Veterans Affairs News and Research

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Study reveals fetal origin for social and repetitive behavior deficits

Fetal development has been known to play an important role in social interaction, a fundamental behavior found in nearly all organisms, and later adult social behaviors. Autism, a highly heritable neurodevelopment disorder that causes difficulties with social interactions, has been postulated to be caused by neuron overgrowth in the prenatal period, although the precise timing and cause of this overgrowth has been unknown.

3 Feb 2016

Understanding military's culture could help health care providers improve care for veterans

Health care systems and providers need to understand the unique realities of military culture in order to work effectively with veterans and military families, according to the findings of a study by a University at Buffalo research team.

30 Jan 2016

Allergan's investigational medication rapastinel granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation

Allergan plc., a leading global pharmaceutical company today announced that its Phase III ready investigational medication rapastinel (GLYX-13) received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).

29 Jan 2016

New breakthrough drug shows promise to fight antibiotic-resistant infections

A New York pharmaceutical company, TGV-Laboratories, has developed a groundbreaking drug that shows promise in treating a wide variety of antibiotic-resistant fungal and bacterial infections.

28 Jan 2016

E-cigarettes suppress immune defenses, alter inflammation and boost bacterial virulence

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System report data suggesting that e-cigarettes are toxic to human airway cells, suppress immune defenses and alter inflammation, while at the same time boosting bacterial virulence.

27 Jan 2016

Duke researchers closer to developing rapid blood test for bacterial and viral infections

Researchers at Duke Health are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed.

21 Jan 2016

UCLA research finds wide variations in post-acute care across different parts of the U.S.

To ensure that they receive proper care after surgery, patients are frequently referred by hospitals to inpatient facilities such as skilled nursing homes or inpatient rehabilitation centers or to receive home health care and other outpatient services. This type of care, called post-acute care, now accounts for some $62 billion in annual Medicare spending.

21 Jan 2016

Scientists reveal why non-alcoholic steatohepatitis worsens in obese people

In results published on October 19, 2015 in the Journal of Lipid Research, a team of translational scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina report a new reason why non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) worsens in people who are obese.

20 Jan 2016

Researchers suggest ways to make TB drugs more efficacious against mutations

Biophysicists have discovered why the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB) are naturally somewhat resistant to antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. Their findings, based on mapping the detailed three-dimensional structure of the drugs interacting with an essential enzyme in the TB germ, also reveal why some TB drugs are more potent than others and suggest how drug developers can make fluoroquinolones more efficacious against mutations that make the lung disease drug resistant.

19 Jan 2016

New recommendations to reduce radiation-induced breast cancer risk from digital mammography

Radiation-induced breast cancer risk from digital mammography is low for the majority of women, but risk is higher in women with large breasts, who received 2.3 times more radiation and required more views per examination to image as much of the breast as possible compared to those with small or average-sized breasts.

18 Jan 2016

Better coordination could help reduce hospital readmissions, mortality rates

Better coordination between hospitals and post-acute care facilities could reduce patient readmission to hospitals and mortality rates, according to a new study of risk factors by researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

18 Jan 2016

New nursing competencies may help improve veterans' health care needs

As the daughter of a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and herself an intensive care nurse for more than 20 years, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Professor Jacqueline Moss, Ph.D., is familiar with the U.S. military and caring for its veterans.

13 Jan 2016

Three new genetic associations identified for primary open angle glaucoma

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have led an international effort to identify three genetic associations that influence susceptibility to primary open angle glaucoma -- the most common form of adult onset glaucoma and the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

12 Jan 2016

1 in 10 veterans and civilian patients experiences new ICU-related PTSD up to one year after discharge

One in ten patients is at risk of having new post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to their ICU experience up to a year post-discharge. This was the finding from a multicenter, prospective cohort research study of veterans and civilians.

11 Jan 2016

Transgender veterans have significantly greater prevalence of many psychiatric and medical conditions

The first large, controlled study of health disparities between clinically diagnosed transgender and non-transgender patients-based on the medical records of more than 5,000 patients treated in the Veterans Health Administration-showed that transgender veterans had a significantly greater prevalence of numerous psychiatric and medical conditions.

7 Jan 2016

Physician-researchers find link between 'dry eye' and chronic pain syndromes

Physician-researchers with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of UHealth--the University of Miami Health System, have found a link between "dry eye" and chronic pain syndromes -- a finding that suggests that a new paradigm is needed for diagnosis and treatment to improve patient outcomes.

7 Jan 2016

ONR-sponsored app reads kids' facial expressions to screen for autism

There's an app for everything these days--from weight loss to working out. Now, thanks in part to support from the Office of Naval Research, there's an app that may screen for autism by reading kids' facial expressions for emotional cues.

31 Dec 2015

VA researchers find that guerilla tactics may trigger more PTSD than conventional warfare

Guerilla tactics such as suicide attacks and roadside bombs may trigger more posttraumatic stress than conventional warfare, suggests a Veterans Affairs study of 738 men and women who served in Iraq.

30 Dec 2015

E-cigarettes damage cells in ways that could lead to cancer

Adding to growing evidence on the possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, a lab team at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System tested two products and found they damaged cells in ways that could lead to cancer. The damage occurred even with nicotine-free versions of the products.

29 Dec 2015

YAP protein appears to play vital role in helping control inflammation inside the brain

Inside the brain, a protein called YAP, best known for its ability to help right-size our developing hearts and livers, appears to have the different but equally important task of helping control inflammation.

23 Dec 2015