Health And Medicine

Mutations in the protein epiregulin, an EGF receptor ligand, affect larger epithelial cell reorganization and may contribute to early cancer development, Vanderbilt researchers discovered. Read More

Vanderbilt psychiatrists are probing brain circuit hyperactivity implicated in schizophrenia, with the idea that normalizing the hyperactivity may improve cognitive processes. Read More

Vanderbilt epidemiologists conducted in-depth whole genome sequencing of breast cancer risk genes in Black women, who die at higher rates and have more aggressive disease, to discover mutations that may improve testing and treatment selection. Read More

A treatment targeting T-cell metabolism could reinvigorate immune tolerance mechanisms to combat autoimmune disease and transplant rejection, Vanderbilt researchers discovered. Read More

The billing codes in electronic health records are useful for counting skin cancers over time — an important metric for cancer risk assessment and prevention. Read More

When a drug or combination of drugs causes different responses in different people, genetic variation is often at play. Pharmacogenomics, through discovery of genetic risk and use of clinical genotyping, aims to reduce trial-and-error approaches to drug prescribing. Read More

A monoclonal antibody cocktail against the COVID-19 virus discovered at VUMC is the first non-vaccine modified to demonstrate the prevention of COVID-19 in a clinical trial of more than 5,000 participants. The antibody treatment could afford up to 12 months of protection from COVID-19, and preliminary laboratory findings also suggest that it can neutralize the delta variant. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered a potential way to reduce atherosclerosis: blocking the modification of an HDL-associated enzyme by reactive molecules called isolevuglandins. Read More

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

Vanderbilt neurologists found altered excitability in deep brain structures that they note may drive respiratory dysfunction and sudden death in a rare form of epilepsy. Read More

The motor protein MYO5B, a cause of the congenital intestinal disorder microvillus inclusion disease, does more than move cellular cargo, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers are looking to mRNA populations in podocytes — kidney cells that help filter blood — to help identify potential targets for treating diabetic kidney disease. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers developed new prognostic models for breast cancer outcomes and found that adding postdiagnostic weight change as a factor improves the prediction. Read More

Validation of cognitive complaints appears to improve mood in patients with persistent chemotherapy-cognitive impairment, Vanderbilt researchers report. Read More

Vanderbilt biochemists have discovered that the protein RADX has different biological effects at sites of DNA synthesis, depending on the cellular conditions — even though it works the same way in both stressed and unstressed cells. Read More

Large-scale studies will be required to identify the complexity of genetic variations that affect how patients respond to a given drug and whether they will have side effects, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Hospital data from a CDC network that monitors influenza revealed that adults hospitalized for COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic were 20x more likely to die compared to hospitalized influenza patients. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers find that heterosexually active Black males are the least likely to establish HIV care within one month of diagnosis and suggest that targeted interventions focus on this population. 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

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified potential new targets for the prevention of atherosclerosis through the enhancement of autophagy, a natural process for recycling damaged cellular material. Read More