Veterans Affairs News and Research

RSS

Tips for older adults to regain their game after being cooped up for more than a year

Alice Herb, 88, an intrepid New Yorker, is used to walking miles around Manhattan. But after this year of being shut inside, trying to avoid covid-19, she's noticed a big difference in how she feels.

24 May 2021

As pandemic eases, many seniors have lost strength, may need rehabilitative services

Ronald Lindquist, 87, has been active all his life. So, he wasn't prepared for what happened when he stopped going out during the coronavirus pandemic and spent most of his time, inactive, at home.

21 May 2021

Potential immunotherapy may improve cognitive and behavioral functions after stroke

Specialized immune cells that accumulate in the brain in the days and weeks after a stroke promote neural functions in mice, pointing to a potential immunotherapy that may boost recovery after the acute injury is over, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine neurologists found.

19 May 2021

New benefit expands community urgent care services for veterans

Two years ago, the Veterans Affairs healthcare system (VA) began rolling out a new benefit, enabling Veterans to receive urgent care from a network of community providers - rather than visiting a VA emergency department or clinic.

14 May 2021

CDK inhibitors may boost the effectiveness of immune therapy in metastatic breast cancer

A class of drugs that inhibits breast cancer progression when used with hormonal therapy might also boost the effectiveness of immune therapy in cases of recurrent, metastatic breast cancer, according to a new study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

10 May 2021

Study describes IgG antibodies in Crohn's disease specific for human bacterial flagellins

Last year, Charles O. Elson, M.D., demonstrated a potential preventive treatment for Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. He used a mouse model that included immune-reactive T cells from patients with Crohn's disease in a flagellin peptide-specific immunotherapy.

6 May 2021

UIC researcher finds potential new way to treat chronic migraine

By discovering a potential new cellular mechanism for migraines, researchers may have also found a new way to treat chronic migraine.

5 May 2021

Researchers use gene therapy to prevent learning, memory loss in Alzheimer's mouse model

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, have used gene therapy to prevent learning and memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a key step toward eventually testing the approach in humans with the neurodegenerative disease.

5 May 2021

NSAIDs could help mitigate the short-term impacts of air pollution on cognition

Exposure to air pollution, even over the course of just a few weeks, can impede mental performance, according to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

3 May 2021

Medicare could save nearly $500 million per year by reducing use of low-value preventive care services

A UCLA-led study shows that physicians frequently order preventive medical services for adult Medicare beneficiaries that are considered unnecessary and of "low value" by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -; at a cost of $478 million per year.

29 Apr 2021

Male bladder cancer vulnerability could be exploited to design new therapeutic strategies

A protein variant common in malignant bladder tumor cells may serve as a new avenue for treating bladder cancer.

29 Apr 2021

COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death for at least six months

As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that many survivors -; even those who had mild cases -; continue to manage a variety of health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved.

23 Apr 2021

New Phase 3 trial of therapeutics begins enrolling severely ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients

A new Phase 3 trial to test the safety and efficacy of therapeutics for COVID-19 has begun enrolling patients hospitalized with life-threatening cases of COVID-19, including those with acute respiratory failure.

22 Apr 2021

Study describes “cocktail party effect” in people with hearing loss

Plenty of people struggle to make sense of a multitude of converging voices in a crowded room. Commonly known as the "cocktail party effect," people with hearing loss find it's especially difficult to understand speech in a noisy environment.

22 Apr 2021

TBI patients face challenges in healthcare utilization, finds study

Patients who suffer from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) often need a great deal of healthcare services after the injury, but the extent of care utilization is unknown.

20 Apr 2021

Researchers use genetics to identify potential drugs for early management of COVID-19

A new study using human genetics suggests researchers should prioritize clinical trials of drugs that target two proteins to manage COVID-19 in its early stages.

9 Apr 2021

COVID-19 pandemic increases risk of suicides in veterans wtih post-traumatic stress disorder

The U.S. military veteran population is known to have abnormally high rates of suicide, so health officials have been concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic might elevate risk of psychiatric disorders, particularly among those suffering from post-traumatic stress and related disorders.

9 Apr 2021

Memory and executive function symptoms are valuable for predicting CTE pathology, suggests study

Diagnosing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during life is crucial for developing therapies and for determining how common the disease is among individuals exposed to repetitive head impacts from contact sports, military service and physical violence.

7 Apr 2021

Montana sticks to its patchwork Covid vaccine rollout as eligibility expands

Montana's Covid-19 vaccine distribution is among the most efficient in the nation, but closer examination reveals a patchwork of systems among counties and tribal governments that will be put to the test as the state opens vaccine eligibility to all people 16 and older starting this month.

5 Apr 2021

Combat experience linked with higher risk of alcohol use to cope with PTSD symptoms

A new Veterans Affairs study finds that combat experience is associated with a higher risk of alcohol use to cope with PTSD symptoms. But the connection is weaker when accounting for the severity of the PTSD.

2 Apr 2021