Diabetes

Vanderbilt University scientists have found evidence that the insulin-secreting beta cells of the pancreas, which are either killed or become dysfunctional in the two main forms of diabetes, have the capacity to regenerate. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers describe a new technique for identifying factors that stimulate the proliferation of pancreatic beta cells – factors that might offer therapeutic options for diabetes. Read More

The IDIOM study is designed to compare how a diet with moderate caloric restriction, alone or with long-acting insulin, affects areas of the brain’s dopamine system that are involved in food intake, reward and the sense of pleasure people get from eating. Read More

The hormone relaxin may offer a novel approach for treating diet-induced insulin resistance. Read More

A pair of Vanderbilt graduate students has received a national award of $15,000 to pursue the development of an unique synthetic foam as a new treatment for deep skin wounds such as chronic foot ulcers caused by diabetes. Read More

Researchers at the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a biomarker that can predict diabetes risk up to 10 years before onset of the disease. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Eskind Diabetes Clinic has been selected to examine the ability of the drug abatacept to prevent type 1 diabetes (T1D). As part of the TrialNet consortium, Vanderbilt will be one of 14 North American sites observing the effects of the drug in people at high risk to develop T1D. Read More

Gaining and losing weight during “yo-yo dieting” may contribute to an exaggerated immune response in fat tissue that increases metabolic dysfunction more than steady weight gain alone. Read More

Last week, 130 students from more than 75 medical schools across the nation were at Vanderbilt to take part in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Medical Student Research Symposium, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and organized by the Vanderbilt Diabetes Center. Read More

Following her successful heart valve surgery at Vanderbilt, Gwendolyn English and her family faced a long journey home to Florida. Her family was concerned about the trip, because English has diabetes and her blood sugar levels had been fluctuating erratically. Read More

A component of the extracellular matrix that surrounds cells plays a role in insulin resistance and may be a good therapeutic target. Read More

The Middle Tennessee Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has awarded Vanderbilt’s William Russell, M.D., professor of Pediatrics and director of the division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, its highest honor — the Living and Giving Award for support of people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Read More

Immune cells that recognize self antigens (e.g. insulin), but are functionally silent, can trigger autoimmune diseases such as diabetes. Read More

Diabetes has a big impact on the brain. Read More

Adult cells in the pancreas can return to a less mature state – and then become a different cell type, like the beta cells that secrete insulin. Read More

C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., renowned for his contributions to the field of insulin signaling and its role in type 2 diabetes and obesity, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Feb. 21. Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: Vanderbilt students and a best-selling author change a “deathstyle” into a lifestyle! How a diabetes medication could fight drug addiction What’s your story? Come inside the Vanderbilt Story Booth! [vucastblurb]… Read More

A monitoring and alert system developed and implemented at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that prompts caregivers to check glucose levels for patients with diabetes while they are undergoing surgery has been found to help improve outcomes such as reduced abnormal glucose values, fewer surgical site infections and reduced hospital readmissions after surgery. Read More

“Diabetes at Vanderbilt: From Molecules to People,” a scientific symposium to highlight diabetes research at Vanderbilt, will take place Wednesday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. Read More

Patients prescribed the diabetes drug metformin have a lower risk for heart attack, stroke and death than patients taking sulfonylurea drugs. Read More