Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT) is an accepted strategy for various hematologic malignancies but can lead to functional impairment, fatigue, muscle wasting, and reduced quality of life, according to a new study.
Older Veterans Had Higher Risk of Bleomycin Pulmonary Toxicity After HL Therapy
Until recently, for patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma, the relationship between increasing age and bleomycin pulmonary toxicity (BPT) remained unclear.
Chemo-immunotherapy and Older Patients Before New CLL Treatments
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Even though chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of older adults, with median age of 68 years at diagnosis, clinical trials on chemo-immunotherapy agents rarely included patients of advanced age, according to a new study. Noting the strong...
Biofeedback Can Help Headache Pain
PORTLAND, OR - Biofeedback can be a helpful treatment for headache pain, as well as possibly other conditions such as urinary and fecal incontinence. The technique also might aid in stroke recovery, according to a literature review by a team at the VA Portland, OR,...
Early Pain Experience with TKA Affects Longer Term Results
BIRMINGHAM – What is the pain experience after total knee arthroplasty and how does it affect outcome six to 12 months later? That is the question raised in an article in JAMA Network Open. The Birmingham, AL, VAMC and University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers...
Early Use of Regional Anesthesia Provides Sustained Pain Benefits
When integrated into combat casualty care, early use of regional anesthesia appears to provide sustained pain benefits throughout rehabilitation and recovery.
Women Veterans With PTSD Have More Risk Factors for Heart Disease
LOS ANGELES—While post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans previously has been linked to heart disease, the cohorts used in those studies were overwhelmingly mail. Now, a new study took a close look at PTSD’s effect on heart health in women veterans—and the news...
Study Looks at Trichomonas Vaginalis Infection, Cancer Link
LOUIS—The protist Trichomonas vaginalis causes a common, sexually transmitted infection, some research has raised the possibility that it might contribute to the development of chronic prostate conditions, including benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. A...
Prostate Cancer Survival Unimproved with Androgen Blockade Addition
SAN DIEGO—While the addition of androgen deprivation therapy to radiation therapy improves survival in patients with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer, it remained unknown whether combined androgen blockade with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and a...
Post-Surgical Prostate Cancer Surveillance Not Guideline-Concordant
ANN ARBOR, MI—Does guideline concordance with annual postoperative prostate-specific antigen surveillance increase when PSA values exceed 4 ng/mL, even though that represents a screening threshold that is not relevant after surgery? That was the question raised in an...
Multiple Myeloma Treatment Linked to More Secondary Malignancies in Veterans
BOSTON – While treatment of and survival with multiple myeloma has dramatically improved with better therapeutic options, concerns have been raised about a concurrent increase in second primary malignancies that appear to be related to treatment. A presentation at the...
Researcher Uses VA EMR to Track Social Factors Linked to Veteran Suicide
PITTSBURGH—It’s long been understood that social stress factors such as violence, homelessness, unemployment, relationship problems and other factors can all contribute to veterans’ suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For the first time, that link can be...
No Evidence That Military Trauma Increases Risk of Hematologic Malignancies
FAIRFIELD, CA – Does trauma play a role in the development of blood cancer? A recent study of wounded warriors sought to answer that question. A presentation at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando recounted that multiple...
Pharmacist Interventions Seek to Improve Care for VA Transplant Patients
CHARLESTON, SC—VA researchers hope that a pharmacist-led intervention now being studied can improve care and outcomes for veterans who have had solid organ transplants. The study—and the intervention—could have a positive impact on care for a significant number of...
With Equal Care, African Americans With Multiple Myeloma Outlive Others
BOSTON—A recent VA study has shed new light on racial disparities in multiple myeloma. “Previous work examined survival and treatment in multiple myeloma in the broader U.S. healthcare system and found disparities in survival,” said study co-author Nathanael Fillmore,...
VA Conducts Largest Real-World Study of Newer CLL Treatment Options
Research Offers Insight into Evolving Clinical Practice SAN ANTONIO—The massive VA health database revealed unique insights into the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in actual clinical practice to a team of researchers based at the South Texas Veterans Health...
