Research

April is Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month. More than 110,000 Veterans (and one million people in the United States) live with [...]

While on deployment, Marino became confused, forgetful, angry, and depressed, and he struggled to perform his regular duties. “The depression took me to a very, very dark place, and I was quite ready to take my own life,” he said.

Finding out what is truly important to you at your core and what you are good at are keys to success. However, this is not easy. Failure is part of that process. But once you find something that clicks, it’s an amazing feeling, and opportunities appear when you least expect them.      

When asked about the overall quality of care HBPC-enrolled Veterans received during the last 30 days of life, 53% of family members gave an overall rating of "excellent," using the Bereaved Family Survey (BFS).

The article discussed the results of an earlier study by Kamdar and colleagues that used photo-elicitation to better understand food insecurity in a group of post 9/11 Veterans with children. The researchers found that food insecurity in Veterans is highly intertwined with physical and mental health, military culture, and lack of basic resources like housing or transportation.

Today, the William S. Middleton Award (Middleton Award) is the highest honor presented by the Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service in VA’s Office of Research and Development. Established in 1960, the annual award honors senior VA biomedical research scientists for their outstanding achievements in biomedical and bio-behavioral research relevant to the health care of Veterans.

Called bacteriophages, or phages, these viruses cannot infect human cells. Phages are incredibly diverse and exist everywhere in the environment, including in our bodies; in fact, humans contain more phages than human cells.

As substantiated in the review, a convincing body of evidence exists that confirms e-cigarettes cause lung inflammation and injury, as well as negative health effects in multiple organs. Crotty Alexander says e-cigarettes come with far more dangers than even she expected.

Dr. Sarah Martindale, a research scientist at the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center in Salisbury, North Carolina, and a member of VA’s Mid-Atlantic MIRECC (Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center), led the study. Dr. Jared Rowland, Dr. Anna Ord, and Lakeysha Rule, all of whom are also affiliated with the Salisbury VA and the Mid-Atlantic MIRECC, co-authored the paper.

While active surveillance sounds like a logical approach for men with low-risk prostate cancer, especially given that prostate removal and radiotherapy can lead to urinary, bowel, and sexual dysfunction, convincing patients to buy into it can be a challenge all its own.

Enter THRIVe. That’s shorthand for a center that VA has created to help Veterans bloom within their communities—by finding work, engaging recreation, making friends, and keeping in contact with family.

Experts believe the precipitous rise was driven by abuse of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left many drug users feeling isolated and unable to get treatment or other support. Fentanyl is believed to be much more potent than heroin and morphine.