BioVU

Fluid build-up in the brain — hydrocephalus — increases pressure and risk for brain damage; Vanderbilt researchers have now identified genes and signaling pathways associated with the condition.

A gene variant that lowers white blood cell levels and is common in individuals with African ancestry contributes to unnecessary bone marrow biopsies, according to a study published June 28 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a response score using genetic and clinical information to aid prescribing of the widely used pain medication codeine.

Dan Roden, MD, Senior Vice President for Personalized Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received the Oscar B. Hunter Career Award in Therapeutics last week at the virtual annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have identified genetic factors that increase the risk for developing pneumonia and its severe, life-threatening consequences.