Veterans Affairs News and Research

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Latest research on obesity, diabetes, hormone replacement therapy to be presented

From reviewing the latest trends and clinical research in the field of endocrinology to debating the nation's obesity epidemic and the ethnic disparities in health care, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' (AACE) Thirteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress will highlight the current revolution in endocrinology.

29 Apr 2004

Results look promising in Alzheimer’s gene therapy trial

Surgical placement of genetically modified tissue directly into the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, an experimental approach to delaying brain cell loss associated with the disease, leads to increased metabolic activity in the brain, with cells apparently responding to the insertion of growth factor-producing grafts

28 Apr 2004

Less complications with open surgery when dealing with hernia repair

A Veterans Affairs study of nearly 1,700 hernia-repair operations found fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery. The study is being presented April 25 at the spring meeting of the American College of Surgeons in Boston.

28 Apr 2004

PTSD study focuses on mental window of opportunity

Haunting memories, thoughts, or images are found in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a major mental health problem affecting millions worldwide. A new clinical trials study by mental imagery researcher Robert Roerich, M.D. seeks to explore the mind’s ability to heal memory of stressful life experiences.

27 Apr 2004

Relieving acute stress from trauma may be a matter of thinking it through

Many people experience serious trauma in their lives - only the fortunate will avoid events such as a serious car accident, the death of a close relative or a physical or sexual assault.

27 Apr 2004

New Saint Louis University research sheds light on how obesity occurs

Saint Louis University researchers believe they’ve won a major skirmish in the battle of the bulge, and their findings are published in the May issue of Diabetes.

26 Apr 2004

A new study is better defining the impact that stress and depression have on women suffering from rheumatoid arthritis

A new study is better defining the impact that stress and depression have on women suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The research, led by a team of ASU psychologists, shows increased pain and inflammation for those dealing with high amounts of stress and depression.

26 Apr 2004

A study of nearly 1,700 hernia repair operations found fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery

26 Apr 2004

Polio victory remembered on 50th anniversary of Salk Vaccine field trials

Fifty years ago today, thousands of parents drove their school-age children to designated sites across the country for immunizations of an experimental vaccine that they hoped would stop, once and for all, the raging polio epidemic that was leaving young Americans paralyzed and sometimes dead. Organized and funded by the March of Dimes, this was the largest voluntary clinical trial ever undertaken.

26 Apr 2004

Fewer recurrences and complications overall with open surgery than with laparoscopic surgery

25 Apr 2004

Dietary supplement may improve immune function in the elderly

A recent clinical study has demonstrated that 7-oxo Dehydroepiandrosterone taken orally twice daily by healthy adults over a period of one month augments several key T-cell mediated immune function parameters compared to placebo administration.

20 Apr 2004

Researchers examine community-based drinkers rather than abstinent alcoholics

Almost all knowledge about brain damage due to chronic alcohol consumption has been gathered from alcoholics, who have generally been studied toward the end of their institutionalized treatment program (several weeks after their last drink) or many months into abstinence.

13 Apr 2004

New online prostate calculator

A study just completed by researchers at the Josephine Ford Cancer Center has resulted in the most comprehensive long-term prostate cancer survival model available to date. An interactive version of the survival model is available online at prostatecalculator.org.

12 Apr 2004

Sponsors of Medicare-approved discount cards will begin marketing their cards

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced last week that 28 private sponsors will offer 49 different Medicare-sponsored drug discount cards, beginning June 1. Additionally, 43 private health plans have received CMS approval to offer Medicare drug discount cards to their members only.

11 Apr 2004

A common antibiotic used to treat arthritis and acne shows promise for limiting the severity of spinal cord and brain injuries

When a fall, car crash, bullet, or knife crushes or cuts a spinal cord, the injury does not stop there. Rather, tissues continue to discharge toxic chemicals for hours, even days and weeks. These chemicals kill and disable nerve cells some distance away from the core injury, compounding the damage and making rehabilitation more difficult or impossible.

26 Mar 2004

Asthma study turns up new information on viral infections

Researchers know that viral infections can exacerbate asthma and, in turn, make people with the condition more sensitive to environmental exposures such as endotoxin. But how viral infections contribute to this sensitivity in airway cells has not been clear. A recent study led by investigators from the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Iowa City shows, for the first time, that viral infections may increase environmental sensitivity in lung epithelial (surface) cells by changing expression of receptors on those cells.

25 Mar 2004