WASHINGTON - Assurance that VA is on track to eliminate its backlog on reviewing disability claims is being meet with skepticism by lawmakers as well as military and veteran service organizations.

SAN DIEGO - Low levels of vitamin D are associated with a higher risk of developing "insulin-requiring" diabetes, according to a study of active-duty servicemembers.

ATLANTA - An intensive weight loss program involving dieting, counseling and physical activity offers the promise of diabetes remission, especially in patients who are recently-diagnosed, not on insulin and have lower hemoglobin A levels

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - A new study from the Roudebush VAMC in Indianapolis suggests survival rates are better when diabetes patients with multivessel coronary artery disease receive coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery as opposed to angioplasty, even when the most current drug-eluting stents (DES) are used.1

WASHINGTON - A new Army report suggests that doctors made changes to PTSD diagnoses during the Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) process at similar rates to other behavioral health diagnoses, “suggesting that PTSD is not handled differently than other diagnoses.”

This is my own modification of the famous “It’s hard to soar with eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys.”

WEST POINT, NY - Young military cadets undergoing an allograft ACL reconstruction were significantly more likely to experience clinical failure requiring revision reconstruction than those who underwent autologous graft reconstruction, according to researchers from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD - A new study is the first to identify injury rates and identify specific factors increasing injury risk during military police (MP) training in the Army.

RICHMOND, VA - While knee-replacement surgery often is sought so patients can return to a more active lifestyle, patients who undergo the procedure might be at greater risk of gaining weight than those who have not had the surgery.

Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common bloodborne infection in the United States, affecting more than three million Americans. HCV-infected patients are much more likely than the general U.S. population to develop life-threatening complications, such as cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Although antiviral treatment can cure HCV infection, these therapies have historically had low efficacy rates and significant toxicities.