Salt Lake VA Medical Center highlights research projects

SALT LAKE CITY — The loss of vision among aging veterans could be treatable soon by way of modern, molecular genetic techniques used in the creation of an intravenous injection.

Innovative technologies are also fostering advances in prosthetic limbs touted as allowing greater flexibility, reduction in infections and, ultimately, new hope for veterans and other amputees.

Researchers associated with these projects and a host of others gathered Tuesday at the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center for "Research Day," part of a national weeklong observance intended to highlight achievements already embraced and those being developed.

With a new cadre of veterans being shepherded into the system because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, challenges continue to mount among medical professionals and other caregivers on how to best diagnose, treat and ultimately minimize the impacts of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, among other medical and mental challenges.

"Everybody should be interested in this because these projects not only benefit veterans, but they benefit the health of the U.S. population," said Dr. Larry Meyer, director of research and development for the VA Medical Center.

"These are exciting projects."

Meyer, who also is a professor of dermatology and internal medicine at the University of Utah, said that over the years, VA investigators have played an integral role in the development of devices and other techniques that have revolutionized health care.

Among them are the cardiac pacemaker, the CAT scan and liver and kidney transplants.

The VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City has particularly blossomed as a hub of research activities that are collaborative endeavors with the University of Utah, Meyer said.

As it stands, there are 150 projects being funded now at an estimated $25 million — up from an annual expenditure of $4 million just five years ago.

Among the most ambitious is the correlation of voluminous data from millions of medical records. Such information could be used to identify early on adverse reactions to medications or early predictors of disease.

Meyer said grouping such a constellation of information together, more efficiently, enhances treatment options and will help caregivers be more proactive in spotting trends among veterans.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com