autoimmune disease Archive — Page 1 of 2

October 5, 2026

Vanderbilt Health to lead national consortium on life-threatening drug reactions of the skin

“For too long, patients who survive these reactions have been left without clear answers about why it happened, which medicines are safe, and what the future holds,” said Elizabeth Phillips, MD, who is leading the consortium.

April 20, 2026

Drug lifts ‘brain fog’ from lupus patients: Clinical trial

An estimated 200,000 people in the United States have lupus. About 80% of them experience “brain fog,” cognitive problems that impair learning, memory and attention. The EG501 study was the inaugural project of Vanderbilt Health’s Drug Repurposing program.

July 1, 2025

New lab for transplant, other specialized testing launches at Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories

The new Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics Laboratory launched its first phase of testing June 26 and ultimately will fully support clinical testing for the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, the nation’s third busiest transplant center by volume.

Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, left, and Kelsey Voss, PhD, led a multidisciplinary team that identified iron metabolism in T cells as a potential target for treating lupus.
January 13, 2023

Study identifies potential new approach for treating lupus

A Vanderbilt study found that targeting iron metabolism in immune system cells may offer a new approach for treating systemic lupus erythematosus — the most common form of the chronic autoimmune disease lupus.

(iStock)
October 6, 2022

VUMC to test whether Alzheimer’s drug can ease lupus symptoms

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is partnering with Evergreen Therapeutics Inc. to test whether an Alzheimer’s drug, memantine, can improve cognitive symptoms associated with systemic lupus.

Luc Van Kaer, PhD, left, Luke Postoak and colleagues have identified a protein that is key to the “education” of immature T cells in the thymus.
September 1, 2022

Study identifies key player in T cell “education”

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.