VA Research Quarterly, spring 2014

VA's Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research (CCDOR) is one of 19 HSR&D Centers of Innovation. The center, located within the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, currently supports 62 funded projects with an annual budget of over $8.8 million. VA Research Quarterly Update spoke with Steven Fu, MD, MSCE, director of the center, about its current projects, past accomplishments, and future goals.

we've just put in a proposal to evaluate the role of transcendental meditation. We're exploring those types of therapies to see if they might be of benefit to Veterans with chronic pain. (also at http://www.research.va.gov/pubs/varqu/spring2014/spring2014.pdf, page 8)

2011-2012 Lim, K. and Lamberty, G. J. (Co-PIs). Demonstration project for Transcendental Meditation
in veterans with PTSD. Funded by VA Central Office. October, 2011. $253,187 direct costs. http://www.minneapolis.va.gov/education/psychology/downloads/ResearcherVitas/LambertyVita.pdf

Pending 4/13-3/17, Lim, K. (PI), Erbes, C. R., Polusny, M.A. (Co-I) , Arbisi, P., DeGarmo, D., Sponheim, S. CAM Approaches to Pre-deployment Resilience Enhancement: Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation and Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Log No. 12126004, GRANT11234448), Department of Defense Military Operational Medicine Research Program (BAA 12-1), $3,500,000
http://www.minneapolis.va.gov/education/psychology/downloads/ResearcherVitas/PolusnyVita.pdf

October 2014
VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Hypertension in the Primary Care Setting
Prepared by: The Diagnosis and Management of Hypertension Working Group With support from:
The Office of Quality, Safety and Value, VA, Washington, DC & Clinical Performance Assurance Directorate, United States Army MEDCOM Version 3.0–2014
Based on evidence reviewed through April 2014
Mind-body Therapies
Several positive mentions of TM including 13. For patients interested in complementary and alternative medicine, we suggest considering mind-body therapies such as transcendental meditation or yoga.  Strength of recommendation:  "Weak for"
 

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Minneapolis VA News, Sept/Oct 2012

Transcendental Meditation for PTSD Available for Veterans
Veterans with a diagnosis of PTSD are eligible for the study and will receive up to $445 in support for time and travel. The project consists of 8 weekly group sessions of 2 hours each, plus 5 additional assessment sessions lasting between 1-5 hours. Contact Amy Moran at 612 629-7360. The principal investigator is
Dr. Kelvin Lim.