NIAAA

October 6, 2022

Stress, obesity and food intake

Vanderbilt researchers are elucidating the neuronal pathways that contribute to food consumption in response to stress — “comfort feeding” — and how they differ in males versus females and in the context of obesity.

By Kelsey Pinckard
February 3, 2022

Team to study using probiotics to reduce heart disease risk

A Vanderbilt research team has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to understand how alcohol’s effect on the gut microbiome drives heart disease.

By Matt Batcheldor
February 28, 2019

Personalized pain management

Understanding how natural brain chemicals with pain-relieving properties interact with administered opioids may guide personalized approaches for pain management.

By Niyati Vachharajani
February 14, 2019

Modulating stress circuits

Danny Winder and colleagues demonstrate an interaction between two signaling pathways — and its impact on the activity of neurons that respond to stress.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 28, 2016

Award bolsters study of alcohol’s impact on the brain

Vanderbilt University researcher Danny Winder, Ph.D., has received a MERIT Award from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Addiction (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, for his contributions to understanding how alcohol affects the brain.

By Bill Snyder
May 12, 2016

COX-2 blocker could help PTSD

COX-2 inhibitors – used clinically to reduce inflammation and pain – may find new applications for treating PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders like major depression.

By Bill Snyder
August 1, 2014

Anti-inflammatory protein “rheostat” sheds light on leaky blood vessels

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the protein CRADD counteracts inflammatory injury to endothelial cells, which could assist the development of new therapies for inflammatory vascular disorders.
By Emily Poulin
October 11, 2013

New target for stopping inflammation

Importin alpha 5, a member of a family of proteins that “shuttle” other proteins into the nucleus, is a potential new target for drugs to treat inflammatory diseases.
By Bill Snyder
August 8, 2013

Nuclear shield against cell death

The protein SARM appears to protect cells from inflammation-driven death by stabilizing the nuclear laminin scaffold.
By Bill Snyder
December 21, 2012

Low prenatal alcohol’s brain impact

Even relatively low levels of in utero alcohol exposure impact fetal brain development, and the effects last into adulthood, study finds.
By VUMC News and Communications
January 23, 2012

Alcohol’s molecular mediators

Therapeutic agents focusing on the brain region involved in stress-induced relapse may be effective in preventing relapse in patients with alcohol use disorders.
By Leigh MacMillan