Aliquots - Research Briefs

June 26, 2023

Magnesium deficiency and blood pressure

Dietary magnesium depletion in a mouse model activated inflammatory pathways and molecules that promote hypertension, suggesting that increased magnesium consumption may be beneficial for reducing the prevalence of hypertension.

June 22, 2023

Pathways to a healthy liver

Hepatic stellate cells maintain liver mass and function; the signaling factors they use could be exploited therapeutically to promote liver regeneration and inhibit cancerous proliferation, Vanderbilt researchers suggest.

June 22, 2023

Mosaicism and genetic disease

Genetic mosaicism — when the body’s cells do not all have the same genetic makeup — could generate variants previously thought to be spontaneous in genetic disease, and detecting parental mosaicism could clarify recurrence risk for future children.

A Vanderbilt study shows that reducing consumption of simple sugars helped improve gastroesophageal reflux disease.
June 13, 2023

Maternal diet influences postnatal diabetes risk

Studies in a primate animal model suggest that islet hyperfunction — which in humans is associated with increased fat mass and Type 2 diabetes — is programmed in offspring by a maternal Western-style diet during pregnancy.

June 12, 2023

Images predict functional decline

MRI brain scans at baseline for study participants 60 and older — who were free of clinical dementia at study entry — predicted a decline in independent function five years later.

June 8, 2023

Targeting calcium handling in A-fib

The drug ent-verticilide reduced A-fib incidence and duration in an animal model, suggesting it may be a viable therapeutic option.