Health And Medicine

  • Vanderbilt University

    Antidote for smoke inhalation injury

    Routine use of hydroxocobalamin should be considered for victims of smoke inhalation, Vanderbilt researchers suggest. Read More

    Mar 7, 2017

  • electricity arcing in a heart shape between two exposed wires

    Mutation raises heart block risk

    A newly identified genetic risk factor for heart block after surgery may help guide the course of postoperative care. Read More

    Mar 3, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Clues found to recurrent depression

    Women who have had repeated depressive episodes tend to pay more attention to negative emotional information, suggesting that they may benefit from cognitive therapy to build new, more positive pathways in their brains. Read More

    Mar 2, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Clinical investigation society lauds impact of Crowe’s research

    James Crowe Jr., M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, is the 2017 recipient of the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award given by the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the nation’s oldest and most respected honor societies for physician-scientists. Read More

    Mar 2, 2017

  • collection of vintage pocket watches

    Study reveals circadian time in a blood sample

    A researcher at Vanderbilt has identified a set of 15 genes that together exhibit a 24-hour gene expression pattern in human blood, constituting a circadian clock biomarker. Read More

    Mar 2, 2017

  • A stack of blue and red

    Investigators seek new way to define cell identity

    Vanderbilt researchers hope their new method to describe cells will be widely adopted and used to generate a “Who’s Who” database of cell types. Read More

    Mar 2, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Team identifies ‘switch’ involved in DNA replication  

    DNA replication is an extraordinarily complex multi-step process that makes copies of the body’s genetic blueprint. It is necessary for growth and essential to life. Now researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Vanderbilt University have found evidence that one of those steps may involve the telephone-like transmission of electrical signals regulated by a chemical “switch.” Read More

    Feb 23, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    A target to heal tiny lungs

    The protein beta-catenin may be a good target for therapies to treat lung disease that is a common complication of preterm birth. Read More

    Feb 23, 2017

  • young african american man in hospital

    Risk of death in sickle cell disease

    Two factors commonly used to evaluate patients with sickle cell disease are associated with each other and can predict increased mortality, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

    Feb 22, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Laughing gas for labor

    Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience. Read More

    Feb 21, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Improving therapies for GI tumors

    A signaling protein overexpressed in upper gastrointestinal cancers is an attractive therapeutic target. Read More

    Feb 20, 2017

  • Modern chicken farm, production of white meat

    Team’s study uncovers cellular responses to bird flu vaccine

    New research from Vanderbilt University eavesdrops on gene expression in human immune system cells before and after vaccination against bird flu. Read More

    Feb 16, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Norman selected as national ambassador for nursing research advocacy

    Linda D. Norman, dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and Valere Potter Menefee Professor of Nursing, has been named ambassador for the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research, an independent nonprofit organization that advocates for nursing science and its role in promoting the health and well-being of Americans. Read More

    Feb 15, 2017

  • portrait in dorm room

    Using the Internet for good

    Terrah Foster Akard is helping children facing serious and life-threatening illness create a digital record of their lives, and measuring the impact the practice has on their emotional wellbeing. Read More

    Feb 14, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Team isolates new antibodies that may aid RSV vaccine design

    Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have taken another step toward developing a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the major cause of life-threatening pneumonia in infants worldwide. Read More

    Feb 9, 2017

  • A caregiver talking to a wheelchair-bound patient

    Social risk factors influence outcomes, Medicare payment

    Social risk factors including income, education and ethnic background influence health outcomes and should be taken into account in Medicare payment models, according to a New England Journal of Medicine “Perspective” titled “Social Risk Factors and Equity in Medicare Payment.” Read More

    Feb 8, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Pathology of septic shock

    The signaling molecule IL-15 promotes septic shock, a life-threatening condition involving organ injury caused by infection. Read More

    Feb 8, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    Dementia linked to diet

    Some memory deficits observed in Alzheimer’s disease may be due to co-morbid illnesses – not the disease itself – and may be reversed by lifestyle changes or pharmacologic interventions. Read More

    Feb 7, 2017

  • bacteria microbionome

    Bacterial signaling systems

    Vanderbilt researchers have identified a unique example of communication between bacterial signaling systems, which may have relevance for antibiotic resistance. Read More

    Feb 3, 2017

  • Vanderbilt University

    New target for chronic infection

    An enzyme in macrophage immune cells may be a good target for treating chronic infections, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

    Feb 2, 2017