American Heart Association

Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity. Read More

When high blood pressure was induced in young mice, they had bone loss and osteoporosis-related bone damage comparable to older mice, according to new research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2022 conference. Read More

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output. Read More

Biomedical researchers open the door to new ways to detect cancer cells. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed an active machine learning approach to predict the effects of tumor variants of unknown significance, or VUS, on sensitivity to chemotherapy. Characterizing VUS can maximize clinical care and precision medicine for each patient. Read More

Five medical schools in the U.S., including Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, collaborated with the American Heart Association to implement a summer program designed to support diversity in biomedical science. The program, Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences, was initiated in 2019 but had to adapt its format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Combining genetic testing with information from electronic health records revealed undiagnosed heart rhythm disorders and new conditions associated with inherited cancer gene mutations. Read More

Dr. André L. Churchwell recently represented Vanderbilt at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions national conference, where he shared his expertise as a physician and as the university’s vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer. Read More

Discovering a signaling pathway’s influence on brain development in a nematode sheds light on human nervous systems. Est. reading time: 2 mins. Read More

In a randomized controlled trial, vitamin D supplementation did not improve biomarkers for cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers used genetics tools and biobanks with linked electronic health records to explore the associations between statins and noncardiovascular diseases. Read More

Heat therapy could offer a novel nonpharmacologic approach for treating the overnight hypertension that affects patients with autonomic failure. Read More

Tumors consume glucose at high rates, but a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that cancer cells themselves are not the culprit, upending models of cancer metabolism that have been developed and refined over the last 100 years. Read More

In HIV-positive individuals with diabetes, immune cells in fat are more proinflammatory and cytotoxic and may represent a therapeutic target for diabetes. Read More

Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study. Read More

David Merryman has discovered that targeting a protein receptor in heart cells may limit a heart attack’s acute and long-term effects. Read More

Oxidative stress and toxic products called isolevuglandins in mitochondria play a role in endothelial dysfunction and hypertension — and getting rid of them with a special “scavenger” molecule has therapeutic potential. Read More

Older depressed adults show accelerated brain aging, according to a new study from Vanderbilt researchers, who suggest that the effects of depression may speed the decline in cognitive functions in older individuals. Read More

Excess dietary salt activates immune cells to induce inflammation and hypertension, supporting current recommendations for low sodium consumption. Read More

A bifunctional natural compound has been discovered with the potential to make antibiotic resistance to deadly infections less likely. Read More