Department of Medicine

July 10, 2014

AHA grant creates coalition to prevent heart disease, stroke

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is one of four institutions that are part of a new research network aimed at preventing heart disease and stroke, the two leading causes of death in the world.

By Kathy Whitney
kidney x-ray
June 26, 2014

VU study shows common diabetes drug can slow chronic kidney disease progression

Vanderbilt investigators have demonstrated in two studies that metformin-based treatments delay the onset and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with other treatments for diabetes.

By Kathy Whitney
Insulin in vials
June 12, 2014

Study tracks insulin’s risks as second-line diabetes medication

In an observational study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, adults with type 2 diabetes who take insulin in addition to the recommended first-line drug therapy, metformin, had a 30 percent higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death when compared to similar patients who instead augment their metformin regimen with a sulfonylurea.

By Paul Govern
June 12, 2014

Roden named to NIH’s genomics advisory council

Dan Roden, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for Personalized Medicine, has been appointed to the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

By Bill Snyder
June 9, 2014

Rising tobacco epidemic in Asia linked to elevated risk of death

A new study estimates that tobacco smoking has been linked to approximately 2 million deaths among adult men and women in Asia in recent years and predicts a rising death toll.

By VUMC News and Communications
May 29, 2014

New center dedicated to kidney disease

Kidney disease is the eighth most common cause of death in the United States and affects more than 20 million people, yet many people don’t know they have kidney disease because it often develops very slowly and with minimal symptoms. For this reason, kidney disease is often referred to as a silent killer.

By Kathy Whitney
May 12, 2014

Normalizing calcium flux to treat atrial fibrillation

A particular anti-arrhythmia drug provides a targeted treatment for certain forms of atrial fibrillation.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 8, 2014

Nighttime dialysis treatments available

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, committed to providing multiple options to patients who have kidney disease, recently began offering nocturnal in-center hemodialysis, which allows patients to receive treatment at night while they sleep.
By Kathy Whitney
May 1, 2014

Cutting-edge research to be showcased in May

By Bill Snyder
April 24, 2014

Schaffner honored by pharmacy association

William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received the Immunization Champion Award — Friend of Pharmacy from the American Pharmacists Association (APA) at the group’s annual meeting recently in Orlando, Fla.
By Chanler Knowles
April 17, 2014

Physical signs of depression common among ICU survivors

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.
By Craig Boerner
April 10, 2014

Study tracks new lung cancer drug target

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have identified a potential new drug target in subtypes of lung cancer that are difficult to treat.
By Bill Snyder
April 3, 2014

Dugan named to lead Division of Geriatric Medicine

Laura Dugan, M.D., the Larry L. Hillblom Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), will join the Vanderbilt faculty on April 7 to direct Vanderbilt University’s Division of Geriatric Medicine, a division of the Department of Medicine.
By Nancy Humphrey