Veterans Affairs News and Research

RSS

Scientists discover how odors are detected and processed by brain

Researchers seeking to unravel the most ancient yet least understood of the five senses - smell - have discovered a previously unknown step in how odors are detected and processed by the brain.

28 Mar 2011

Study: Veteran care for severly wounded hindered by poor communication

USA Today: Miscommunication Hinders Vets' Care, Study Finds.

25 Mar 2011

First Edition: March 24, 2011

In today's headlines, more reports about how supporters and opponents of the health law are staking out positions and taking action to advance their causes. Meanwhile, a South Dakota abortion law becomes a flashpoint.

24 Mar 2011

Physicians launch international advocacy campaign on TB

Physicians across the globe are coming together to advocate for a large, underrepresented patient population - those suffering from tuberculosis. On World TB Day, March 24th, a team of physician and researchers led by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine's Tuberculosis Research Unit will nationally launch "I am TB," an international advocacy campaign aimed at reducing stigma among patients with TB and those at risk for the disease.

24 Mar 2011

Researchers create nanosurfaces to seal leg prosthetics against bacteria entry

In recent years, researchers have worked to develop more flexible, functional prosthetics for soldiers returning home from battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq with missing arms or legs. But even new prosthetics have trouble keeping bacteria from entering the body through the space where the device has been implanted.

23 Mar 2011

UCLA researchers identify new biomarker that can help track amyloid beta in Alzheimer's

UCLA researchers have identified a new biomarker that could help them track how effectively the immune system is able to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.

18 Mar 2011

AFGE: Proposed cost saving strategy may diminish both access, quality of health care for veterans

On Wednesday, March 2, the American Federation of Government Employees provided testimony before the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on the proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs for Fiscal Year 2012.

16 Mar 2011

Hospitals with higher diagnosis frequency for chronic conditions have lower case-fatality rate

An examination of data for more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries finds that hospital regions that have a greater frequency of diagnoses have a lower case-fatality rate for chronic conditions such as coronary artery disease and kidney failure, according to a study in the March 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Mar 2011

Depressed, older people who have a stroke are more likely to be dependent

People who have a stroke are more likely to be dependent if they are depressed, older or have other medical problems, according to a study published in the March 15, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

15 Mar 2011

Study: Statin use may reduce risk of high-grade prostate cancer

Men who take a certain class of cholesterol-lowering medicine, otherwise known as statins, may be 60 percent less likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.

15 Mar 2011

Majority of men on ADT after prostatectomy gain weight during first year of therapy

Seventy per cent of men who received androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) after surgery to remove their prostate gland gained significant weight in the first year, putting on an average of 4.2kg, according to a paper in the March issue of the urology journal BJUI.

11 Mar 2011

Australian, U.S. Department of VA to collaborate on new military deployment research project

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will collaborate with the Australian Department of Veterans Affairs on a new research effort focused on investigating the impact of recent conflicts on the health of returning Servicemembers.

11 Mar 2011

Depression is linked with increased risk of developing kidney failure

Depression is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney failure in the future, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

10 Mar 2011

First disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease identified

Neena Singh, MD, PhD and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. sCJD is one of the causes of dementia and typically leads to death within a year of disease onset.

10 Mar 2011

Need for new definition of 'normal' blood pressure

As many as 100 million Americans may currently be misclassified as having abnormal blood pressure, according to Dr. Brent Taylor from the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota and his colleagues. Their findings show that these people are not actually more likely to die prematurely than those with 'normal' blood pressure, i.e. below 120/80.

10 Mar 2011

Economic benefits of enabling people to age at home

There are a number of studies that look at the economics of technologies to enable people to age at home rather than in some other kind of accommodation. In 2010, CSES contributed an economic analysis for the ATSE report written by Greg Tegart drawing in part on these studies and using Australian data on demographic trends and healthcare costs.

9 Mar 2011

Department of VA selects Harris to partipicate in Mentor-Protege Program with 7 Delta

Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, has been selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs to participate in the Mentor-Protege Program with 7 Delta, Inc., a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

9 Mar 2011

Parkinson's disease medication turns on critical gene, protects brain cells

In a major breakthrough in the battle against Parkinson's disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a drug that stops the progression of the degenerative illness in mice and is now being tested in humans.

9 Mar 2011

NCRM, CSCRM to become national force in regenerative medicine

In a move to streamline and accelerate the research and development of new stem cell and regenerative medicine technologies, the National Center for Regenerative Medicine and the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at Case Western Reserve University have been rolled into a single entity housed within the university's School of Medicine.

5 Mar 2011

ATS releases new report recommending research priorities in OSA treatment

The American Thoracic Society has released a new official report recommending research priorities in incorporating ambulatory management of adults with obstructive sleep apnea into healthcare systems.

4 Mar 2011