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.
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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.
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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.
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'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.
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