Department of Veterans Affairs Archives

Healing without scarring

Oct. 16, 2015—Drugs that inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway can regenerate injured skin and may be useful in treating fibromatosis, degenerative joint disease and cancer.

Depression poses heart risk for HIV patients: study

Oct. 8, 2015—The first study to suggest that major depressive disorder (MDD) is an independent risk factor for heart failure in HIV-positive adults has been published in Circulation.

Immune cells and obesity

Sep. 8, 2015—Understanding how macrophage immune cells accumulate in fat tissue and contribute to the pathology of obesity could lead to the development of novel therapeutics for metabolic disorders.

New therapeutic target for diabetes

Aug. 20, 2015—The factor FoxM1 increases the proliferation and function of insulin-producing beta cells, making it an attractive therapeutic target for diabetes.

Targeting bone metastasis

Jul. 23, 2015—The rigidity of the bone extracellular matrix increases the ability of tumor cells to destroy bone, suggesting new targets for anticancer drug development.

Study explores protein’s role in inflammation-associated cancer

Jul. 23, 2015—An antioxidant protein may protect against colon cancer that develops in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, suggesting new strategies for reducing colon cancer risk in these patients.

Hhex on cancer

Jul. 13, 2015—A new mouse model demonstrates that the Hhex gene – which is linked to blood cancers – is critical for normal blood cell production.

Delivering cells for heart repair

Jul. 10, 2015—A polymer hydrogel material developed by Vanderbilt scientists improved the delivery of stem cells for heart repair.

Boosting cell-based heart repair

May. 15, 2015—A metabolic change in adult stem cells makes them less “fit” for regenerative heart therapies, suggesting that strategies to prevent this response may boost the therapeutic usefulness of the cells.

Insights on lysosomal storage diseases

May. 14, 2015—A novel mechanism could point to new therapies for a group of inherited diseases that share pathological features.

Kids more likely to react to blood transfusions

May. 4, 2015—Pediatric patients have a significantly higher incidence of transfusion reactions compared to adults, according to a study by Vanderbilt University researchers.