Health and Medicine
A “torque” for tumor blood vessels
Aug. 20, 2020—Vanderbilt scientists have discovered a new target for normalizing tumor blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapies.
‘Scavenger’ molecule may point to new atherosclerosis treatment
Aug. 20, 2020—A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels in mice potentially could lead to a new approach for treating atherosclerosis in humans, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Study identifies antibodies that block alphaviruses
Aug. 20, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified antibodies that, in animals, block infection by alphaviruses, which can cause chronic and debilitating joint pain and arthritis and are an increasing global health concern.
Cashew shell compound appears to mend damaged nerves
Aug. 17, 2020—In laboratory experiments, a chemical compound found in the shell of the cashew nut promotes the repair of myelin, a team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported Aug. 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Risk marker for repeat sinus surgery
Aug. 11, 2020—An inflammatory factor in mucus could be a biomarker of treatment-resistant chronic sinusitis used to determine which patients are at risk for repeat sinus surgery.
Miscarriage risk increases each week alcohol is used in early pregnancy
Aug. 10, 2020—Each week a woman consumes alcohol during the first five to 10 weeks of pregnancy is associated with an incremental 8% increase in risk of miscarriage, according to a study published this week by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.
A step toward cancer prevention
Aug. 10, 2020—A computational technique that combines the effect of multiple genomic variants has the potential to identify high-risk individuals for cancer prevention.
ID of ‘stomach flu’ culprit
Aug. 6, 2020—Identifying the norovirus genotypes associated with more severe infections in children could guide strain selection for candidate norovirus vaccines.
The importance of estrogen cycles
Aug. 6, 2020—Deborah Lannigan and colleagues identify a key regulator of the estrogen receptor and suggest that its downregulation by oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and DNA damage, a common cause of cancer.
Appendix cancer survival in young patients varies by race: study
Aug. 6, 2020—Appendiceal cancer — cancer of the appendix — is a rare malignancy that is usually found during surgery for acute appendicitis. Although the rate of appendectomies has been stable over the last two decades, the incidence of malignant appendiceal cancer increased 232% in the United States.
Study gauges specific site stomach cancer risks among ethnic groups
Aug. 6, 2020—Non-white Americans, especially Asian Americans, are at disproportionately higher risk for gastric cancer compared to non-Hispanic white Americans. A new study breaks down this risk according to specific ethnicities and locations within the stomach.
Team to create customizable cochlear implant programming
Aug. 6, 2020—A team of Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers has received a $3.1 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to develop advanced, patient-specific cochlear implant stimulation models for customized implant programming.