Description of Collaborative Activity: |
A 2012 White House Executive Order, emphasizing support of Service Members, Veterans, and their families as a "top priority," called for an urgent increase in the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Defense (DoD), and Veterans Affairs (VA) research coordination to address the problems of PTSD, TBI, and suicide. Section 5 of this Executive Order requested a National Research Action Plan (NRAP) to develop biomarkers, define the pathophysiology, and develop new treatments for PTSD. HHS charged NIMH to lead this effort along with a parallel effort for TBI led by NINDS, with both Institutes working closely with VA and DoD. In 2013, the NRAP was released in response to the Executive Order. Prior investments integrating the molecular, genomic, and brain circuitry changes that give rise to PTSD in the context of environmental factors provide the requisite foundation to respond to this White House request for biomarkers for risk prediction, as well as new targets for medications, and other therapies to treat PTSD. This investment has the potential to revolutionize the care for individuals at high risk for PTSD and prevent the development of chronic complex treatment-resistant PTSD. Additionally, in 2014, the White House and the Office of Management and Budget created a Cross Agency Priority Goal (CAP-G) to improve mental health outcomes for Service Members, Veterans, and their families. To achieve this goal, HHS (NIH), VA, and DoD are supporting research that will standardize and integrate measurements for TBI, PTSD, and suicide prevention research funded by the agencies. Also, the PTSD/TBI workgroup is tasked to develop and test suicide risk assessments and suicide prevention, and treatment interventions for Service Members and Veterans. The agencies meet weekly on these efforts and report quarterly on progress. |
