"Disseminating a dashboard for VA purchased community nursing homes" is a QUERI initiative based out of Providence, Rhode Island. The initiative seeks to assess and improve the quality of care that Veterans receive in community nursing homes. The VA Geriatrics and Extended Care Data and Analysis Center has created a dashboard that will allow facility leadership to assess care in VA-contracted community nursing homes using nationally published metrics. Read more
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The Wilmington VA Medical Center and the University of Delaware in Newark signed an affiliation agreement to formalize collaboration between the two institutions. While UD has been involved in research efforts with the Department of Defense for many years, the Wilmington VAMC has not been active in biomedical research until now. UD and affiliate institutions conduct research in many areas that will dovetail with the needs of Veterans. Read more
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Dr. Drew Moghanaki, a radiation oncologist at the VA medical center in Richmond, Virginia, and Dr. Tomer Karas at the Miami VA Medical Center, are co-chairing a new 10-year clinical trial that will compare the effectiveness of open surgery for non-small cell lung cancer to stereotactic radiation therapy. The trial hopes to enroll 670 Veterans at six VA medical centers. Read more
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Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj is a liver transplant specialist at the VA medical center in Richmond, Virginia, where he is instrumental in evaluating Veterans for liver transplantation. He also conducts research into liver disease and its effect on the brain and the gut. VARQU spoke with Dr. Bajaj about the research he is doing to develop revolutionary new treatments for hepatic encephalopathy, damage in the brain caused by a diseased liver. Read more
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Dr. James F. Morley is a board-certified neurologist with training in treating Parkinson's disease and movement disorders. He is associate director for research at the Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Center at the VA medical center in Philadelphia. VARQU spoke with Dr. Morley about his research award, in which he will investigate the effects of exercise on drug-induced Parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease. Read more
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Provider challenges in delivering end-of-life cancer care
To learn about provider perspectives on end-of-life cancer care, researchers at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Stanford University, and Washington University interviewed 75 oncology providers (physicians, nurses, social workers) and patient advocates to solicit their views on EOL cancer care and ask for suggestions to improve practice design. Read more
Fish oil therapy improves eye damage in diabetic rats
Dr. Mark Yorek, a VA investigator, is studying the effects of menhaden (fish) oil on diabetic neuropathy in rats. He and his team have shown that fish oil can improve and sometimes even reverse nerve damage in the eyes of diabetic rats. The effects were even more profound when fish oil was combined with an antioxidant found in the body and enalapril—a blood pressure medication. Read more
Using 'young blood' to treat Alzheimer's disease
Dr. Tony Wyss-Coray is a VA investigator in Palo Alto, California. He and his team have demonstrated the rejuvenating effects of blood taken from young mice and given to older mice with Alzheimer's-like disease. They used transgenic mice that harbored a mutated gene which causes cognitive defects in mice that are similar to those in Alzheimer's disease. Read more
'Where's my choice?'
Dr. Jack Tsai, an investigator with the VA New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center in West Haven, Connecticut, and his team interviewed a group of VA providers and Veterans about their experiences in providing or receiving care for hepatitis C through the Veteran's Choice Program. Read more
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