American Heart Association Archives
Study shows liraglutide results in increased insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss
Jan. 4, 2024— by Jill Clendening A new study published in the journal Diabetes demonstrates that a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist, a member of a class of medication used to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity, can lead to a rapid improvement in insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity is how responsive cells are to insulin, an essential...
MicroRNAs in immune cells help protect against metabolic defects in obesity: study
Sep. 5, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrated that a cluster of microRNAs — small pieces of RNA that regulate gene expression — work in a type of immune cells called macrophages to help protect against metabolic defects in obesity.
Targeting calcium handling in A-fib
Jun. 8, 2023—The drug ent-verticilide reduced A-fib incidence and duration in an animal model, suggesting it may be a viable therapeutic option.
Genetics and chronic pain
Apr. 20, 2023—Polygenic risk scores — scores that reflect the influence of common genetic variants — could be used to predict the likelihood of developing chronic overlapping pain conditions and guide biomarker and targeted prevention efforts.
Diabetes drug may improve asthma
Feb. 21, 2023—New biomarker finding strengthens the case for using GLP-1R agonists to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes who also suffer from asthma.
Research network yields significant findings related to obesity
Feb. 16, 2023— by Jill Clendening In 2017, Vanderbilt University Medical Center was selected to be one of four U.S. medical centers in a Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN) on Obesity funded by a four-year, $15 million award from the American Heart Association to study obesity and train future obesity-focused investigators. Now, the findings of the research...
Low potassium injures kidney
Jan. 19, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that low dietary potassium causes direct kidney injury, suggesting potential new targets for treating chronic kidney disease.
Novel therapeutic target identified for chronic kidney disease
Dec. 15, 2022—Vanderbilt investigators have discovered a molecular mechanism that promotes chronic kidney disease following kidney injury.
Study defines role of steroids in congenital heart disease surgery
Nov. 10, 2022—Steroids are commonly given to infants during open-heart surgery to reduce inflammation, but whether the drugs significantly improve patient outcomes has not been settled — until now.
Study identifies key player in T cell “education”
Sep. 1, 2022—New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.
A new mechanism for lupus
Aug. 30, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers describe a new mechanism for the most common form of lupus and suggest a new treatment approach to this autoimmune disease.
Preempting sudden cardiac death
Jul. 7, 2022—A technique to characterize all variants in genes associated with arrhythmia could improve the ability to identify and preemptively treat individuals at risk for sudden cardiac death.