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In a large-scale study of electronic health records, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have determined the prevalence of functional seizures and characterized comorbidities associated with them.

For patients receiving total knee or total hip replacements at the Nashville VA Medical Center, the use of opioids for inpatient pain management and the total time patients spent in the hospital were both greatly reduced following the January 2016 adoption of sweeping quality improvement measures.

I want to particularly encourage the African American community, which has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, to step forward, receive this vaccine and spread the word to your families. Let’s put this pandemic behind us in 2021 — together.

The year 2020 will forever be defined by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s response to it has been nothing short of stunning. The entire enterprise — clinical, research and education — began preparing for the pandemic’s impact even before the first cases appeared in Tennessee in March, and that dedicated commitment and unceasing effort did not waver in the long months that followed. But while COVID-19 dominated the news during 2020, there were still many other noteworthy achievements that made headlines during the year.

A team of Vanderbilt investigators has discovered that blocking a certain signaling pathway boosts antitumor immunity and reduces tumor growth and metastasis in models of breast cancer and melanoma.

The development of the vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs that ultimately will defeat COVID-19 wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the unflagging and selfless efforts of a global army of research nurses, laboratory personnel, recruiters and other staff.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.