[Don W]

I read an interesting article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It is about reseach that finds a gene that might make some recover from a traumatic event and some suffer with PTSD. This gene is affected by childhood abuse. There is a period that our brains in childhood are vulnerable to outside influences that can shape stress response system. Testing about 900 people they found that the worse the abuse the more at risk and the more intense the PTSD. This is also what the study I've been involved in is researching. One big questions among us Veterans why some and not others. Sometimes, some Veterans would question others. Some who saw heavy action can't understand how some that saw less action can be affected. I think this could be why many Veterans went years without treatment. We even question ourselves, and find it difficult to validate our feelings compared to others. Don W