NCATS Archives

The role of polarity in early cancer

Sep. 21, 2021—Mutations in the protein epiregulin, an EGF receptor ligand, affect larger epithelial cell reorganization and may contribute to early cancer development, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

Using billing codes to count cancers

Sep. 2, 2021—The billing codes in electronic health records are useful for counting skin cancers over time — an important metric for cancer risk assessment and prevention.

Autoimmunity advance

Aug. 24, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a high-throughput screening method to identify and characterize antigen-specific B cells — potential biomarkers for autoimmune disease and targets for new treatments.

Estrogen, depression and menopause

Aug. 23, 2021—A shift in emotional processing may help women adapt to lower estrogen after menopause —unless they have a history of major depressive disorder, Vanderbilt researchers have found.

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, Woongjae Yoo, PhD, and colleagues are studying how a high-fat diet may contribute to heart disease. (Photo taken prior to revised masking guidelines.)

Study reveals missing link between high-fat diet, microbiota and heart disease

Aug. 12, 2021—A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut’s inner lining and its microbial communities — and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.

Influenza network sizes up COVID

Jul. 22, 2021—Hospital data from a CDC network that monitors influenza revealed that adults hospitalized for COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic were 20x more likely to die compared to hospitalized influenza patients.

Heat for hypertension in autonomic failure

May. 25, 2021—Heat therapy could offer a novel nonpharmacologic approach for treating the overnight hypertension that affects patients with autonomic failure.

HIV, diabetes and immune cells in fat

Mar. 18, 2021—In HIV-positive individuals with diabetes, immune cells in fat are more proinflammatory and cytotoxic and may represent a therapeutic target for diabetes.

Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency

Mar. 11, 2021—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.