Reporter Nov 4 2022

Alzheimer’s risk factor and cognition

Nov. 8, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers found that a protein with roles in innate immunity worsens memory at baseline in carriers of APOE-e4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, further implicating neuroinflammation in cognitive decline.

Gene mutations impair gut barrier

Nov. 7, 2022—Mutations in a cell membrane transporter protein impair the integrity of the gut lining, contributing to chronic gastrointestinal distress for people with the mutations, Vanderbilt researchers report.

Study finds Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine safe and effective for young children

Nov. 4, 2022—A Vanderbilt study finds that Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in children 6 months to 5 years of age.

C. diff infections drop in children

Nov. 3, 2022—The number of pediatric infections caused by Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) decreased from 2013 to 2019, likely due to an increase in antibiotic stewardship programs and improved hospital contact protocols, Vanderbilt researchers found.

Social behavior brain circuitry

Nov. 3, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a novel mechanism regulating social behavior: Neuropeptide Y signaling in the nucleus accumbens brain region.

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, right, on the South Lawn of the White House with colleagues Rachel Sachs, JD, MPH, of Washington University St. Louis, left, and Michell Mello, PhD, of Stanford.

Researcher’s decade of analyzing the price of drugs leads to big reforms

Nov. 3, 2022—Vanderbilt's Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, and several colleagues were able to reflect recently on the South Lawn of the White House about how their contributions through research and data informed the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that will save older Americans on Medicare tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs each year.

Study explores possible drug target for neurological problems

Nov. 3, 2022—A team at Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has determined with atomic-level precision how two established drugs bind to and alter the conformation of a cell membrane transporter protein called NKCC1, shutting down its activity.