in preventing this phenomenon builds on the already significant evidence of the drug’s effectiveness. It also means that Neuren will be able to include electroencephalographic (EEG) effects as outcome measures in planned clinical trials. Use of EEG measurements will permit earlier detection of an effect in the Phase 2 trials as well as reducing the cost of the studies.

New techniques for measuring brain waves in patients are pointing to new ways of measuring damage during stroke and TBI and have shown these early changes are solid indicators of longer term outcome. The beneficial effects of NNZ-2566 in reducing seizures strongly suggest that the drug might have similar benefits in both TBI and stroke patients and the early assessment of these benefits by the new brain wave monitoring could provide an early signal of the drug’s efficacy.

In experiments conducted by the WRAIR in an established animal model of non-convulsive seizures, administration of NNZ-2566 after brain injury resulted in a reduction in the incidence of seizures, total time in seizure, the average duration of seizures and an increase in the time between brain injury and onset of seizures (please see Appendix below).

Mr. David Clarke, CEO of Neuren stated: “These findings, together with earlier positive results in the Army’s traumatic brain injury model, support Neuren’s confidence in the NNZ-2566 program and provide encouragement to progress this drug into Phase 2 human clinical trials as soon as practical. TBI is a critical indication that most clearly calls for a creative, aggressive approach both to drug development and patient treatment.”

The preclinical research and development work is being conducted with the WRAIR under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. The Phase 2 study protocol is being jointly developed by Neuren, Army physicians and scientists involved in the TBI program.
Approximately 2 million people worldwide suffer a TBI each year. Of these, an estimated 1.5 million are seen in a hospital emergency room or admitted to a hospital. The market potential for an effective TBI drug has been estimated at US$1 billion. A drug that is also effective for acute treatment of ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke would potentially be applicable to an additional 3 million patients with an estimated market potential of US$4 billion worldwide.

Appendix:

The study was conducted in a rat model of brain injury-induced seizures using the validated and widely-used middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. EEG activity was recorded continuously for 72 hours and analysed for incidence of seizures, mean duration of individual seizures, total time in seizure and latency, the time between injury and occurrence of the first seizure. (For a more complete description of methods, please see: Hartings JA et al. Experimental Neurology 179:139-149, 2003.)

The study involved 13 control animals that received vehicle only and 11 animals that received drug. The dosing regimen for animals receiving drug was a 3 mg/kg bolus followed immediately by a 12-hour infusion at 3 mg/kg/hr.
Results are presented in the following table.
Non-convulsive Seizures

Incidence Total Mean Latency (min)
Time(sec) Time(sec)

Vehicle 92% 1277 80.2 75.4
NNZ-2566 60% 555 48.7 208.7
Percent change -35% -56% -39% +133%

About Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Walter Reed is the largest, most diverse, and oldest laboratory in the US Army Medical Research and Material Command. It conducts research on a range of military relevant issues, including naturally occurring infectious diseases, combat casualty care, operational health hazards, and medical defense against biological and chemical weapons. Walter Reed is the Department of Defense’s lead agency for infectious disease research and a crucial source of research support for medical product development.

About Neuren Pharmaceuticals

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU – News) is a biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics in the fields of neurotherapy and metabolic disorders. The Neuren portfolio consists of six product families, targeting markets with large unmet needs and limited competition. Neuren has two lead candidates, Glypromate® and NNZ-2566, targeting a range of acute and chronic neurological conditions. Neuren has commercial and development partnerships, including Pfizer, the US Army’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals.

Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060427/lnth009.html?.v=1

Friday May 12, 10:07 am ET

NovaVision Vision Restoration Therapy, the First and Only Therapy to Improve Visual Field Deficit from Stroke or TBI, Recognized for Advancements in Healthcare Nationwide

BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 12, 2006–NovaVision, Inc. today announced it received the Palm Beach County Medical Society Advancements in Healthcare Award at the organization’s 3rd annual Heroes in Medicine Award Program.

NovaVision was one of 31 individuals and groups nominated for their contributions to improving medical care and programs globally, nationally and locally. The award was presented during a luncheon at the Ritz Carlton in Manalapan on April 28; proceeds from the event supported Project Access, a community-based program to increase access to healthcare for the uninsured.

NovaVision was recognized for its success expanding patient access to NovaVision VRT(TM) Vision Restoration Therapy(TM) (VRT), a noninvasive medical device that improves visual field deficits caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI)–a condition previously considered untreatable. In the three years since VRT was cleared for marketing in the United States by the FDA, NovaVision has collaborated with leading medical institutions across the country to create 30 Partner Clinics that offer the therapy–five in Florida.

“Receiving this honor from the Palm Beach County Medical Society is a testament to the hard work and dedication of NovaVision’s employees and the talented neurologists, neuro-ophthalmologists, ophthalmologists, therapists and technicians who administer VRT in South Florida and across the country,” Navroze Mehta, president and CEO of NovaVision, said. “NovaVision is proud of the work it has done to improve the quality of life for more than one thousand stroke and TBI patients, but there is more to be done. Our team is dedicated to expanding patient access to the therapy and introducing new innovations to improve the VRT diagnostic and therapy medical devices.”

To date, more than 1,000 patients have been treated with VRT and clinical results are positive. Data from a recent retrospective study show 70 percent of patients who underwent VRT for the initial six-month treatment period showed clinically meaningful improvements in their vision.

The need for a rehabilitative therapy like VRT is substantial. An estimated 4.8 million people have survived a stroke (American Heart Association, 2004 Update), and at least 5.3 million Americans currently live with disabilities resulting from TBI (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 2004). Approximately 1.5 million stroke and TBI patients in the United States suffer from major visual field deficits, and that number grows by more than 90,000 new patients each year.

About NovaVision, Inc.

NovaVision VRT(TM) Vision Restoration Therapy(TM) (VRT) is based on groundbreaking research in neuroplasticity. VRT is an FDA-cleared, patented, non-invasive medical device that may restore vision in stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with visual deficits. While speech, physical and occupational therapy are the long-standing, mainstream treatment regimens for stroke and TBI patients, VRT is the first FDA-cleared clinical application of rehabilitation for vision loss. NovaVision, Inc. develops and distributes VRT.

NovaVision, Inc. is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida with European offices that include clinics and research and development in Magdeburg, Germany. VRT is based on 15 years of research with clinical studies published in leading journals including Nature Medicine, Neurology, and The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Data from a recent retrospective study identified that more than 70 percent of patients who underwent VRT for an initial six-month treatment period showed clinically meaningful improvements in their vision. VRT is currently offered at 30 leading medical institutions and private practices nationwide including the Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia University Medical Center, the Department of Neurology University of Miami, Emory Healthcare Eye Center, the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Medical Center, Johns Hopkins University Wilmer Eye Institute, HealthSouth Sunrise Rehabilitation Hospital, HealthSouth Scottsdale Rehabilitation Hospital, Doheny Eye Institute at USC, and others. For more information and a complete list of NovaVision VRT clinics please visit www.novavision.com or call 888.205.0800.

Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060512/20060512005306.html?.v=1