Health And Medicine

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

The emergence of pathogenic skin fungi that cause the disease chytridiomycosis is contributing to the global loss of amphibian populations.  Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

Vanderbilt researchers have linked bone-related complications of severely injured patients — findings that could help minimize these complications. Read More

In patients with glioblastoma brain tumors, features detected on MRIs at diagnosis were associated with survival, Vanderbilt Medical Center investigators found. Read More

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 More

Genetic variation that impacts glucose- and insulin-related signaling affects responses to type 2 diabetes treatments and warrants further study. Read More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More

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 More