VA Explores Alternative TBI Treatments

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has announced that it will use two innovative treatments to ease the everyday challenges associated with living with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Veterans with mild to moderate TBI now have access to light emitting diode (LED) therapy that is placed on the head and a clip placed inside the nose. Results of some studies show that LED therapy improves brain function to areas including attention and memory, emotions and sleep. Also, stellate ganglion block (SGB) is being used to treat veterans with PTSD symptoms. SGB involves an injection, or shot, of medication into the neck. For information about other emerging therapies, visit VA’s Center for Compassionate Innovation. For more on TBI, visit Military.com's TBI section.