Treatments used under emergency-use authorizations (EUA) have led to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, but ensuring their safe use in the people who could stand to benefit the most from them is a formidable task
Veterans With Parkinson’s Disease at Higher Risk of Suicide
A Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis has been shown to increase patients’ risk of suicide, according to a new study.
Psychiatric Conditions More Common With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy
It is not uncommon for epilepsy patients to also have psychiatric conditions, according to a new study which used VHA records to better understand the co-morbidity.
Factors Making PTSD More Likely After TBI
Why do some military servicemembers with traumatic brain injury (TBI) develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, while others do not?
What About Servicemembers Discharged for COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal?
DoD officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for servicemembers last month. Even though President Joe Biden and DoD leaders opposed the move
Mental Health Conditions Affect Treatment, Outcomes for HIV Patients
The presence of diagnosed mental health conditions—whose prevalence in people with HIV has grown overall in recent years—can have an important impact on retention in care and viral suppression in HIV patients, a new study shows.
Clozapine Underused in Veterans With Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder
Although clozapine is the only pharmacologic intervention approved for treating patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who have had suicidal behaviors or inadequate response to other antipsychotics, the medication is underutilized in veterans with these mental health issues, according to a new study.
Guided Bronchoscopy for Lung Lesion Diagnosis
Even though guided bronchoscopy is being used more and more to diagnose peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPL), questions continue about the procedure’s diagnostic yield.
Risk Score Measures NSCLC Surgery Quality
The VALCAN-O score, which uses a data set from the VHA, was developed for patients diagnosed with resectable early-stage nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Novel Treatments Drive Down Lung Cancer Death Rates
The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), which began at the beginning of the 21st century, compared two ways of detecting lung cancer: low-dose helical computed tomography (CT)—often referred to as spiral CT—and standard chest X-ray.
Identified: Genes Associated With Risk of Suicidal Thoughts in Veterans
Multiple genes linked to an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in U.S. military veterans have been identified, according to a new study.
VHA Wait Times Increased Most for Blacks, Hispanics During Early Pandemic
Black and Hispanic veterans appeared to experience more barriers to accessing care than white veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study finding that wait time disparities increased significantly from the pre–COVID-19 period.
With More Than 250,000 Alzheimer’s Patients, VA Is a Market for New Drug
Now that the Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track approval for the new Alzheimer’s disease medication Leqembi, the issue of who will pay for it looms large.
VA Faces Challenges in Diagnosing, Caring for Long COVID
In the early days and months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the VA and other healthcare systems were focused on the daunting work of helping patients survive the acute effects of the disease.
Racial Differences in Prostate Cancer Treatment
How does Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) after treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) differ for patients of different races?
Sexual Issues Common for Partners of PCa Patients
While it is well understood that prostate cancer (PCa) and its treatment can have significant and pervasive sexual side effects for the male patients, less attention has been paid to their partners.
Genetic Scores Might Help Determine Prostate Cancer Risk
Can genetic scores provide an objective measure of prostate cancer risk and aid screening decisions?
Vaccinations Can Help Prevent Flu, COVID-19 Co-Infection
While co-infection with more than one respiratory virus was especially a problem this fall and winter, it has happened before, especially in an environment where SARS-CoV-2 is circulating.
VHA Data Supports Routine Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination in Older Adults
As part of the continual evolution of pneumococcal vaccination recommendations, guidelines recently have been updated to urge more use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in older adults.
Study Examines Reasons for Vaccine Hesitancy in Patients With IBD
Even after years of the COVID-19 pandemic, data remains somewhat limited on the safety profile of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in patients taking immunosuppressive medications.
MGUS-MM Progression Differs Between African Americans, Caucasians
While it is widely known that African Americans (AA) are at higher risk for multiple myeloma (MM), precisely what factors create the disparity are not well understood.
Walter Reed, NIAID Scientists Help Develop Monoclonal Antibodies That Might Block Epstein-Barr Virus Infection; EBV Linked to MS Development
Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) have developed a panel of investigational monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target two key proteins—gH and gL—on the surface of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
COVID-19 Reinfection Adds Significant Risk to Multiple Organ Systems
Despite misconceptions that prior COVID-19 infections can keep patients from having severe cases in the future, a new study suggests that recurrent cases pile on the risk of adverse health conditions in multiple organ systems.
Head and Neck Cancer Driven by HPV Has Distinct Genetic, Immune Variants
Most new diagnoses of oropharyngeal cancer, a type of head and neck cancer, are driven by human papillomavirus (HPV) infections, with distinct genetic and immune differences in HPV-driven and non-HPV-driven head and neck cancer, according to a new study.
Pandemic Brought About Significant Changes in Orthopedic Injuries
Much of the focus during the COVID-19 pandemic has been on the infection itself, as well as persistent symptoms. But many other aspects of healthcare underwent changes of SARS-CoV-2 and the efforts to combat it.
Similar Cardiovascular Outcomes Found in Veterans Treated With Two Common Blood Pressure Medications — Chlorthalidone and Hydrochlorothiazide
In “surprising” results, two common diuretics used to control blood pressure, chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide, had no differences in outcomes for cardiovascular events, including death, in veteran patients, according to a new study.
Factors Linked to Severe COVID-19 Among Vaccinated, Hospitalized Veterans
Although vaccination and boosting remain the best defense against COVID-19, breakthrough infections among those vaccinated and boosted are exceedingly common.
Large VA Study Finds Lower Prostate Cancer Screening Rates Associated With Subsequent Increases in Metastatic Cancer
Aside from skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common cancer among male veterans. When diagnosed at an early stage, prostate cancer is highly curable.
VHA Mental Health Staffing Levels Affect Suicide-Related Events in Veterans
VHA facilities appear to have limited staff who can provide mental health care services, and increasing mental health staffing could reduce suicide-related events in veterans, according to a new study.
Polypharmacy Associated With Worse Outcomes in Veterans With HIV
The good news, according to a recent study, is that medical intensive care unit (MICU) admissions have been declining in people with HIV infection (PWH).
