When Eddie Dotson arrived at Vanderbilt University Medical Center last September, he weighed 627 pounds and truly embodied the label “morbidly obese.” He had so much fluid in his chest it was hard to breathe and his heart, liver and kidneys were failing.

Depression affects more than one out of three survivors of critical illness, according to a Vanderbilt study released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and the majority of patients experience their symptoms physically rather than mentally.

Vanderbilt University researchers have discovered how intestinal cells build the "brush border" -- a specialized surface structure that is critical for absorbing nutrients and defending against pathogens.

Sometimes smaller is better. This is especially true of left ventricular assist devices, the mechanically operated heart pumps that are implanted in heart failure patients to bridge them to transplantation.

Employees can now find step-by-step instructions on the Vanderbilt Emergency Preparedness website to edit AlertVU information in C2HR .

The FTL Sarcoma Fund, in partnership with the T.J. Martell Foundation, recently presented a gift to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in support of sarcoma research in memory of Warner Music Nashville colleague Lindsay Walleman.