Veterans Affairs News and Research

RSS

Quality of care provided for elderly osteoarthritic patients needs improvement

Osteoarthritis is a debilitating disease affecting up to 80% of elderly adults. Among those living on their own, it is the leading cause of an inability to engage in daily activities, especially if the knee or hip is affected.

4 Apr 2006

Inhibiting gamma secretase may prevent amyloid plaque build-up thought to trigger Alzheimer's disease

Oregon Health & Science University is participating in a national study of a drug that may prevent Alzheimer's disease by blocking an enzyme that produces plaques believed to trigger the disorder.

21 Mar 2006

Telephone support helps smokers quit

University of Minnesota Medical School and Minneapolis VA Medical Center research shows that smokers who receive support over the telephone when trying to quit are more successful in kicking the habit than those who receive help as part of routine medical care.

19 Mar 2006

Telephone care and counseling for smoking cessation may help smokers quit

Smokers who receive telephone care and counseling for smoking cessation have higher rates of stopping smoking than those who receive routine care by health care providers, according to a study in the March 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

15 Mar 2006

Pregnancy complications increase risk of heart disease

Young women who have a range of complications during pregnancy, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or preterm birth, are at an increased risk of developing heart disease and of dying later in life

14 Mar 2006

Mental stress induced ischemia more common than thought

Even when heart disease patients can pass stress tests done on a treadmill or with chemical stressors after treatment, their hearts may still suffer silent ischemia during mental stress, according to a new study in the Mar. 7, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

13 Mar 2006

Elderly people should not be afraid to exercise

Older people generally have to work harder than younger people to walk as fast or do other exercise, but some of the difference may be due to reduced exercise efficiency, which can be reversed with training.

13 Mar 2006

Anxiety restricts blood flow in some patients

The fear of public speaking might cause some people to do more than just break out in a cold sweat and battle stomach-churning butterflies - it could prove to have consequences for their heart health.

13 Mar 2006

Information sharing crucial to healthcare

Much has been written about the enormous effort required to take scientific discovery from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside.

9 Mar 2006

Veterans research indicates mantrams can control post-traumatic stress disorder

Repeating mantrams can help control the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, have a calming effect in traffic and even ease the boredom of exercise, according to a study in the latest issue of Journal of Advanced Nursing.

6 Mar 2006

One third of soldiers returning from Iraq have mental health problems

According to a new study, as many as one-third of U.S. military personnel in the war in Iraq received mental health services following their return home, and one in every ten were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

1 Mar 2006

Smoking increases risk for root canal treatment

According to a new study appearing in the April issue of the Journal of Dental Research, cigarette smoking can lead to not only tooth discoloration and gum disease, but also a common dental procedure that helps to heal a diseased tooth--the root canal.

27 Feb 2006

Research highlights importance of detecting anthrax early

When spores sent through the mail in 2001 caused 11 people to contract anthrax - ultimately killing five of them - infectious disease specialists noted that the death rate was substantially lower than the historical mortality rate, which approached 100 percent.

24 Feb 2006

Efficacy of glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate may depend on level of osteoarthritis pain

The popular dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate proved no better than a placebo in relieving osteoarthritis knee pain in most participants of a major national trial.

23 Feb 2006

Glucosamine/Chondroitin combo helps those with moderate to severe joint pain

According to a new study by the National Institutes of Health, people with moderate to severe joint discomfort found that a combination of glucosamine and chondroitin resulted in significant pain and function improvement.

23 Feb 2006

Grants bring Mesothelioma research to over $3 million

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation has announced thrilling news for all who care about eradicating the vicious disease. MARF has awarded nine new grants of $100,000 each for exciting research projects commencing in late 2005 aimed at curing mesothelioma ("meso").

13 Feb 2006

New technology could replace time-intensive urine specimens

For the millions of people who suffer from urinary tract infections each year and the doctors who treat them, a promising new biosensor technology has been developed that may replace antiquated testing methods and save precious health care dollars.

12 Feb 2006

Fatty acids such as those found in corn oil turn on genes that stimulate tumor growth

Omega-6 fatty acids--such as those found in corn oil--caused human prostate tumors in cell culture to grow twice as quickly as tumors to which omega-6 fats had not been added, according to a study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

5 Feb 2006

Experts counter study's claim - men should continue prostate exams

A man has a one in six chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Each year, more than 230,000 men are diagnosed with the disease. Doctors have traditionally recommended two tests for the early detection of prostate cancer; the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal exam (DRE) are used to detect abnormalities with the prostate gland.

23 Jan 2006

Children with autism found to have specific memory problems that may underlie aspects of disorder

If children with autism can't see the forest for the trees, that may be partly because the burden of processing all those trees at once makes it harder to lock in the scene.

23 Jan 2006