Tag Archives: VA

VA’s MDMA Trial Offers New Hope, Particularly for the Brain Injured

On May 26, 2026, the VA announced a clinical trial to test MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans battling PTSD and alcohol use disorder. The study, which began enrollment quietly on May 18, is one of 19 psychedelic trials the VA is funding through $23 million in external grants, enrolling approximately 80 veterans at facilities in Providence, Rhode Island, and West Haven, Connecticut, with results expected in May 2030.

The trial will study the safety and effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy to address conditions that do not fully respond to standard treatments. For those living with traumatic brain injury, the treatment’s benefit may be significant. Research shows that patients with head injuries are more likely to develop PTSD than those without a TBI history. Studies confirm that veterans with probable TBI have 1.72 times greater odds of developing PTSD.

“This trial represents an important step in safely evaluating new approaches and innovations to treat Veterans with severe mental health conditions,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. For the hundreds of thousands of veterans carrying both a damaged brain and a traumatized mind, it may represent something even more profound: a second chance at healing.

Brain Injury Community in Crosshairs of Bipartisan “Claim Sharks” Bill

“We will be suspending your Social Security number because we found some suspicious activities on your Social Security. If you want more information about this case, press 1. Thank you.”

Smartphone screen displaying a scam likely call with decline button being pressed

While the above “Robocall Scam Example”, listed on the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Advice webpage, may seem to be an obvious scam when viewed in print, the same may not be said when abruptly faced with the concern – particularly if you already have cognitive disabilities. In response to this reality, a new bipartisan bill targets predatory for-profit companies that use robocall software to harvest veterans’ disability data from federal phone lines Advocates state this practice poses a particular threat to veterans living with traumatic brain injury.

Introduced on March 26, 2026, by Rep. Chris Pappas (NH), the Veterans Benefits Information Protection Act, H.R. 8120, was prompted by a 2025 NPR investigation: Florida-based Trajector Medical “CallBot” auto-dialer program placed tens of thousands of monthly calls to a VA hotline, inputting veterans’ Social Security numbers and birthdays to detect disability rating increases and trigger automated billing both with and without veterans’ knowledge.

In addition to Pappas, H.R.8120 counts a bipartisan list of co-sponsors, including Rep. Don Bacon (NE), a retired Air Force brigadier general and co-chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force.  “Our veterans should never be targeted by bad actors trying to profit off their hard-earned benefits,” says Bacon, adding that the bill, which was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on March 26,2026, “takes a commonsense approach to crack down on predatory practices and protect veterans from exploitation.”

* Scamming, of course, does not solely refer to robocalls. In recent years, the government has given more attention to cyber scams, and particularly as it relates to the disabled. In 2024, the Journal of International Medical Research addressed cyber scams and acquired brain injury, available to PubMed, noting that, “People with acquired brain injury may be more susceptible to scams owing to postinjury cognitive and psychosocial consequences.”)

VA Health Care Uses New Treatment Tech to Bring Silence

Lenire tinnitus therapy device with handheld control, headphones, and tongue stimulator

For many, a brain injury doesn’t end when the wound heals. One of its most persistent aftereffects of brain injury is tinnitus, a relentless ringing, buzzing, or hissing in the ears that no one else can hear. Scientifically. when the brain sustains trauma, the auditory pathways that process sound can become dysregulated, causing the nervous system to essentially generate phantom noise around the clock. Affecting up to 53% of people who sustain traumatic brain injury, tinnitus is not just annoying, it can fuel anxiety, disrupt sleep, and greatly erode quality of life.

Tinnitus is also the leading service-connected disability among veterans. Up to three-quarters of veterans with a brain injury, especially blast-induced brain injuries, will develop tinnitus. In response, a major new treatment is in development: “The Atlanta VA Health Care System marked a significant milestone in Veteran care on April 2, 2026, with the first use of the Lenire tinnitus treatment technology,” reported the Office of Veterans Affairs. FDA-cleared, the Lenire treatment is a bimodal neuromodulation device that stimulates both the tongue and the ears simultaneously to retrain the brain’s response to tinnitus. Rather than masking the phantom sound, it targets the neurological root of the problem.

