Originally published: 2026-03-27T13:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.
VA’s Office of Research and Development recently published three News Briefs highlighting research findings on a pilot program to help Veterans lower their blood pressure, a potential treatment for skin cancer and the benefits of complementary health therapies for chronic pain.
Meal delivery and counseling help Veterans lower blood pressure
VA Ann Arbor researchers created a meal delivery and remote counseling program to help Veterans manage high blood pressure. Sixty-one Veterans with hypertension and obesity received two weeks of home-delivered meals designed to restrict sodium intake and lower blood pressure, followed by five telephone counseling sessions with a dietitian over four months. The program led to clinically meaningful reductions of blood pressure and better adherence to a healthy diet even after meal delivery ended.
Analysis suggested providing medically tailored meals increased familiarity with healthier eating and helped Veterans incorporate the counseling into their lifestyle. The findings suggest this approach could be an efficient, low-cost means of helping Veterans lower their blood pressure.
View the full study from the “American Heart Journal.”
Genetic treatment could slow skin cancer growth
A team led by a VA researcher in Madison, Wis., identified a potential new treatment for melanoma, an aggressive skin cancer that can spread quickly and often develops resistance to current treatments.
The researchers used genetic tools to reduce expression of the protein SIRT6, found at high levels in melanoma, which slowed cancer cell growth and reduced their ability to survive. Genetic analysis revealed lowering SIRT6 turned off signals that promote cell growth and migration while also activating pathways linked to cancer cell death. The results suggest SIRT6 plays a key role in melanoma progression and could be an important target for developing new treatments.
View the full study from the journal “Cancers.”
Integrated health provides multiple benefits for chronic pain
A study of more than 3,000 Veterans proved complementary health therapies can meaningfully improve chronic pain, but also have additional benefits when combined with self-care. All Veterans in the study received VA practitioner-delivered acupuncture, chiropractic care, or massage for chronic musculoskeletal pain, but one group also engaged in self-care practices such as yoga, meditation and Tai Chi.
Pain interference improved for both groups over six months, with 39.5% of the practitioner-delivered care group achieving clinically meaningful improvement and 41.1% of the delivered-care plus self-care group improving. While the difference in pain interference was small, those in the group practicing self-care techniques were also more likely to self-report improvements in pain, fatigue, mental health and overall well-being. The findings support efforts encouraging health care systems to offer a variety of complementary health therapies to address chronic pain.
View the full study from “Medical Care.”
For more Office of Research and Development updates, visit ORD online or go to https://www.research.va.gov/news_briefs/.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.
