SAN FRANCISCO - Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress
disorder are more likely to have dementia, cardiac problems and
structural changes in the brain as they get older than veterans
without PTSD, according to new research. The findings, which for
the most part resulted from research at the San Francisco
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, raise concerns about the
overall health of aging veterans, but hold promise for the
potential of helping to treat these diseases. "Our concern is
that veterans who honorably serve our country ... are at greater
risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and over the next 10 to
20 years we will see a lot of Alzheimer's in the veteran
population," said Dr. Michael Weiner, director of the
institution's Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases.
The impact of combat on the aging brain was the focus of
Thursday's fourth annual "Brain at War" conference in San
Francisco. Much of the research presented during the daylong
conference was conducted at the city's VA hospital and f