Health and Medicine
Blocking stress-induced relapse
Apr. 8, 2020—Danny Winder and colleagues are teasing apart the actions of neurotransmitter receptors in a brain region linked to anxiety and addiction, with a goal of finding treatments for substance use disorders.
Spasticity underdiagnosed
Apr. 8, 2020—Spasticity — a consequence of stroke and other disorders of the central nervous system — may be underdiagnosed and undertreated in nursing home residents.
Study reveals an inherited origin of prostate cancer in families
Apr. 8, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified haplotypes, ancestral fragments of DNA, that are associated with hereditary prostate cancer in a first-of-its-kind genomic study made possible by the study of prostate cancer patients with family histories of the disease.
Cellular factor helps package flu genome
Apr. 8, 2020—New insights on influenza genome packaging could guide strategies for interfering with the virus's life cycle and ability to cause infection.
VUMC team aids development of potential antiviral drug for COVID-19
Apr. 6, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are playing a key role in the development of a potential new antiviral drug to treat COVID-19.
Triple-negative breast cancer drug therapy shows promise
Mar. 12, 2020—Researchers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) discovered a role for MYCN in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a particularly aggressive form of the disease, and identified a potential intervention for further clinical investigation.
Loss of ‘Jedi’ alters neuron activity
Mar. 10, 2020—This is not the Jedi you're thinking of. This Jedi is a receptor that helps clear away dead neurons during development, and its loss changes the activity of dorsal root ganglia neurons, which could have implications for treating chronic pain.
Meat intake and colorectal polyps
Mar. 9, 2020—Red and processed meat intakes are strongly associated with increased risk of sessile serrated polyps, which are not as well studied as conventional adenomas.
Clues to lung injury in preterm babies
Mar. 5, 2020—Jennifer Sucre and colleagues have discovered a factor that contributes to the pathological changes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the most common complication of preterm birth.
One-two punch for cancer
Mar. 5, 2020—A drug combination effectively killed aggressive blood cancers in cell and animal models; now it’s being tested in patients.
Study finds certain genetic test not useful in predicting heart disease risk
Feb. 27, 2020—A Polygenic Risk Score — a genetic assessment that doctors have hoped could predict coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients — has been found not to be a useful predictive biomarker for disease risk.
Breast cancer study may help predict treatment response
Feb. 27, 2020—Researchers at VUMC are reporting another advance in the understanding and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, which is particularly aggressive and difficult to treat.