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New way to halt lung inflammation

Acute inflammation of the lung is a poorly recognized human disease that develops in surprising and unexpected ways. The acute lung injury (ALI) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a vital new concern for soldiers, but it can develop in anyone during a systemic infection, after severe trauma, as a result of bone fracture, following severe burns and in many other ways as well-- the initial cause may have nothing apparent to do with the lung itself.

18 Jan 2011

UH, Case Western University commence clinical trial for bipolar disorder

The Mood Disorders Program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, along with the Bipolar Trials Network, is launching Bipolar CHOICE.

12 Jan 2011

Behavioral therapies help improve bladder control in men following prostate cancer surgery

Behavioral therapies such as pelvic-floor-muscle training and bladder-control strategies can reduce incontinence episodes by more than 50 percent in men following prostate-cancer surgery, according to new research from the Center for Aging at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Birmingham/Atlanta Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center.

12 Jan 2011

Largest, national long-term study of children's health opens for Cuyahoga County

Residents of Cuyahoga County, and later Lorain County, will soon have the opportunity to contribute to the establishment of a national resource for childhood growth and development. The National Children's Study is the largest, long-term study of children's health ever conducted in the United States. It will follow 100,000 children from pre-birth to 21-years-old. The study will enroll women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next few years.

11 Jan 2011

Birmingham VAMC selects DSS HB Mobile for Home Based Primary Care nurse Case Managers

The Birmingham VA Medical Center (VAMC), an acute tertiary care facility that serves the veteran population of Alabama, has selected HB Mobile from DSS, Inc. to provide an integrated mobile electronic health record (EHR) solution for its Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) nurse Case Managers. The Birmingham VAMC was selected in August 2009 by the Veterans Integrated Service Network 7 (VISN 7) to be the Alpha test site for HB Mobile.

10 Jan 2011

Sucampo, Takeda initiate dosing in third lubiprostone phase 3 trial for opioid-induced bowel dysfunction

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. today announced the dosing of the first patient in the third phase 3 clinical trial of lubiprostone for the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD) in subjects with chronic, non-cancer pain, excluding those taking methadone. The primary endpoint is an overall responder rate based on the change from baseline in the reported frequency of spontaneous bowel movements (SBMs).

7 Jan 2011

Better monitoring, new techniques reduce anesthesia-related maternal deaths

The number of women who die from complications of anesthesia during childbirth has plummeted 59 percent over the last two decades thanks to improved monitoring and better medical techniques, according to a recent study.

7 Jan 2011

New mouse model with deficiency of lipoprotein lipase in neurons

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have created a new and exciting mouse model to study how lipid sensing and metabolism in the brain relate to the regulation of energy balance and body weight. The research team, led by Hong Wang, PhD, created mice with a deficiency of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in neurons, and observed two important reactions.

5 Jan 2011

Combat-related PTSD associated with longer-term physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms

Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms appear to be associated with longer-term physical (headache, tinnitus), emotional (irritability) and cognitive (diminished concentration or memory) symptoms, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Conversely, concussion/mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) do not appear to have long-term negative effects on troops.

4 Jan 2011

Deceptive food labels lead to increased risk of deadly diseases

Did you know that when you pick up a product promoted as trans fat free, you may still be ingesting a significant amount of this potentially harmful substance? An article by Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine student Eric Brandt, published in the January/February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, reveals that misleading labeling practices can result in medically significant intake of harmful trans fat, despite what you read on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved labels.

3 Jan 2011

NEI awards Case Western Reserve $10M for study of retinal diseases

The Departments of Pharmacology and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have been awarded a $10.1 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to research and develop new treatments for diseases of the retina, a leading cause of blindness.

29 Dec 2010

Study shows vegetarian diet lowers blood, urine phosphorous levels

Phosphorous levels plummet in kidney disease patients who stick to a vegetarian diet, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that eating vegetables rather than meat can help kidney disease patients avoid accumulating toxic levels of this mineral in their bodies.

24 Dec 2010

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

Research on reducing risks, improving medical treatment and improving lifestyle behaviors to fight the battle against heart disease and stroke are among the key scientific findings that make up this year's top cardiovascular and stroke research recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

22 Dec 2010

AIDS patients with serum biomarkers are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome

A study in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis who start HIV therapy are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome - an exaggerated inflammatory immune response that kills up to one-third of affected people - if they have biomarkers in their blood showing evidence of a damaged immune system that is not capable of clearing the fungal infection.

22 Dec 2010

Military health: Philanthropy, not the Pentagon, leads to quality care for brain-injured soldiers

To see what cognitive therapy looked like, ProPublica and NPR spent several days with McKinney and fellow soldiers and veterans at Project Share, a charity to help brain-damaged soldiers. (This article is part of an ongoing investigation.) The program is based out of the Shepherd Center for Brain and Spinal Cord Injury in Atlanta, a nationally recognized hospital for head injuries (Miller and Zwerdling, 12/21).

22 Dec 2010

Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay measures low levels of troponin I in patients with heart failure

A clinical study released online by the European Journal of Heart Failure, a publication of the European Society of Cardiology, demonstrates the value of using Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay to detect very low levels of troponin I in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

20 Dec 2010

Combination therapy improves survival rates in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

A combination therapy for treating cancer discovered at the University of Colorado Cancer Center showed improved survival rates in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results from a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial run by Syndax Pharmaceuticals.

16 Dec 2010

Tort reform legislation has not reduced physician concerns about malpractice lawsuits: Study

Physicians' fears of being sued for malpractice are out of proportion to their actual risk of being sued, according to a recent study by a University of Iowa researcher and colleagues.

16 Dec 2010

MedVirginia becomes first community HIE to connect with Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

MedVirginia announced today that it has achieved another significant milestone: becoming the first community health information exchange (HIE) to connect with the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER). VLER is a collaboration between Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and civilian health systems to connect the health records of our nation's active duty military personnel and Veterans.

13 Dec 2010

ORNL's software scans molecular databases, may help scientists to develop new drug treatments

A quicker and cheaper technique to scan molecular databases developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory could put scientists on the fast track to developing new drug treatments.

13 Dec 2010

Veterans Affairs News and Research

New way to halt lung inflammation

UH, Case Western University commence clinical trial for bipolar disorder

Behavioral therapies help improve bladder control in men following prostate cancer surgery

Largest, national long-term study of children's health opens for Cuyahoga County

Birmingham VAMC selects DSS HB Mobile for Home Based Primary Care nurse Case Managers

Sucampo, Takeda initiate dosing in third lubiprostone phase 3 trial for opioid-induced bowel dysfunction

Better monitoring, new techniques reduce anesthesia-related maternal deaths

New mouse model with deficiency of lipoprotein lipase in neurons

Combat-related PTSD associated with longer-term physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms

Deceptive food labels lead to increased risk of deadly diseases

NEI awards Case Western Reserve $10M for study of retinal diseases

Study shows vegetarian diet lowers blood, urine phosphorous levels

Top ten advances in cardiovascular, stroke research in 2010

AIDS patients with serum biomarkers are predisposed to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome

Military health: Philanthropy, not the Pentagon, leads to quality care for brain-injured soldiers

Nanosphere's Verisens cTnI assay measures low levels of troponin I in patients with heart failure

Combination therapy improves survival rates in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Tort reform legislation has not reduced physician concerns about malpractice lawsuits: Study

MedVirginia becomes first community HIE to connect with Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record

ORNL's software scans molecular databases, may help scientists to develop new drug treatments

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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