Health And Medicine

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a role for microtubules — part of the cellular “skeleton” — in organizing the unique sidedness of the epithelial cells that line organs like the intestines. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered imaging features associated with increased risk for aggressive meningiomas (tumors of the brain membranes) that could help guide surgical planning and patient counseling. Read More

New research reveals a unique mechanism of C. difficile toxin neutralization by a monoclonal antibody, suggesting new therapeutic approaches. Read More

Studies of alpha-B crystallin in zebrafish could ultimately lead to improved treatment for cataracts and heart disease. Read More

A six-member group of biomedical scientists from Europe and the United States, including Eric Delpire, PhD, MS, professor of Anesthesiology, has been awarded a $6 million grant to study the role of dietary potassium in hypertension. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered how insulin crosses the capillary endothelium to exit blood vessels and stimulate skeletal muscle cells — a major finding that may lead to new ways to reverse insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Read More

Rising obesity rates in several Southern states are leading to a rapid increase in new cases of diabetes among both black and white adults. A new study helmed by investigators at the University of Texas Health Science Center and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) found the risk of diabetes is double for black patients. Read More

Living in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood is likely to lead to death at an earlier age, especially among African-Americans, new research shows. The death rate is even more pronounced among disadvantaged individuals with unhealthy lifestyle habits. Read More

Blocking a nerve-cell receptor in part of the brain that coordinates movement could improve the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, dyskinesia and other movement disorders, researchers at Vanderbilt University have reported. Read More

Higher concentrations of high-density lipoproteins — HDL, the “good” cholesterol — may be protective against acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to starve a tumor and stop its growth with a newly discovered small compound that blocks uptake of the vital nutrient glutamine. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that curcumin — the active ingredient in the spice turmeric — needs to be metabolically activated to exert anti-inflammatory effects. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that functional MRI detects neural activity in both gray and white matter in the brain, suggesting new ways to investigate diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Read More

A new probe enables iron imaging in living animals, providing a unique tool for studying iron’s contributions to health and disease. Read More

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has signed a five-year cooperative agreement worth up to $28 million with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) to develop methods for preventing the global spread of viruses like chikungunya and Zika. Read More

When buying and selling real estate, how often have you heard the realtor’s mantra — location, location, location? This is also the central theme of a recently released journal report on factors that can predict heart failure risk. Read More

Under the terms of the licensing agreement, Lundbeck has exclusively licensed rights to compounds developed at Vanderbilt that act on a receptor in the brain that has been implicated in schizophrenia. Read More

Microtubules are the “railroad tracks” essential for moving intracellular “freight” around in the cell. They’re also part of the spindle that pulls the two centrosomes apart during cell division. Read More

Julia Phillippi, PhD, CNM, has received a K08 Career Development Award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Phillippi, a Vanderbilt University School of Nursing assistant professor and certified nurse-midwife, will use the three-year, $399,374 mentored award to conduct a randomized trial of an interdisciplinary team-based maternity care model and examine the preferences of patients and providers. Read More

The growing list of patients needing liver transplants continues to outpace the number of available donor organs, but a new preservation and transport device for donor livers could possibly make a big difference. Read More