Reporter Feb 17 2017 Archive

February 23, 2017

A target to heal tiny lungs

The protein beta-catenin may be a good target for therapies to treat lung disease that is a common complication of preterm birth.

By Leigh MacMillan
young african american man in hospital
February 22, 2017

Risk of death in sickle cell disease

Two factors commonly used to evaluate patients with sickle cell disease are associated with each other and can predict increased mortality, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Meredith Jackson
February 21, 2017

Laughing gas for labor

Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience.

By Sanjay Mishra
February 20, 2017

Improving therapies for GI tumors

A signaling protein overexpressed in upper gastrointestinal cancers is an attractive therapeutic target.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 16, 2017

Geiger’s focus on the small details serves patients well

Neat stacks of paper are lined up on the desk of Timothy Geiger, M.D., with each stack representing a challenge. For example, one sheet has a flow chart sketched on it — Geiger’s musing on ways to more efficiently use Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s (VUMC) operating rooms, matching the best locations with case types and surgical teams.

By Jill Clendening
February 16, 2017

New technique helps ease ear tumor surgery

Last fall, the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center became the second facility in the country and third in the world to use a fully endoscopic surgical technique to remove an acoustic neuroma, a rare benign tumor on the balance and hearing nerves.

By Matt Batcheldor