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Neonatal exposure to nicotine alters neurons, predisposes brain to addiction in adulthood

Neonatal exposure to nicotine alters the reward circuity in the brains of newborn mice, increasing their preference for the drug in later adulthood, report researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine in a study published "in press" April 24, 2019 in Biological Psychiatry.

22 May 2019

Blood proteins may be useful for predicting risk of developing heart failure

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of pain, suffering and death in the United States, and despite tremendous advances in knowledge on prevention, treatment of risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure and obesity is not optimal.

21 May 2019

Integrated stepped alcohol treatment reduces alcohol use in people with HIV

People with HIV who drink too much were more likely to reduce drinking after undergoing an approach to care known as integrated stepped alcohol treatment, according to a Yale-led study.

20 May 2019

Study finds extremely low use of weight loss medicines by veterans

Despite the availability of new weight management medications and several clinical guidelines recommending their use as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for obesity, a new study has found that their use is extremely low (about one percent) among eligible Veterans.

15 May 2019

Study: People with combat-related mTBI have high levels of abnormally fast brain waves

A new study funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Navy finds that veterans and service members with a history of combat-related mild traumatic brain injury--compared with those in a control group--have much higher levels of abnormally fast brain waves in a region that plays a key role in consciousness.

10 May 2019

Optimism, wisdom and loneliness associated with physical, mental functioning of older persons

Ten thousand Baby Boomers turn 65 every day. By 2029, the entire generation born between 1946 and 1964 will be at least that old. What happens next concerns millions of Americans.

8 May 2019

Researchers develop fast diagnostic tool that shows MS patients in relapse

Dr. Horea Rus is an expert in diagnosing and treating patients with multiple sclerosis, and his research laboratory at the University of Maryland is producing new tools for treating the disease that attacks the central nervous system.

8 May 2019

Skin-related stem cells could be used to regenerate vital part of the nervous system

Neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis affect millions of people worldwide and occur when parts of the nervous system lose function over time.

7 May 2019

Study identifies how brain abnormalities associated with alcoholism differ for men and women

Compared to alcoholic women, alcoholic men have more diminished brain activity in areas responsible for emotional processing (limbic regions including the amygdala and hippocampus), as well as memory and social processing (cortical regions including the superior frontal and supramarginal regions) among other functions.

30 Apr 2019

Newsom: California leads on prescription drugs

California regularly portrays itself as a national trendsetter on political issues, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is claiming that title on prescription drugs.

27 Apr 2019

Older kidney disease patients starting dialysis die at higher rates than previously thought

Older adults with end-stage kidney disease who start dialysis--a treatment that keeps their blood free of toxins--appear to die at higher rates than previously thought, according to findings of a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, among other institutions.

23 Apr 2019

Microglia play vital role in regulating neuroinflammation, research shows

A research team at Massachusetts Eye and Ear has shown that microglia, the primary immune cells of the central nervous system--including the retina of the eye--serve as "gatekeepers," or biosensors and facilitators, of neuroinflammation in a preclinical model of autoimmune uveitis.

23 Apr 2019

Study identifies how enterococci bacteria cause antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections

A new study led by a research team from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School describes how bacteria adapted to the modern hospital environment and repeatedly cause antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections.

17 Apr 2019

Outpatient healthcare providers inappropriately prescribe antibiotics to 40% of patients

Outpatient healthcare providers inappropriately prescribed antibiotics to 40 percent of patients in a major Veterans Affairs healthcare system, a higher figure than in previous studies examining outpatient antibiotic use, according to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Infection Control, the journal of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology published by Elsevier.

17 Apr 2019

New report examines VA's process for determining TBI in veterans seeking disability compensation

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs should expand the requirement in its disability compensation process regarding who can diagnose traumatic brain injury to include any health care professional with pertinent and ongoing brain injury training and experience, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

11 Apr 2019

Study reveals new insights into genetic drivers of heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder

A large genomic study of nearly 275,000 people led by Penn Medicine researchers revealed new insights into genetic drivers of heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder, the uncontrollable pattern of alcohol use commonly referred to as alcoholism.

2 Apr 2019

Depression symptoms associated with death among patients with HIV infection

In a new study to investigate the relationship among depressive disorders or symptoms, HIV status and mortality, researchers report that symptoms of depression are moderately associated with death among Veterans with HIV but not among those without HIV infection.

2 Apr 2019

Research uncovers crucial receptor involved in response to fast-acting antidepressants

Effective treatment of clinical depression remains a major mental health issue, with roughly 30 percent of patients who do not respond to any of the available treatments.

29 Mar 2019

Cancer prevention drug also reduces virulence of H. pylori bacterium

A medicine currently being tested as a chemoprevention agent for multiple types of cancer has more than one trick in its bag when it comes to preventing stomach cancer, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.