In This Issue

New Approaches

Meeting seeks to expand VA's study of complementary, alternative therapies for PTSD

Those who helped reshape VA health care more than a decade ago were fond of saying: "It's not your grandfather's VA." Anyone looking for proof of the ongoing transformation could find it at a recent meeting convened by VA's Office of Research and Development. The topic was therapies such as meditation, massage, and yoga to help Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder...

Technology horizons

Super-smart computer of 'Jeopardy!' fame now being pumped full of medical information

Watson is the IBM supercomputer, named after the company's first president, that beat two human contestants on the TV game show "Jeopardy!" back in February. Now, VA and academic researchers are going to test the computer's ability to analyze medical information and help doctors provide good care ...

Collaborations

Caring for the medic

Having graduated at the top of the Army combat medic course at Fort Sam Houston in 1989, Paula Chapman, PhD, knows firsthand the risks and challenges of this honored military profession. Today, she is putting that insight to use as a researcher...

Research dissemination

VA research in the blogosphere

Visit www.blogs.va.gov and you'll find a refreshing new twist on the way VA and Veterans talk to each other. The site, known as "VAntage Point," features posts on a variety of topics—including VA research—and, like any blog site, encourages readers to dialogue with the bloggers and other commenters...

Key findings

Tobacco-derived compound halts memory loss in mice

In a study led by a team with the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and the University of South Florida, cotinine, a compound derived from tobacco, reduced brain plaques and prevented memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease...

Journal Scan

Sleep monitoring at home works just as well

A study involving nearly 300 Veterans found that patients whose sleep apnea was diagnosed at home fared just as well as those who came into a sleep lab for the evaluation...

Study finds sharp drop in heart bypass rates

Between 2001 and 2008, the number of cardiac bypass surgeries performed annually in the U.S. dropped by about a third, says a study by a team with the University of Pennsylvania and VA's Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion...

Pre-surgery informed consent: Is less more?

A study at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center found that knee-replacement patients who received only a simple handout about the procedure prior to surgery were just as likely to retain the information as those who received more extensive education...