Military medicine
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As of early 2022, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic still represents a worldwide medical emergency situation. The ongoing vaccination programs can slow down the spread of the virus; however, from time to time, the newly emerging variants of concern and antivaccination movements carry the possibility for the disease to remain in our daily lives. After the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, there was scholarly debate whether the virus was of natural origin, or it emerged from a laboratory, some even thinking the agent's potential biological weapon properties suggest the latter scenario. Later, the bioweapon theory was dismissed by the majority of experts, but the question remains that despite its natural origin, how potent a biological weapon the SARS-CoV-2 virus can become over time. ⋯ Our results show that the virus can become a potent bioweapon candidate in the future, achieving a total score of 24 out of 36 on the original 12 criteria. The SARS-CoV-2 has already proven its pandemic generating potential and, despite worldwide efforts, still remains an imminent threat. In order to be prepared for the future possibility of the virus arising as a bioweapon, we must remain cautious and take the necessary countermeasures.
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U.S. military pilots are required to meet certain medical standards in order to maintain an active flying status. Military pilots face potential temporary or permanent loss of flying privileges in the setting of a new condition or symptom that does not meet required standards, which could result in negative social and occupational repercussions for the pilot. For this reason, it has been proposed that U.S. military pilots participate in health care avoidance behavior, but little evidence exists to characterize such a trend in this population. ⋯ U.S. military pilots may participate in health care avoidance behavior because of fear for loss of flying status.
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Acute Stress Reactions (ASRs) affect a subgroup of individuals who experience traumatic stress. In the context of military operations, such reactions are often termed Combat and Operational Stress Reactions (COSRs). COSRs not only encompass all symptoms of ASRs but also include additional symptoms related to military combat and may develop at a rate higher than the general public experiences ASRs. Despite an obvious need, there are currently no approved pharmacologic treatments or guidelines for ASR and/or COSR. Preclinical rodent stress models and behavioral assessments are used to evaluate pharmacotherapies and elucidate underlying mechanisms. Here, we combined established traumatic stress models to develop a model of traumatic stress relevant to military trauma exposure and measured behavioral outcomes that reflect outcomes observed in ASRs and COSRs. ⋯ We found that the three-stressor model of Experiment 2 resulted in the greatest overall behavioral disturbance (both in the number of variables and magnitude of stress effects). Interestingly, behavioral deficits elicited from the shorter predator exposure were distinct from those observed with longer predator exposure times. Together, these results generally suggest that combined preclinical stressors with military-relevant elements result in behavioral performance deficits reflective of post-trauma phenotypes in Soldiers. The present findings support the use of both physical and psychological stressors to model operationally relevant traumatic stress exposure.
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Cognitive processes such as perception and reasoning are preceded and dependent on attention. Because of the close overlap between neural circuits of attention and eye movement, attention may be objectively quantified with recording of eye movements during an attention-dependent task. Our previous work demonstrated that performance scores on a circular visual tracking task that requires dynamic synchronization of the gaze with the target motion can be impacted by concussion, sleep deprivation, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The current study examined the characteristics of performance on a standardized predictive visual tracking task in a large sample from a U.S. Military population to provide military normative data. ⋯ This large-scale quantification of attention, using dynamic visuomotor synchronization performance, provides rigorously characterized age- and sex-based military population norms. This study establishes analytics for assessing normal and impaired attention and detecting changes within individuals over time. Practical applications for combat readiness and surveillance of attention impairment from sleep insufficiency, concussion, medication, or attention disorders will be enhanced with portable, easily accessible, fast, and reliable dynamic eye-tracking technologies.
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The objective is to provide a brief overview of the history of gender and sexual diverse service members, health utilization rates, outcomes, and disparities, as well as perceived challenges accessing health care and gaps in the evidence base underpinning sex- and gender-appropriate care. The article also provides strategies going forward to address these issues and optimize health care delivery.