Becaplermin Use and Cancer Risk in Veterans with Diabetes

Objective: This is an observational study of VA patients with diabetes. REGRANEX® (becaplermin) is topical medication used to treat lower extremity diabetic neuropathic ulcers.

Virtual Reality in Burn Pain Management

Sponsor: United States Army Institute of Surgical Research

WASHINGTON, DC—Patients taking warfarin, a widely used blood-thinning pill that requires careful dose monitoring, have similar outcomes whether they come to a clinic or use a self-testing device at home, according to a recent VA study.  The findings, published in the October 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, are good news for heart patients who live far from clinics or are homebound.

BETHESDA, MD—The science into the biological mechanisms behind the psychological symptoms of PTSD is still in its infancy, but studies have linked PTSD to other serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, fatigue, and metabolic disorders. Research funded by NIH is suggesting that the cause of this link might have its roots in endocrine and immune function differences in patients with PTSD and most significantly in those with co-morbid major depressive disorder.

BETHESDA, MD—While the hunt for an HIV vaccine has run into a number of roadblocks the past few years, researchers are still meticulously searching for aspects of the virus and the transmission process that could prove to be viable targets for future interventions. NIH grantee Cynthia Derdeyn, PhD, is at the forefront of HIV vaccine research. She and her colleagues at Emory University have been exploring the dynamics of HIV sexual transmission—research that has led to a number of discoveries that could prove fruitful in the creation of a vaccine.

BETHESDA, MD— “In 1981, we were not at all prepared in the attitude at the time, and in the availability of responsible, qualified basic medical virologists. I was there. I know how people got involved, and it wasn’t by responsibility, but by chance.”
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WASHINGTON, DC—Providers play an important role in HIV prevention and care, and IHS is hoping to help providers carry out that role through online training that was developed last year.

WASHINGTON, DC—VA not only has the largest HIV care program in the country, but the largest HIV geriatric care program in the country. VA cares for over 24,000 HIV-positive patients, 120 of whom are older than 80. This gives VA physicians and researchers a front-row seat to the newest discoveries on how the physical effects of aging impact HIV symptoms and how they present.

BETHESDA, MD—At the Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program (IDCRP), headquartered at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, researchers are in the business of asking tough questions and then going after the answers. “We are not a funding agency. We are not a granting agency, where people bring ideas and we fund them. We are a research organization that works in collaboration with others to conduct investigations,” Brian Agan, MD, director of IDCRP’s HIV/STI Working Group (WG), said of IDCRP.

WASHINGTON, DC—The hepatitis C (HCV) treatment program in VA marks its 10-year anniversary this year on a note of hopeful expectation. For years the only treatment for HCV has been combination pegylated interferon and ribavirin—a treatment with harsh side effects and a cure rate between 20% and 25% among VA patients. But several new drugs currently in development promise to almost double that success rate, which is good news for VA’s 150,000 HCV patients.