Veterans Affairs News and Research

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Researchers test effects of light therapy on brain function

Following up on promising results from pilot work, researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System are testing the effects of light therapy on brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness.

3 Apr 2015

Patient with severe Alzheimer's shows promising benefits during treatment with Bryostatin drug

Researchers at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute and the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine announced their findings from a new study entitled, "PSEN1 Variant in a Family with Atypical AD." An Alzheimer patient with very severe disease, genetically confirmed to have a known variant of PSEN1, showed promising benefits during treatment with the drug Bryostatin 1.

30 Mar 2015

Veterans with PTSD at higher risk of developing heart failure

In a study of more than 8,000 veterans living in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, those with posttraumatic stress disorder had a nearly 50 percent greater risk of developing heart failure over about a seven-year follow-up period, compared with their non-PTSD peers.

27 Mar 2015

Study finds gaps in information-sharing strategies between hospitalists and PCPs

Coordinating patient care between hospital clinicians and primary-care physicians is a significant challenge due to poor communication and gaps in information-sharing strategies, according to a study led by physicians at the School of Medicine of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

26 Mar 2015

Claritas to present data on Pediatric Neurological Exome Assay and new sequencing approach at ACMG 2015

Claritas Genomics will present data on the quality of parallel multi-technology sequencing, a comparison of the company’s phenotypically driven Pediatric Neurology Exome Assay to whole exome and panel-based approaches, three-part reports for rapid results reporting, and the clinical utility of the Neurology Exome’s tailored approach compared to other tests currently on the market.

26 Mar 2015

Implementation of video-based decision aids influences care decisions in urology

After Group Health Cooperative implemented video-based decision aids for men with two common prostate conditions, rates of elective surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and rates of active treatment for localized prostate cancer declined over six months.

24 Mar 2015

Discontinuation of statin therapy may benefit patients with terminal illness

Discontinuing statin use in patients with late-stage cancer and other terminal illnesses may help improve patients' quality of life without causing other adverse health effects, according to a new study by led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Duke University and funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).

24 Mar 2015

Vitamin D3 and metformin show promising results in preventing colorectal cancer

The concept was simple: If two compounds each individually show promise in preventing colon cancer, surely it's worth trying the two together to see if even greater impact is possible.

24 Mar 2015

New study pinpoints major increase in subdural hematoma surgery by 2030

By 2030, chronic subdural hemorrhage (SDH) will be the most common adult brain condition requiring neurosurgical intervention in the U.S., according to a new study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

23 Mar 2015

RNA molecule can be manipulated to generate more neurons from neural stem cells

A research team at UC San Francisco has discovered an RNA molecule called Pnky that can be manipulated to increase the production of neurons from neural stem cells.

20 Mar 2015

Case Western Reserve professor urges action to eliminate yaws

Half a century ago, a concentrated global effort nearly wiped a disfiguring tropical disease from the face of the earth. Now, says Case Western Reserve's James W. Kazura, MD, it's time to complete the work.

20 Mar 2015

New MRI technique from NIST may help diagnose TBI in U.S. veterans

More than 300,000 U.S. veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in recent years, a legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But these numbers don't tell the whole story. While severe TBI can be obvious, milder cases involving symptoms such as memory loss or inability to concentrate are difficult to confirm and treat.

20 Mar 2015

New tool assesses performance of everyday activities in people with TBI

A recent article by Kessler Foundation researchers describes Actual Reality; as a new tool for assessing performance of activities of everyday life (ADL) in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The article, "Actual Reality: Using the Internet to assess everyday functioning after traumatic brain injury," was epublished on February 19 in Brain Injury.

19 Mar 2015

Scientists identify how mRNA deciphers critical information within genetic code

Case Western Reserve scientists have discovered that speed matters when it comes to how messenger RNA (mRNA) deciphers critical information within the genetic code — the complex chain of instructions critical to sustaining life. The investigators' findings, which appear in the March 12 journal Cell, give scientists critical new information in determining how best to engage cells to treat illness — and, ultimately, keep them from emerging in the first place.

18 Mar 2015

New hepatitis C drugs to place economic burden on health care system, predicts MD Anderson study

The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness analysis led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

17 Mar 2015

Common herpes drug Valacyclovir decreases HIV-1 levels

Case Western Reserve researchers are part of an international team that has discovered that a common herpes drug reduces HIV-1 levels — even when patients do not have herpes.

16 Mar 2015

Simple blood test could be developed to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, say UCLA researchers

UCLA researchers have provided the first evidence that a simple blood test could be developed to confirm the presence of beta amyloid proteins in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Mar 2015

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in New York and the United Kingdom, have identified genetic markers, derived from blood samples that are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The markers are associated with gene networks that regulate innate immune function and interferon signaling.

11 Mar 2015

Regenstrief researchers create accurate system for tracking quality of colonoscopies

An accurate system for tracking the quality of colonoscopies and determining the appropriate intervals between these procedures could contribute to both better health outcomes and lower costs. Clinician-researchers from the Regenstrief Institute have created and tested such a system in the nation's first multiple institution colonoscopy quality measurement study utilizing natural language processing and report that it is as accurate but less expensive than human review.

11 Mar 2015

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Although U.S. military veterans who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan are more likely to suffer chronic pain than veterans of any other conflict in American history, little headway has been made in helping them manage the often debilitating effects of chronic pain.

10 Mar 2015

Veterans Affairs News and Research

Researchers test effects of light therapy on brain function

Patient with severe Alzheimer's shows promising benefits during treatment with Bryostatin drug

Veterans with PTSD at higher risk of developing heart failure

Study finds gaps in information-sharing strategies between hospitalists and PCPs

Claritas to present data on Pediatric Neurological Exome Assay and new sequencing approach at ACMG 2015

Implementation of video-based decision aids influences care decisions in urology

Discontinuation of statin therapy may benefit patients with terminal illness

Vitamin D3 and metformin show promising results in preventing colorectal cancer

New study pinpoints major increase in subdural hematoma surgery by 2030

RNA molecule can be manipulated to generate more neurons from neural stem cells

Case Western Reserve professor urges action to eliminate yaws

New MRI technique from NIST may help diagnose TBI in U.S. veterans

New tool assesses performance of everyday activities in people with TBI

Scientists identify how mRNA deciphers critical information within genetic code

New hepatitis C drugs to place economic burden on health care system, predicts MD Anderson study

Common herpes drug Valacyclovir decreases HIV-1 levels

Simple blood test could be developed to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, say UCLA researchers

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Regenstrief researchers create accurate system for tracking quality of colonoscopies

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

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