Health And Medicine
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Artificial intelligence calculates suicide attempt risk at VUMC
A machine learning algorithm that predicts suicide attempt recently underwent a prospective trial at the institution where it was developed, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read MoreMar 15, 2021
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Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency
A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone. Read MoreMar 11, 2021
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Survey identifies factors in reducing clinical research coordinator turnover
Strong, collaborative relationships with principal investigators are a key factor of longevity in clinical research coordinator positions — an essential, but increasingly transient job in executing treatment-advancing clinical trials, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers found. Read MoreMar 8, 2021
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2020 Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card: Overall improvement, work to be done
Men’s health across Tennessee is trending toward improvement, according to the 2020 Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card, but racial and geographic disparities persist. The report card is compiled by Vanderbilt’s Center for Research on Men’s Health in cooperation with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Tennessee Department of Health, Meharry Medical College and the Tennessee Men’s Health Network. Read MoreMar 8, 2021
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Temperature, newts, and a skin-eating fungus
The emergence of pathogenic skin fungi that cause the disease chytridiomycosis is contributing to the global loss of amphibian populations. Read MoreMar 8, 2021
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Probiotic protection
A probiotic factor given early in life to mice prevented intestinal inflammation in adulthood, providing a rationale for probiotic intervention in individuals at high risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease. Read MoreMar 4, 2021
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Targeting glucagon action in diabetes
Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy. Read MoreMar 4, 2021
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Biostatistician DeMets set for next Discovery Lecture
David DeMets, PhD, known for his work on statistical methods to monitor interim clinical trial data for early evidence of benefit or harm, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture. Read MoreMar 4, 2021
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Females with autism reach puberty earlier: study
Blythe Corbett, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and investigator with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, recently led a study which found that on average, females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experienced the onset of puberty 9.5 months earlier than their peers. Read MoreFeb 25, 2021
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Case Western’s Jain to discuss age-related disorders at next Discovery Lecture March 11
Mukesh Jain, MD, vice dean for Academic Affairs and Medical Sciences and professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, will discuss the discovery of aging-related disease genes and pathways during the next web-based Discovery Lecture. Read MoreFeb 25, 2021
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Calcification after severe injury
Vanderbilt researchers have linked bone-related complications of severely injured patients — findings that could help minimize these complications. Read MoreFeb 23, 2021
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MRI view of brain tumor prognosis
In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found. Read MoreFeb 22, 2021
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Genetic clues in eye birth defect
Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness. Read MoreFeb 18, 2021
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Gene variant and glucose metabolism
Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study. Read MoreFeb 18, 2021
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Research Staff Awards honor those who help drive engines of discovery
Laboratory and administrative personnel at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were honored last week for research excellence during the 17th annual Research Staff Awards, held virtually this year because of the pandemic. Read MoreFeb 18, 2021
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VUMC postdoctoral scientist named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow
Valeria Reyes Ruiz, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a 2020 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Read MoreFeb 18, 2021
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Vanderbilt, Zambia researchers find delirium in hospitalized patients linked to mortality, disability in Sub-Saharan Africa
Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE. Read MoreFeb 11, 2021
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Grant supports speedy sorting of health records by phenotype
Wei-Qi Wei, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Biomedical Informatics and scientific director of the Precision Phenotyping Core at the Center for Precision Medicine, has been awarded a four-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue development of high-throughput software for quickly identifying traits of interest, or phenotypes, in electronic health records (EHRs). Read MoreFeb 11, 2021
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Study will delve into EHR for signs of suicidality
Retrieval of clearer, more complete information from the EHR could go a long way toward improving predictive models of who will next be at risk of suicide, thereby improving care for patients with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Read MoreFeb 11, 2021
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Imaging guidance for nerve repair
A noninvasive, quantitative MRI method could be used after surgical repair of traumatic peripheral nerve injury to help clinicians make decisions about whether additional surgical interventions are needed. Read MoreFeb 9, 2021