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Natural glucose byproduct prevents brain damage and cognitive impairment after diabetic coma

A natural, non-toxic byproduct of glucose may prevent brain cell death and cognitive impairment in diabetics following an episode of severely low blood sugar, according to researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

27 Apr 2005

Confronting trauma directly most effective for post-traumatic stress disorder

For patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological treatments that address the trauma directly are better than more general therapies, according to a systematic review of the subject.

26 Apr 2005

Eat your fruits and veggies - your body will thank you and your mother will be happy!

Eat your fruits and veggies - your body will thank you and your mother will be happy! And if that's not reason enough, a new study suggests antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may limit brain damage from stroke and other neurological disorders.

12 Apr 2005

Study predicted cardiovascular risk of Cox-2 inhibitors

Amid the recent controversy and confusion over serious side effects from pain medications, a new UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System study demonstrates that for arthritis sufferers at high risk for gastrointestinal problems who traditionally may have used a drug like Vioxx, the most cost-effective and safest treatment is actually a common painkiller combined with an acid-reducing drug.

11 Apr 2005

Novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven identified a novel human kidney protein called renalase that regulates both heart contraction and blood pressure; it is a strong candidate for easily administered treatment of advanced kidney and cardiovascular disease.

10 Apr 2005

Promising new treatment for alcohol dependence

According to the World Health Organization's Global Burden of Disease project, alcohol dependence, a major public health problem, ranks fourth as one of the worlds leading cause of disability. In the US alone over 100,000 deaths each year, where alcohol was a contributing factor, could have been prevented.

6 Apr 2005

Kids have upswing in golf-related head injuries

Children’s increasing interest in golf is resulting in an unfortunate upswing in golf-related head injuries, according to a review of sports injuries treated over six years at an academic medical center in Georgia.

5 Apr 2005

Blood pressure control suggests new approach to hypertension therapy

The kidneys have long been known to play a major role in many cases of high blood pressure, but a new study by researchers at Duke University Medical Center reveals that the body's control of blood pressure depends as much on other organs in the body.

3 Apr 2005

Academic medical centres need to monitor advertising

Similar advertising practices by pharmaceutical companies have been criticized for creating demand for services and failing to present balanced information, but academic medical centres have not been criticised, says Dr. Robin Larson, instructor in medicine at DAMS and lead author of the study.

28 Mar 2005

Tool reliably predicts recovery from coma

A Department of Veterans Affairs and Northwestern University researcher has developed the first reliable measure of neurobehavioral functioning that will help physicians predict the likelihood of a patient recovering consciousness during coma from severe brain injury within the first year of injury--with up to 86 percent certainty.

28 Mar 2005

Fish is brain food

Researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) found that a diet high in docosahexenoic acid, or DHA--an omega-3 fatty acid found in relatively high concentrations in cold-water fish--dramatically slowed the progression of Alzheimer's disease in mice.

28 Mar 2005

Invasive pneumonia and antibiotic resistance decreased after childhood streptococcus pneumoniae vaccine introduced

The problem of increasing antibiotic resistance in cases of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major cause of pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, was dramatically reversed following the licensing and use of a new conjugate vaccine for young children in February 2000, according to research conducted at Emory University, the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Georgia Division of Public Health.

21 Mar 2005

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature

Calls to regionalize the care of patients with heart attacks are premature, and do not account for potential unintended consequences, according to a commentary by Yale researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

21 Mar 2005

Veterans more overweight than general population

More than two-thirds of women and almost three-quarters of men receiving care at Veterans Affairs outpatient facilities in 2000 were overweight – a higher percentage than among the general population – according to a new report in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

21 Mar 2005

Blacks less likely to get expensive, newer heart treatments

Blacks who suffer the most common type of cardiac ischemia – non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome – are less likely than whites to receive expensive or newer evidence-based treatments, according to a report in a special disparities themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Mar 2005

Health care report cards may increase racial/ethnic disparities in bypass operations

Medical "report cards" intended to improve the quality of health care may sometimes reduce it for racial and ethnic minorities, according to a report in a special disparities themed issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

15 Mar 2005

First reliable measure of neurobehavioral functioning during coma from severe brain injury

A Northwestern University researcher has developed the first truly reliable measure of neurobehavioral functioning during coma from severe brain injury that predicts recovery of consciousness up to one year after injury, with up to 86 percent certainty.

9 Mar 2005