Critical Illness Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship (CIBS) Center

February 22, 2024

NIH-funded trial to determine if immunomodulation can improve brain and cardiovascular dysfunction in Long COVID

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is working with scientists around the U.S. to launch the first Phase III, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of immunomodulation on Long COVID.

By Nancy Humphrey
February 23, 2023

Review explores ICU-related cognitive impact scores

A recent systematic review by Vanderbilt researchers has taken a close look at the cognitive instruments used in long-term outcome studies of survivors of adult critical illness and how those test scores are interpreted.

By Nancy Humphrey
September 22, 2022

Reduced exercise capacity in ICU survivors

ICU survivors who have impaired exercise capacity months after discharge may have damaged muscle mitochondria — the energy powerhouses of the cell, Vanderbilt researchers propose.

By Kelsey Pinckard
Jane Storie is one of many patients who are experiencing cognitive impairment after recovering from COVID-19. The long-term complication is also impacting her family — husband, James, daughter, Emily, and son, Andrew.
March 30, 2022

Team helps patients battle post-COVID cognitive issues

Jane Stories is one of many COVID-19 patients still plagued by debilitating symptoms that include achy muscles, anxiety, depression, panic attacks and cognitive impairment.

By Bill Snyder and Nancy Humphrey
February 11, 2021

Vanderbilt, Zambia researchers find delirium in hospitalized patients linked to mortality, disability in Sub-Saharan Africa

Delirium, a form of acute brain dysfunction, is widespread in critically ill patients in lower resourced hospitals, and the duration of delirium predicted both mortality and disability at six months after discharge, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.

By Holly Fletcher
January 8, 2021

Large study finds higher burden of acute brain dysfunction for COVID-19 ICU patients

COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care in the early months of the pandemic were subject to a significantly higher burden of delirium and coma than is typically found in patients with acute respiratory failure. Choice of sedative medications and curbs on family visitation played a role in increasing acute brain dysfunction for these patients.

By Paul Govern
October 4, 2018

New center formed to treat, study ICU delirium, dementia

Millions of patients in intensive care units each year develop delirium during their hospitalization and often leave the hospital with cognitive deficits similar to those suffering from traumatic brain injury or mild Alzheimer’s disease.
By Nancy Humphrey