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New test allows earlier identification of children at risk for cystic fibrosis liver disease

A major multi-center investigation of children with cystic fibrosis has identified a test that allows earlier identification of those at risk for cystic fibrosis liver disease.

12 Feb 2020

Microbiome can predict a person's chronological age

Our microbiomes - the complex communities of microbes that live in, on and around us - are influenced by our diets, habits, environments and genes, and are known to change with age.

11 Feb 2020

Higher opioid doses do not seem to improve pain, study finds

Increasing chronic pain patients' opioid prescription doses does not seem to improve pain, according to a Veterans Affairs study.

5 Feb 2020

Study may suggest new therapeutic approaches to control immune responses

Researchers have provided new insight on the role of cyclic AMP (cAMP) in regulating the immune response.

5 Feb 2020

New treatment target for acute kidney injury prevention revealed

Up to 10% of patients who are hospitalized or undergo surgery will experience acute kidney injury, and as many as 50% of patients in intensive care units will meet the criteria for AKI, the National Kidney Foundation has determined. Some of these patients will progress to kidney failure within months.

4 Feb 2020

As VA tests keto diet to help diabetic patients, skeptics raise red flags

A partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Silicon Valley startup Virta Health Corp. is focusing attention on the company's claim that it provides treatment "clinically-proven to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes" without medication or surgery.

3 Feb 2020

Rigid adherence to masculine norms may lead to more severe PTSD symptoms in veterans

To help service members perform better in the field, military training emphasizes the importance of certain traits associated with traditional masculinity, including suppression of emotion and self-reliance.

27 Jan 2020

Equal-access health care system may help eliminate racial disparities among men with prostate cancer

Among men with prostate cancer who received care from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Health System, an equal-access health care system, African American men did not have more advanced disease at the time of diagnosis or die earlier than white men, unlike trends seen in the greater U.S. population of patients with prostate cancer.

27 Jan 2020

Quality of end-of-life care in ICUs higher than other hospital departments

Family caregivers of the deceased rated the quality of end-of-life care in the intensive care unit (ICU) higher than the end-of-life care in other hospital departments (also called wards), according to new, large Penn Medicine study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

23 Jan 2020

Diagnosed with dementia, she documented her wishes. They said no.

When she worked on the trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, long before cellphone calculators, Susan Saran could perform complex math problems in her head. Years later, as one of its top regulators, she was in charge of investigating insider trading deals.

21 Jan 2020

Newly proposed definition of hikikomori helps identify and treat extreme social isolation

Experts in the Japanese phenomena of hikikomori say the condition of extreme social isolation is more widespread than previously acknowledged, and it deserves a clear and consistent definition to improve treatment across the globe.

12 Jan 2020

Study: Understanding second-degree burns is key to treating these complications

New research shows how second-degree burns cause hard-to-treat chronic pain, and this understanding may be key to treating these complications, common in war veterans.

10 Jan 2020

Study finds health as top concern for veterans after separating from military service

In the months after separating from military service, most veterans are less satisfied with their health than with their work or social relationships, found a study by Veterans Affairs researchers.

2 Jan 2020

Obj-SCD predicts future amyloid accumulation and neurodegeneration

Writing in the December 30, 2019 online issue of Neurology, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report that accumulating amyloid -- an abnormal protein linked to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease -- occurred faster among persons deemed to have "objectively-defined subtle cognitive difficulties" (Obj-SCD) than among persons considered to be "cognitively normal."

31 Dec 2019

Amyloid plaques may not necessarily come first in Alzheimer's disease, suggests new study

The scientific community has long believed that beta-amyloid, a protein that can clump together and form sticky plaques in the brain, is the first sign of Alzheimer's disease. Beta-amyloid then leads to other brain changes including neurodegeneration and eventually to thinking and memory problems. But a new study challenges that theory.

30 Dec 2019

Suppressing MSUT2 gene may protect people from Alzheimer’s disease

In the wake of recent disappointments over clinical trials targeting amyloid plaque build-up in Alzheimer's disease, researchers are focusing more attention on misfolded tau protein, another culprit in brain diseases that cause dementia.

18 Dec 2019

Social and visual neural networks do not connect in some children with autism

Among the first and most-documented symptoms of autism spectrum disorder is a child's aversion to interaction with others. Specifically, they appear uninterested in social activities and stimuli that would normally attract a young child's attention, such as watching other children play, sing or dance.

17 Dec 2019

Dense Breast Notifications are not achieving desired effects, study finds

Dense Breast Notifications (DBNs) are having little impact. DBNs are a written notification to a woman after a mammogram that her breasts are dense. The goal is to motivate her speak with her doctor about her personal risk and possibly obtain supplemental screening for breast cancer.

17 Dec 2019

Non-drug therapies may reduce adverse outcomes in service members with chronic pain

A new study based on Veterans Affairs health records finds that non-drug therapies given to military service members with chronic pain may reduce the risk of long-term adverse outcomes, such as alcohol and drug disorder and self-induced injuries, including suicide attempts.

11 Dec 2019

Meaning in life associated with better health and well-being

Over the last three decades, meaning in life has emerged as an important question in medical research, especially in the context of an aging population.

10 Dec 2019