Published: Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013, 9:20p.m. Updated 8 hours ago As thousands of troops returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with head wounds between 2007 and 2010, the Veterans Affairs regional health system in central Texas closed a research center that was established for such injuries. Timothy Shea, director of the VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network in Arlington, pushed to close the center and fire its chief neurologist. Afterward, Shea retired and became a VA consultant. Dr. Robert Van Boven, the neurologist who ran the Brian Injury and Recovery Laboratory in Austin, sued the VA and eventually settled his lawsuit for undisclosed terms. His lawyer, Tom Devine of Washington, said Van Boven was decisively vindicated and emerged with a big smile of thanks. Shea told the Tribune-Review that the Van Boven dispute was a very minor thing and did not influence his decision to retire at 61. In his lawsuit, Van Boven said the VA hired him in 2007 to run the brain injury center, a joint project with the University of Texas. The VA put $6.3 million toward its startup and the Office of National Drug Control Policy gave $4.5 million for equipment for graduate education and research. … Continue reading →

The New Jersey-based International Brain Research Foundation isnt without its critics, who say it oversells its accomplishments and may be preying on desperate families. In particular, the foundation faces criticism for combining a variety of experimental treatments, none of which have been proven conclusively to work. The not-for-profit group posted $5.5 million in revenues and a 38 percent profit margin in 2011. The foundation (www.ibrfinc.org) paid chief executive officer Philip DeFina, a neuropsychologist, a $404,435 annual salary in 2011, according to the foundations most recent IRS Form 990. Theyre not recognized by anybody in the mainstream, said Dr. David Cifu, professor and chairman of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University. Theyre not doing good science. When you look at their research, its not what I would treat patients based on. Cifu, 51, said its hard to know whether the foundations treatments really are helping people because there hasnt been rigorous evaluation of those methods. He added that some nutraceuticals can harm patients. The bigger risk is offering false hope, Cifu said. Some things in life are permanent, and thats sad. The foundations chief medical officer, neurologist Dr. Jonathan Fellus, rejected Cifus statements, though Fellus said he and others … Continue reading →