Research

Young Receives $3 Million Grant for PTSD Research

Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine faculty member Keith Young, Ph.D. received $3 million in March 2007 to fund post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research at the Temple and Waco VA facilities. An associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and co-director of the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System Neuropsychiatry Research Program, Dr. Young has been interested in PTSD for the past several years. But the road that led him to his current research began 15 years before.

"I have been the research coordinator at the Waco VA for the past 15 years and started out working with Dr. Paul Hicks on schizophrenia," Dr. Young said. "Our research focused on the brain anatomy in people with mental illnesses and one of the "extra" control groups was composed of people suffering from major depression."

In 2004, Drs. Young and Hicks and collaborators published a paper that described substantial changes in the brain anatomy of people suffering from major depression.

"It was the first time that findings like this were shown," Dr. Young remembered. "In the brains of people that experienced major depression, the thalamus was larger. At the time, most scientists were focusing on neurochemical reasons for depression, not anatomical factors."

Drs. Young and Hicks followed up with a study to discover if a genetic alteration was responsible for the change. What they found was remarkable. The inheritance of a common serotonin transporter (SERT) gene variant was found to be involved in enlargement of the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus, which interprets threatening visual stimuli, facial expressions and fearful emotions. The enlarged pulvinar may enhance the brain's "automatic threat detection system", making some people more vulnerable when they are exposed to stress and trauma.

Dr. Young, Dr. Hicks and Dr. Kathryn Kotrla, chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, met with U.S. Representative Chet Edward s in the spring of 2005 to discuss potential funding for PTSD research . The legislature approved $3 million for Dr. Young's program in late 2005, and he and colleagues have been working with the legislature, Army and Department of Defense for the last year on satisfying all the requirements needed for the release of funds.

Now that Dr. Young has the green light to move forward , his project will involve following 1,500 soldiers who have recently returned from Iraq for one year to determine the link between an individual's resiliency to PTSD and his or her genetics. He will also continue to work with Dr. Hicks in his study of how anti-depressants affect PTSD resiliency.

"Right now we have $3 million to start with, but I am hopeful that we will receive increased funding to continue to promote this area of research," Dr. Young said. "It's important that we keep searching for the root cause of PTSD and seek new treatments for our soldiers and veterans."

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CTVHSC Approved for Interprofessional Fellowship Program in Psychosocial Rehabilitation

The Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCSI), one of the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine's clinical partners in Temple, was notified in October 2006 that it was selected as one of the newest sites to offer a fellowship program in psychosocial rehabilitation.

In spring 2006, the Veterans Health Administration 's (VHA) Office of Academic Affiliations sent out a request for proposals for expansion of the VA Interprofessional Program in Psychosocial Rehabilitation for Veterans with Chronic, Serious Mental Illness . The goal was to increase the number of fellowship programs from three to six nationally. Expansion of this fellowship program is seen as critical to implementation of the recommendations of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and the Comprehensive VHA Mental Health Strategic Plan.

"This fellowship will provide a wonderful training opportunity for our residents," says Kathryn Kotrla, M.D. Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at the College of Medicine." It will also afford us the opportunity to educate all providers about the President's New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health, and the recovery model."

The initial three fellowship programs were established in 2002, and the VHA was looking to expand the program. Ten facilities submitted proposals, including the CTVHCS. Funding decisions were made based on the quality of the applications as judged by a peer review panel of VHA psychosocial rehabilitation and education experts.

"This award brings one set of advantages and one set of challenges," says Dr. Walter Penk, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "The advantages accrue from learning from the other awardees that have been operational since 2003, and bringing new technologies in training interdisciplinary staff in psychosocial rehabilitation techniques to Central Texas. The challenges come in that we will be developing new models of interventions in health service. Additionally, we will become part of the innovation that will guide psychosocial rehabilitation for the next several decades."

The CTVHCS new fellowship program began in July 2007.

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Articles courtesy of "The College of Medicine Dean's Report - 2007" published by Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine

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