Health And Medicine

A mutation associated with epilepsy and autism also is responsible for a “pale eye” trait in two rare genetic disorders, Angelman syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome, neuroscientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported this week. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are one step closer to understanding what causes early-onset epileptic encephalopathy, a rare form of childhood epilepsy that is difficult to treat and has poor developmental outcomes. Read More

An increasing number of newborns are being born with drug withdrawal symptoms from opioids in rural areas of the United States as compared to births in urban areas, according to a JAMA Pediatrics study. Read More

A new method will make it possible to study solid tumors and healthy tissues using mass cytometry. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how a promising cancer immunotherapy causes brain swelling, findings that could lead to ways to protect brain function while fighting cancers. Read More

A new method developed at Vanderbilt will speed the search for potential therapeutics for diabetes: compounds that stimulate the replication of insulin-producing beta cells. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have made the surprising discovery that the protease plasmin, known for its clot-busting role in the blood, protects soft tissue from turning to bone after severe injuries and certain orthopaedic surgeries. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) are leading a multicenter clinical trial to evaluate whether a shorter course of antibiotics — five days instead of 10 — is effective at treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children who show improvement after the first few days of taking antibiotics. Read More

Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., whose innovative use of reverse genetics has helped redefine the study of skin diseases and cancer stem cells, is the recipient of the 2016 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) announced today. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered how antidepressant medicines that block serotonin uptake can increase bleeding risk. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered steps in the regulation of a key enzyme that builds the basement membrane, a structure that undergirds nearly all animal tissues. Read More

A novel drug that targets the protein RSK blocked aggressive breast cancers from metastasizing in an animal model. Read More

Blood-forming stem cells play a role in immune tolerance and acceptance of organ transplants, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Understanding how mutations affect the structure and function of inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors will shed light on the mechanisms underlying some types of epilepsy. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have shown that an injectable material improves wound healing and may be useful for large skin wounds such as those in patients with diabetes. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that in a mouse model “markedly reduced” infection by the Zika virus. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have identified cocaine-induced modifications at specific neuronal connections, which could aid the development of new therapies for substance abuse disorders. Read More

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a link between Helicobacter pylori infection, inflammation and gastric cancer that could suggest new anti-cancer therapies. Read More

Dylan Burnette, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, won 12th Place in Nikon’s Small World 2016 Photomicrography Competition for a colorful image of a dividing cancer cell. Read More