acute flaccid myelitis

Research probes cause of acute flaccid myelitis in children

Research that began at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has found evidence that a viral infection followed by a “robust” immune response is the cause of a polio-like paralyzing illness in children called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM).

Research assistant Mahsa Majedi loads reagent used in DNA sample preparation in the genomics lab. She is part of a team of more than a dozen people at VUMC who are “sprinting” to develop — within 90 days — an antibody-based treatment to stop the spread of the Zika virus.

Research team isolates antibodies that may prevent rare polio-like illness in children linked to a respiratory infection

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have isolated human monoclonal antibodies that potentially can prevent a rare but devastating polio-like illness in children linked to a respiratory viral infection.