Neuromod Devices, the medtech company behind the Lenire treatment, states their device is “Effective, Safe and Calming”. For veterans and others who have long suffered, this launch may mean real relief is finally within reach.

Congress Has Been Flying Blind on Veteran Brain Injury Spending for Years

Shiny golden dollar sign with stacks of bills and coins behind

The Special Disabilities Capacity Report is Congress’s primary tool for deciding how much to invest in VA’s TBI treatment infrastructure. If the numbers feeding that decision are wrong, the veterans who depend on that care pay the price.

A February 2026 review by the VA Office of Inspector General revealed that in FY 2023, the VA reported the wrong financial data for traumatic brain injury, using obligations rather than actual expenditures, thereby overstating actual TBI spending. More so, they failed to report TBI spending at both the geographic service area and national levels as required by law. The DVA Office of Inspector General’s Report 25-01863-31 also determined that VA’s capacity data did not capture community care services or the extent to which bed capacity was used at its specialized rehabilitation centers.

Pointedly, these data errors are the same as those that have been flagged in prior years. This raises questions about whether Congress receives an accurate picture of VA’s TBI treatment infrastructure. As Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Chairwoman of the House VA Health Subcommittee, stated at a March 2026 oversight hearing: “Wrong data takes resources away from [other] areas of need.”

Study Bolsters Push for Personalized Treatment

Poster with the text 'Every Brain Injury is Different' overlaid on abstract neural network graphics

A study published in the journal Neurology (epub April 3, 2026; print April 28, 2026), and currently available through the NLM PubMed database, reveals evidence that traumatic brain injuries affect each person’s brain in remarkably unique ways. While such a scientific revelation may seem evident to survivors, it challenges one-size-fits-all treatment approaches.

Researchers led by Jake Mitchell of Monash University (Australia) analyzed brain scans from 407 TBI patients and 224 healthy controls using normative modeling, a technique that measures individual brains against healthy population norms much like pediatric growth charts.  Co -authored by researchers at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, the study found that no more than 23% of patients shared an extreme deviation in the same brain region.

The findings help explain why nearly 30 clinical trials for acute TBI treatments have failed to identify effective therapies. The study results also bolster the case for personalized brain injury medicine. 

House Introduces a BEACON of Hope for Veterans with Brain Injuries

Representative Jack Bergman (MI), along with 5 original co-sponsors [Sarah Elfreth (MD), Kimberlyn King-Hinds (MP), Donald G. Davis (NC), Derrick Van Orden (WI), Morgan Luttrell (TX)] introduced the BEACON Act, H. R. 6993, in January 2026 to transform how the Department of Veterans Affairs treats traumatic brain injuries. The Veterans TBI Breakthrough Exploration of Adaptive Care Opportunities Nationwide Act establishes two grant programs totaling $60 million to fund innovative, non-pharmacological treatments for mild-to-moderate TBI.*

The sponsor of the bill and at least one of its co-sponsors bring personal stakes to this fight. Bergman, a retired Marine Lieutenant General with 40 years of service including Vietnam combat, witnessed how invisible injuries affect service members. Elfreth watched her grandfather – a Korean and Vietnam War veteran – suffer from PTSD, inspiring her earlier success passing Maryland’s David Perez Military Heroes Act.

Veterans often feel “unseen, unheard, and alone” navigating systems that treat symptoms rather than people. The BEACON Act addresses these gaps by funding research into evidence-based alternatives, training clinicians, and partnering academic institutions with VA facilities to bring innovative care directly to veterans.

*Per bill text, the TBI Innovation Grant Program will “award grants to eligible entities… for the development, implementation, and evaluation of approaches and methodologies for prospective randomized control trials for 11 neurorehabilitation treatments for the treatment of chronic mild TBI (mTBI) in veterans.” Additionally, the Act with provide grants for “independent third-party research studies and treatment with respect to supplemental neurorehabilitation treatments of mTBI.”