What Is Link Between Kidney Injury Recovery, Function Loss?
NASHVILLE, TN—While future chronic kidney disease is linked to the extent of recovery of kidney function following acute kidney injury, how the timing of recovery affects the rate of future loss of kidney function is not as well understood. In response, a...
VA Steps Up Foot Mat Program to Prevent Diabetic Foot Amputations
WASHINGTON—For diabetic veterans, a new device available through the VA may prevent foot ulcers—and possibly amputations. The VA treated more than 75,000 diabetic foot ulcers last year at a median cost of $47,000. That’s more than $3.5 billion just for foot care....
Iron Deficiency Linked to Higher CKD Mortality
SALT LAKE CITY—Is abnormal iron balance associated with increased mortality in predialysis patients with chronic kidney disease? A study in Kidney International suggested that the answer is not clear, because parameters have not been well characterized. To remedy...
Nephrologists Face ‘Emotional Burden’ in Treating CKD
BOSTON—Even though U.S. clinical practice guidelines generally recommend that nephrologists discuss all treatment options, including conservative management, with Stage 4 and 5 chronic kidney disease patients, that rarely occurs, according to a new study. The report...
Do VA PCPs Over-Prescribe Corticosteroids for Mild-Moderate COPD?
CLEVELAND—Veterans are three times more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than the general population, and COPD is the fifth most prevalent disease in the veteran population, affecting about 15% of VHA patients, according to previous research. A...
Agent Orange Effects on Spirometric Restriction Under-Researched
WASHINGTON—With no published reports on spirometric restriction in herbicide-exposed Vietnam War veterans serving in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, a group of researchers decided to examine the issue. The review in the International Journal of Environmental Research...
VA Gears Up for Benefit Claims Influx Related to Blue Water Navy Act
As Many as 90,000 Veterans Could Become Eligible WASHINGTON—With as many as 90,000 veterans waiting in the wings to apply for benefits, the VA said it will be ready to handle the influx of new claims when the provisions of the Blue Water Navy Act go into effect on...
Obesity Doesn’t Affect BP Declines with Sleep Apnea Therapy
PHILADELPHIA—Many, but not all, patients with obstructive sleep apnea see a decline in blood pressure with positive airway pressure treatment. A new study raised the question of whether the BP response related to sleep apnea therapy might be linked to obesity. The...
Common Blood Test Identifies Veterans at High Risk of Diabetes
ATLANTA—A test included in nearly all routine blood chemistry panels provides a surprising window on a patient’s future health. The random plasma glucose test—at levels previously considered unremarkable—can predict whether a patient is likely to develop diabetes in...
Why Do Women Veterans Report More Symptoms Following Mild TBI?
WASHINGTON—Following a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion, female veterans report more neurobehavioral symptoms, use more outpatient services and are more often diagnosed with depression than their male counterparts, according to a recent VA study.1 But why?...
No Higher Rates of Exacerbation in COPD Patients Using Beta-Blockers
VA Researchers Also Can’t Identify Protective Effects BIRMINGHAM, AL—Multiple observational studies have suggested that beta blockers benefit patients with moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coexisting cardiovascular disease, with outcomes...
Recombinant Shingles Vaccine Appears Safe for Some CLL Patients
BETHESDA, MD – Because of immune dysregulation, chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients are especially vulnerable to infectious complications, including varicella zoster virus reactivation. Both their advanced age and immunocompromised status play a role in higher risk...
Study Finds Discontinuation Rates Too High at VA for Newer CLL Therapies
SALT LAKE CITY -- Novel oral agents (NOAs), such as acalabrutinib, duvelisib, ibrutinib, idelalisib and venetoclax are increasingly used instead of traditional chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common leukemia in adults. A presentation at...
Veterans Treated for CLL Had Higher Rates of Fungal Infections
LOUIS -- Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are susceptible to infections due to impaired immunity, from both complications of disease and treatments. A presentation at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL,...
