Health And Medicine

New Vanderbilt research suggests patients with advanced melanoma — the most deadly form of skin cancer — could safely benefit from a combination of immunotherapy and targeted therapies aimed at specific gene mutations. Read More

The factor ATF4 has a role in the toughness of bone and its resistance to fracture, suggesting new therapeutic targets. Read More

New views of how transporters move molecules across cell membranes are key to understanding how these proteins impact tumor cell drug resistance and inherited diseases such as cystic fibrosis. Read More

In an observational study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, adults with type 2 diabetes who take insulin in addition to the recommended first-line drug therapy, metformin, had a 30 percent higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death when compared to similar patients who instead augment their metformin regimen with a sulfonylurea. Read More

White men are more apt to commit suicide or die from a drug overdose or in a car wreck. Black men are more prone to suffer from chronic diseases and HIV. Hispanic men are disproportionately affected by colorectal cancer. Men in rural and urban areas seem to face different health challenges too. Read More

A new study estimates that tobacco smoking has been linked to approximately 2 million deaths among adult men and women in Asia in recent years and predicts a rising death toll. Read More

Twenty-seven chemical elements are considered to be essential for human life. Now there is a 28th — bromine. Read More

An international research group led by Vanderbilt University scientists has shown for the first time that a lipid, or fat molecule, can regulate “psychostimulant” behaviors by interacting with a brain protein. Read More

Lawrence J. “Larry” Marnett, Ph.D., the Mary Geddes Stahlman Professor of Cancer Research and University Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, has been named Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s next associate vice chancellor for Research and senior associate dean for Biomedical Sciences, effective Sept. 1. Read More

A Vanderbilt University Medical Center postdoctoral research fellow in the area of transplant outcomes research has added health literacy as a metric to an existing battery of surveys that assess patient-reported outcomes in Vanderbilt transplant patients. Read More

Dylan Burnette, Ph.D., points to one of the many striking photographs on his office walls. It’s a picture of a cell — a microscopic image showing yellow squiggles, bright purple lines and a turquoise oval on a black background, and it looks like abstract art. Read More

Unique molecular "fingerprints" could explain the disparity in Wilms tumor incidence and point to novel, race-specific therapeutic targets. Read More

Virus-like particles containing a protein from human metapneumovirus are a promising vaccine candidate for this respiratory virus. Read More

Insights into the workings of DNA damage response proteins such as SMARCAL1 could suggest new ways to improve genome integrity and prevent cancer. Read More

Women with blood in their urine (hematuria) were less than half as likely as men with the same issue to be referred to a urologist for further tests, according to a new VUMC study. Read More

The contractile machinery inside tumor cells increases invasive properties, suggesting it might be a good target to inhibit cancer cell spread. Read More

The protein CaMKII acts as a calcium sensor in a positive feedback pathway that enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Read More

A particular anti-arrhythmia drug provides a targeted treatment for certain forms of atrial fibrillation. Read More

Studies of a human polymerase that replicates DNA have provided a complete kinetic and structural framework for understanding how the enzyme accurately bypasses DNA damage. Read More

A novel PET imaging probe detects tumor cell death in vivo and could be useful for personalizing cancer medicine. Read More