Health and Medicine

August 24, 2020

Land of plenty (of opioids)

Surgical patients are being given more opioids than they need for postsurgical pain management, raising the risk of addiction.

By Paul Govern
August 21, 2020

VUMC awarded $34 million to lead nationwide convalescent plasma study

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a one-year, $34-million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of “convalescent plasma” as a treatment for COVID-19.

By Bill Snyder
August 20, 2020

Salt, immune cells and hypertension

Excess dietary salt activates immune cells to induce inflammation and hypertension, supporting current recommendations for low sodium consumption.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 20, 2020

A “torque” for tumor blood vessels

Vanderbilt scientists have discovered a new target for normalizing tumor blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapies.

By Bill Snyder
From left, Huan Tao, MD, PhD, Sean Davies, PhD, Jiansheng Huang, PhD, and MacRae Linton, MD, led the study that identified a potential new treatment for atherosclerosis.
August 20, 2020

‘Scavenger’ molecule may point to new atherosclerosis treatment

A small-molecule “scavenger” that reduces inflammation and formation of atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels in mice potentially could lead to a new approach for treating atherosclerosis in humans, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Bill Snyder
Lab manager Rachel Nargi prepares a B-cell culture during the recent “sprint” to develop an antibody-based treatment for Zika virus infection.
August 20, 2020

Study identifies antibodies that block alphaviruses

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified antibodies that, in animals, block infection by alphaviruses, which can cause chronic and debilitating joint pain and arthritis and are an increasing global health concern.

By Bill Snyder
August 17, 2020

Cashew shell compound appears to mend damaged nerves

In laboratory experiments, a chemical compound found in the shell of the cashew nut promotes the repair of myelin, a team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported Aug. 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By Paul Govern
August 11, 2020

Risk marker for repeat sinus surgery

An inflammatory factor in mucus could be a biomarker of treatment-resistant chronic sinusitis used to determine which patients are at risk for repeat sinus surgery.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 10, 2020

Miscarriage risk increases each week alcohol is used in early pregnancy

Each week a woman consumes alcohol during the first five to 10 weeks of pregnancy is associated with an incremental 8% increase in risk of miscarriage, according to a study published this week by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers.
By Kelsey Herbers
August 10, 2020

A step toward cancer prevention

A computational technique that combines the effect of multiple genomic variants has the potential to identify high-risk individuals for cancer prevention.
By Bill Snyder
August 6, 2020

ID of ‘stomach flu’ culprit

Identifying the norovirus genotypes associated with more severe infections in children could guide strain selection for candidate norovirus vaccines.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 6, 2020

The importance of estrogen cycles

Deborah Lannigan and colleagues identify a key regulator of the estrogen receptor and suggest that its downregulation by oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and DNA damage, a common cause of cancer.
By Sarah E. Glass
August 6, 2020

Appendix cancer survival in young patients varies by race: study

The first study of appendiceal cancer patterns and survival by race/ethnicity among patients younger than 50 in the U.S. showed survival disparities.
By Leigh MacMillan
1 … 44 45 46 47 48 … 197