**For Immediate Release                   
                                                   August 26, 2008**

**[Iraq Veterans Fight Brain Injuries with Unique VA
Program]{.underline}**

***VA Medical Center uses computer games, puzzles and teaching how brain
works to help returning warriors overcome problems with memory,
attention and more***

PHOENIX --- Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan now have an
array of tools to combat the difficulties and frustrations of subtle
brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), thanks to a
unique program started recently by the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health
Care System (PVAHCS).

Some of the tools they use may seem ordinary: computer games like
Bejeweled and Tetris, Sudoku and other puzzles, and card games like Uno
and Skip-Bo.  But neuropsychologists at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical
Center are employing a specialized approach through their \"Brain
Boosters\" groups to help veterans like **William Green, a former Marine
corporal from Chandler,** and **Grace Grubbe, an Army veteran from
Peoria,** to recover from brain injury.

It starts with screening that asks a few simple questions to identify
returning veterans who may have subtle forms of brain injury, such as
whether a veteran has been exposed to any blasts during his or her duty,
and whether he or she has ever felt dizzy or confused since then. Other
clues are headaches, short-term memory loss and trouble with bright
lights. The screening tool used by the VA nationwide is similar to one
developed by the PVAHCS a few years ago, and reflects the most current
clinical knowledge about blast injury.

According to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 64 percent of
soldiers wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) sustain blast
injuries, such as those caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
These blasts often result in closed head injuries that, unlike
penetrat­ing head wounds may not be diagnosed immediately. Even in the
absence of physical injuries, soldiers and marines may come home with
residual concussions from repeated exposure to blasts, possibly
accompanied by PTSD, and suffer from insomnia, memory loss and
difficulty focusing.

All returning veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan are
screened by a physician at the PVAHCS for brain injury. A more detailed
follow-up screening helps find those veterans who need specialized
treatment.

─ MORE --

Unique VA program boosts warriors' injured brains

2-2-2-2-2-2

**Neuropsychologists Kathleen Goren, Ph.D.,** and **Mary Lu Bushnell,
Psy.D.,** lead small groups of up to 8 veterans in weekly sessions that
meet for 10 weeks, educating them on how the brain works and how
injuries, post-traumatic stress and sleep deprivation can affect their
cognitive, or thinking, processes.

\"The brain boosters group is an opportunity for veterans to not only
learn about brain injury, but to learn about what aspects they can
control to improve their brain function,\" says Bushnell.

VA clinical staff then helps them use everyday tools to strengthen their
abilities to focus, reason through problems and remember.  \"We provide
hands-on activities so veterans can practice the new skills they have
learned in the group,\" says Bushnell.

\"This is a computer generation,\" notes Goren, and the VA program has
an extensive list of games and puzzles to help with memory,
concentration and problem solving that can be accessed on the internet.
What\'s more, she says, the fact that the games are fun means veterans
will keep practicing their skills and improving.

\"The brain is much like a muscle that needs exercise,\" adds Goren.
\"Although the Brain Boosters group is relatively new, both Dr. Bushnell
and I are very enthusiastic about its potential. We\'re getting very
positive feedback from the veterans who have participated.\"

The VA Medical Center is starting more Brain Boosters groups, some
focusing on specific areas, such as memory, communication skills, sleep
and dealing with pain.

Former Marine **William Green,** who was in Iraq during the first
several months of the war and was exposed to repeated blasts, has had
problems with memory and attention, as well as nightmares, since he
returned home. He participated in one of the 10-week groups. He says
that learning about the parts of the brain that are affected by blasts
and PTSD was helpful, as were techniques to help calm himself and
overcome the frustration of not being able to focus or remember. He will
use Sudoku to practice and strengthen his abilities.

**Grace Grubbe,** an Army veteran who served alongside her husband in an
engineering unit at the start of the war in Iraq, has physical and
neuropsychological injuries stemming from her service. She also suffered
from memory loss, as well as difficulty sleeping. \"I think it\'s gotten
a lot better because of participating in the group,\" she says.

She especially appreciated the detail shared by the doctors on how the
brain functions: \"It helped us focus more on healing that part of the
brain that was not working well.

Adds Grubbe: "The people at the VA are very caring and concerned. They
answered all our questions and got us what we needed.\"

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**MEDIA NOTE: Interviews are available with veterans who have
participated in the Brain Boosters group along with staff of the VA
Medical Center.**