Health And Medicine

Cancer is bad enough. But cancer patients who receive surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may suffer from side effects that run from irritating to crippling — problems that are postural, musculoskeletal and respiratory, along with lowered self-esteem. Read More

The Lustgarten Foundation has awarded a $1.5 million Research Investigator Grant to Stephen Fesik, Ph.D., professor of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Chemistry, for research designed to discover new drugs for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Read More

Newly discovered genetic variations linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) disrupt the function of the dopamine transporter, suggesting that altered dopamine signaling contributes to this common developmental condition, according to a Vanderbilt University-led research team. Read More

Sometimes two seemingly different subjects are more related than they may seem. For undergraduate Brian Cooper, music is just as important as science. They’re two sides of the same coin. Read More

New findings suggest a previously unrecognized role for the Sox10 transcription factor in Hirschsprung’s disease, and may lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for this disease. Read More

New studies explain how T-cell receptors use force to recognize and protect us against pathogens. Read More

Although heteromeric dopamine receptors composed of both D1 and D2 subunits have been proposed to play a role in depression and schizophrenia, recent studies suggest these heteromers do not exist. Read More

New findings explain why variation in a particular gene is the most important determinant of fasting blood glucose levels in humans. Read More

A Vanderbilt University-led research team has discovered a molecular “rheostat” in the brain’s appetite control center that may provide new insights into obesity, which is at epidemic levels in this country. Read More

Prospecting for genes that might be implicated in cancer, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center research team has struck pay dirt. Read More

Progress against America’s most intractable health challenges, among them heart disease, cancer and diabetes, requires the best minds, the latest tools and the easy collaboration demanded by 21st century science. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers have found that bathing critically ill patients with disposable chlorhexidine cloths did not decrease the incidence of health care-associated infections when compared to less expensive nonantimicrobial cloths, according to a study appearing online in JAMA this week. Read More

Outside the hospital, use of methadone to treat pain carries a 46 percent increased risk of death when compared to the equally effective but more costly alternative, morphine SR (sustained release). Read More

According to annual figures available through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) continues to be ranked among the top 10 in the nation among U.S. medical schools in total grant support provided through the nation’s medical research agency. Read More

A mere 30 months since it was first described in the online edition of Science magazine, a new genome editing technique has, by many accounts, revolutionized the study of genes and disease. Read More

Alterations of the vestibular system - the part of our inner ear that controls balance - may contribute to bone loss related to both aging and space travel. Read More

Patients with orthostatic intolerance – problems when standing – have cognitive changes, even when seated, compared to healthy individuals. Read More

Growing evidence suggests that fish oil, thought to directly prevent inflammation, oxidative stress and heart disease, may have limited clinical utility. Read More

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, with high mortality rates. While new drugs have been approved to treat the disease, patients nearly always develop resistance to the therapies and the cancer advances. Read More

A study appearing in the January edition of Pediatrics, led by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, looks at how Nashville children ages 6 months through 5 years fared over 11 consecutive flu seasons concluding in 2010-11. Read More