Veterans Affairs News and Research

RSS

Brain makes new connections in blind people to enhance compensatory abilities

The brains of those who are born blind make new connections in the absence of visual information, resulting in enhanced, compensatory abilities such as a heightened sense of hearing, smell and touch, as well as cognitive functions (such as memory and language) according to a new study led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers.

23 Mar 2017

Study shows safety of Schwann cell transplantation for treating subacute thoracic spinal cord injury

A Phase I clinical trial that targeted individuals with new onset paraplegia to evaluate the safety of transplanting their own potentially neuroprotective Schwann cells into a trauma-induced spinal cord lesion showed no evidence of adverse effects after 1 year.

22 Mar 2017

Advance care planning often fails to communicate patient's preferences

Too few older adults plan ahead for end-of-life medical decisions. Even when they do identify a loved one to make decisions for them, their preferences are not always communicated or understood, according to a new study led by a Yale researcher.

20 Mar 2017

Drug or alcohol problems among veterans may increase risk of suicide, study finds

Veterans who have drug or alcohol problems are more than twice as likely to die by suicide as their comrades, a new study finds. And women veterans with substance use disorders have an even higher rate of suicide -- more than five times that of their peers, the research shows.

16 Mar 2017

Study warns against use of bone morphogenetic proteins in pediatric spinal fusion

Bone morphogenetic proteins, commonly used off-label to enhance pediatric spinal fusion (spinal arthrodesis), did not improve revision rates for pediatric spinal fusion, according to a study presented on March 14 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Diego.

15 Mar 2017

ER visits may serve as effective 'teachable moments' for drug use, study suggests

An emergency room visit for an illness or injury may seem like a strange time to try to motivate someone to cut back on using drugs.

13 Mar 2017

Endostatin can decrease proliferation of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells

Failure of hormone deprivation therapy, which is used to slow prostate cancer in patients, leads to castration-resistant prostate cancer, a lethal form of advanced disease with limited treatment options.

10 Mar 2017

Stony Brook researchers discover novel metabolic pathway of lipid ceramide involved in cell death

A collaborative Stony Brook University research team has discovered a novel metabolic pathway of the lipid ceramide, which is involved in cell death.

10 Mar 2017

Wearable biosensors can track physiological changes linked to illness

Your watch might be able to tell you it's time to call in sick. Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health have revealed the ability of wearable biosensors, similar to the Apple Watch or Fitbit, to detect physiological changes that may indicate illness, even before symptoms appear.

10 Mar 2017

New combination antibiotic therapy overcomes pernicious infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria

Researchers have known that part of the challenge in treating penicillin-resistant infections lies in understanding the way bacteria inactivate penicillin antibiotics.

10 Mar 2017

Newer, more effective medications increase number of patients achieving HCV cure

A new analysis reveals a dramatic transformation in the care of patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) as more effective and tolerable medications have become available.

8 Mar 2017

Case Western Reserve and VA team up to tackle rising problem of antibiotic resistance

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics have made the world a much safer and healthier place. But Shakespeare was onto something when he asked if it's possible to have too much of a good thing. In the case of antibiotics, the answer is increasingly "yes."

3 Mar 2017

Neuroprotective compound could save brain cells during stroke, rat study shows

Researchers from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have shown that a neuroprotective compound tested in rats provides two-pronged protection for brain cells during stroke and improves physical and cognitive outcomes in the treated animals.

2 Mar 2017

New report highlights inherent weaknesses of VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

Inherent features of registries that rely on voluntary participation and self-reported information make them fundamentally unsuitable for determining whether emissions from military burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations in Southwest Asia caused health problems in service members who were exposed to them, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

28 Feb 2017

Activated T-cells promote heart failure after heart attack

Chronic inflammation after a heart attack can promote heart failure and death. University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have now shown that activated T-cells — part of the immune system's inflammatory response — are both necessary and sufficient to produce such heart failure.

28 Feb 2017

Veterans Affairs News and Research

Brain makes new connections in blind people to enhance compensatory abilities

Study shows safety of Schwann cell transplantation for treating subacute thoracic spinal cord injury

Advance care planning often fails to communicate patient's preferences

Drug or alcohol problems among veterans may increase risk of suicide, study finds

Study warns against use of bone morphogenetic proteins in pediatric spinal fusion

ER visits may serve as effective 'teachable moments' for drug use, study suggests

Endostatin can decrease proliferation of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells

Stony Brook researchers discover novel metabolic pathway of lipid ceramide involved in cell death

Wearable biosensors can track physiological changes linked to illness

New combination antibiotic therapy overcomes pernicious infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria

Newer, more effective medications increase number of patients achieving HCV cure

Case Western Reserve and VA team up to tackle rising problem of antibiotic resistance

Neuroprotective compound could save brain cells during stroke, rat study shows

New report highlights inherent weaknesses of VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

Activated T-cells promote heart failure after heart attack

Collaborative ‘tune up’ clinic for complex type 2 diabetes patients reduces health care costs

Scientists create organ-on-a-chip that can mimic heart's biomechanical properties

New research pinpoints how immigrant microbes get to the lungs

Duke Health scientists identify proteins in mucous that confirm viral infection

Prolonged use of popular heartburn drugs linked to silent, gradual kidney damage

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

Latest News