In This Issue

Investigator Q&A

A recent pilot study by VA researchers found that a nasal insulin treatment improved memory, thinking skills, and functional ability in people with Alzheimer's disease or its precursor, mild cognitive impairment...

Ongoing research

VA research on schizophrenia genes spans oceans

A Bronx team, with help from the San Juan VA, has been studying genetic risk factors for schizophrenia among countryside-dwelling Puerto Ricans and their New York-based relatives ...

See also: VA-funded schizophrenia gene study under way at 25 sites

New studies

Vitamin D: Can it slow prostate cancer?

A study at the Charleston VA Medical Center will examine if vitamin D has any effect in slowing prostate cancer...

Key findings

Copper in hospital rooms kills germs

A study conducted at the Charleston (S.C.) VA Medical Center, Medical University of South Carolina, and Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that the use of antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care unit rooms cut the amount of bacteria by 97 percent and resulted in a 41-percent drop in the rate of hospital-acquired infections...

Gene variant found to affect age-related cognitive decline

A variation in the coding pattern of a single gene significantly affects the rate at which men's intellectual function drops as they grow older, suggests a study by a team with the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System and Stanford University...

Journal scan

'ACT' psychotherapy effective for pain

A study at the VA San Diego Healthcare System found that a relatively new form of psychotherapy known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, was as effective as standard cognitive behavioral therapy for helping patients cope with chronic pain...

'Cav-1' protein spurs brain-cell growth

A anesthesiology research team with VA and the University of California, San Diego, showed that targeting brain cells with a protein called caveolin-1 (Cav-1) causes them to sprout new dendrites, the tree-like projections that receive electrical signals from other neurons...

Gulf War follow-up tracks health changes

VA researchers looked at changes in health between 1995 to 2005 among Veterans who had been deployed to the Persian Gulf for operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and those who had served during the same era but had not been deployed to the Gulf. The follow-up study showed that deployed Veterans were more likely to report poor health in terms of limitations on daily activities, repeat clinic visits and hospitalizations, chronic fatigue symptoms, posttraumatic stress disorder, and self-perceived health status...

Career milestones

Four VA researchers receive presidential award

Four VA researchers were among 94 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers presented in October in a ceremony at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC...

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