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1 week ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
Unlike those who depend on Medicare, Medicaid in many states or most commercial insurance, patients at the VHA—as well as those covered by TRICARE—can receive covered weight-loss drugs, if they meet certain criteria. Studies have looked at the drugs, including incretin mimetics such as semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide, to determine the benefits and safety related to their usage.
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1 week ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
Obesity is linked not only with the risk of developing plaque psoriasis, it also can complicate treatment of the condition, which is more common among U.S. veterans than nonveterans. Biologic therapy often is the first choice for those patients, and some agents show higher rates of efficacy and safety in plaque psoriasis sufferers with comorbid obesity. DURHAM, NC — Obesity not only increases the risks for some conditions, it also can complicate treatment.
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1 week ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
A recent VA study established that respiratory syncytial virus was not as likely to cause severe effects as COVID-19 and influenza. But those and other researchers also have demonstrated that RSV can create difficulties, including a 14% hospitalization rate in veterans and novel cardiac issues in older patients in general. That’s why the authors are calling for higher vaccination rates.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
About 6% of active-duty servicewomen have an unintended pregnancy each year, which not only potentially damages their careers because of physical fitness limitations but also has a detrimental effect on overall military readiness. In response, the MHS is improving access to emergency contraception and other family planning tools.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
Veterans have an increased prevalence of mental illness, and the VA treats more than 160,000 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder. That is especially concerning, because of the strong link between the condition and suicide attempts by veterans. The question explored by several recent studies is what factors cause veterans with bipolar disorder to be more likely to try to take their own lives.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
Military veterans face a significantly higher risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with both prevalence and cumulative incidence especially greater among Air Force personnel compared to other service branches and among tactical operation officers and health care workers compared to general and administrative officers. While ALS, formerly Lou Gehrig’s disease, remains a dire diagnosis with no cure, survival and quality of life have improved in recent years.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
FARMINGTON, CT — Although the 2021 update to the United States Preventive Services Task Force guidelines for lung cancer screening (LCS) called for a reduction in disparities related to sex, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, few studies have looked at LCS adherence among female veterans. A new study published in Women’s Health sought to do that, evaluating differences in adherence to LCS by sex.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
DETROIT – With lung cancer the most common cancer worldwide, low-dose computed tomography (CT) scanning has been disappointing for early diagnosis due to the high false positive rate. That is especially concerning because lung cancer often has poor prognosis despite personalized treatment regimens, according to a report in Cancers (Basel).1“Other non-invasive means of testing need to be developed that offer both timely diagnosis and predict prognosis,” wrote researchers from the John D.
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2 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
ANN ARBOR, MI — From the late 1980s to 2000, small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) made up a decreasing proportion of lung cancer cases in the United States. At the same time, survival outcomes in SCLC did not improve due to few treatment advances. A new review from the University of Michigan-Michigan Medicine sought to determine whether these trends continued into more recent decades, prior to the Food and Drug Administration approval of immunotherapy for SCLC in 2019.
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3 weeks ago | 
usmedicine.com | Brenda Mooney
BETHESDA, MD — Female veterans consistently have higher cancer rates than women who have never served in the military. A research letter recently revealed that their risks for specific cancers are affected by whether they suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Overall, about 10% of U.S. military veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, (9/11), and deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan experienced TBI, which has been linked to a heightened risk of central nervous system (CNS) cancer and mortality.
