Veterans Affairs News and Research

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Vitamin D3 and metformin show promising results in preventing colorectal cancer

The concept was simple: If two compounds each individually show promise in preventing colon cancer, surely it's worth trying the two together to see if even greater impact is possible.

24 Mar 2015

New study pinpoints major increase in subdural hematoma surgery by 2030

By 2030, chronic subdural hemorrhage (SDH) will be the most common adult brain condition requiring neurosurgical intervention in the U.S., according to a new study conducted by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

23 Mar 2015

RNA molecule can be manipulated to generate more neurons from neural stem cells

A research team at UC San Francisco has discovered an RNA molecule called Pnky that can be manipulated to increase the production of neurons from neural stem cells.

20 Mar 2015

Case Western Reserve professor urges action to eliminate yaws

Half a century ago, a concentrated global effort nearly wiped a disfiguring tropical disease from the face of the earth. Now, says Case Western Reserve's James W. Kazura, MD, it's time to complete the work.

20 Mar 2015

New MRI technique from NIST may help diagnose TBI in U.S. veterans

More than 300,000 U.S. veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in recent years, a legacy of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. But these numbers don't tell the whole story. While severe TBI can be obvious, milder cases involving symptoms such as memory loss or inability to concentrate are difficult to confirm and treat.

20 Mar 2015

New tool assesses performance of everyday activities in people with TBI

A recent article by Kessler Foundation researchers describes Actual Reality; as a new tool for assessing performance of activities of everyday life (ADL) in people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The article, "Actual Reality: Using the Internet to assess everyday functioning after traumatic brain injury," was epublished on February 19 in Brain Injury.

19 Mar 2015

Scientists identify how mRNA deciphers critical information within genetic code

Case Western Reserve scientists have discovered that speed matters when it comes to how messenger RNA (mRNA) deciphers critical information within the genetic code — the complex chain of instructions critical to sustaining life. The investigators' findings, which appear in the March 12 journal Cell, give scientists critical new information in determining how best to engage cells to treat illness — and, ultimately, keep them from emerging in the first place.

18 Mar 2015

New hepatitis C drugs to place economic burden on health care system, predicts MD Anderson study

The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness analysis led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

17 Mar 2015

Common herpes drug Valacyclovir decreases HIV-1 levels

Case Western Reserve researchers are part of an international team that has discovered that a common herpes drug reduces HIV-1 levels — even when patients do not have herpes.

16 Mar 2015

Simple blood test could be developed to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, say UCLA researchers

UCLA researchers have provided the first evidence that a simple blood test could be developed to confirm the presence of beta amyloid proteins in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

12 Mar 2015

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Researchers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in New York and the United Kingdom, have identified genetic markers, derived from blood samples that are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The markers are associated with gene networks that regulate innate immune function and interferon signaling.

11 Mar 2015

Regenstrief researchers create accurate system for tracking quality of colonoscopies

An accurate system for tracking the quality of colonoscopies and determining the appropriate intervals between these procedures could contribute to both better health outcomes and lower costs. Clinician-researchers from the Regenstrief Institute have created and tested such a system in the nation's first multiple institution colonoscopy quality measurement study utilizing natural language processing and report that it is as accurate but less expensive than human review.

11 Mar 2015

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Although U.S. military veterans who have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan are more likely to suffer chronic pain than veterans of any other conflict in American history, little headway has been made in helping them manage the often debilitating effects of chronic pain.

10 Mar 2015

Intestinal bacteria can cause type 2 diabetes in African American men

African American men at elevated risk for developing type 2 diabetes may have fewer beneficial and more harmful intestinal bacteria, according to research presented by University of Illinois at Chicago endocrinologist Dr. Irina Ciubotaru at the ENDO 2015 meeting in San Diego.

9 Mar 2015

Gut bacteria may help predict risk for diabetes

The composition of intestinal bacteria and other micro-organisms--called the gut microbiota--changes over time in unhealthy ways in black men who are prediabetic, a new study finds. The results will be presented Friday at the Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego.

5 Mar 2015

New study assesses suicide risks in older, white males with advanced bladder cancer

Older, single white males with advanced bladder cancer have the highest suicide risk among those with other cancers of the male genitals and urinary system, researchers report.

5 Mar 2015

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

The combinatorial, multi-gene GeneSight test has been found to better predict antidepressant treatment outcomes for patients with depression, and their use of health care resources, than any of the individual genes that comprise the test, according to a peer-reviewed analysis by investigators from the Mayo Clinic and Assurex Health, and published online by The Pharmacogenomics Journal.

5 Mar 2015

Study shows importance of disclosing physician conflicts of interest in MS ISCTs to potential participants

If you're one of the nearly half a million Americans living with multiple sclerosis (MS) - a slowly disabling disease of the central nervous system - you are likely dependent on disease-modifying drugs to prevent symptoms such as vision problems, balance issues and weakness. Often, these treatments have been developed through pharmaceutical industry-sponsored clinical trials (ISCT) in collaboration with academic or private practice physicians who care for MS patients.

2 Mar 2015

U-M researchers reveal key role of two enzymes that help the body to remove cholesterol, other lipids

With the aid of X-ray crystallography, researchers at the University of Michigan have revealed the structures of two closely related enzymes that play essential roles in the body's ability to metabolize excess lipids, including cholesterol.

2 Mar 2015

Pediatricians, health care providers encounter requests to postpone vaccinations

Pediatricians are facing increasing pressure from some parents who want to spread out the recommended vaccine schedule for their children by postponing vaccines, pointing to a need for improved programs that support timely vaccinations, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus.

2 Mar 2015

Veterans Affairs News and Research

Vitamin D3 and metformin show promising results in preventing colorectal cancer

New study pinpoints major increase in subdural hematoma surgery by 2030

RNA molecule can be manipulated to generate more neurons from neural stem cells

Case Western Reserve professor urges action to eliminate yaws

New MRI technique from NIST may help diagnose TBI in U.S. veterans

New tool assesses performance of everyday activities in people with TBI

Scientists identify how mRNA deciphers critical information within genetic code

New hepatitis C drugs to place economic burden on health care system, predicts MD Anderson study

Common herpes drug Valacyclovir decreases HIV-1 levels

Simple blood test could be developed to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, say UCLA researchers

Research findings offer new insights into pathophysiology of PTSD

Regenstrief researchers create accurate system for tracking quality of colonoscopies

Stepped-care strategy improves function, decreases pain severity in veterans

Intestinal bacteria can cause type 2 diabetes in African American men

Gut bacteria may help predict risk for diabetes

New study assesses suicide risks in older, white males with advanced bladder cancer

GeneSight test better predicts antidepressant outcomes for patients with depression

Study shows importance of disclosing physician conflicts of interest in MS ISCTs to potential participants

U-M researchers reveal key role of two enzymes that help the body to remove cholesterol, other lipids

Pediatricians, health care providers encounter requests to postpone vaccinations

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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