Reporter Sept 3 2021
Regulators of fat cell metabolism
Sep. 7, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered new details of the regulation of fat cell metabolism, findings that are important for combating obesity.
Medical diagnoses in musicians
Sep. 6, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers mined electronic health records to find medical diagnoses that are more or less prevalent among musicians, who are present in large numbers in “Music City.”
White matter and schizophrenia
Sep. 2, 2021—Patients with schizophrenia have functional changes in the white matter of the brain, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered, which may contribute to impaired working memory and processing speed.
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.
Rheumatoid arthritis drug combined with standard of care may help reduce mortality for hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Sep. 2, 2021—Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who received the rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib, in combination with the standard of care including corticosteroids, died less often than those receiving only the standard of care, according to a study released this week in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Discovery offers insight for development of cancer therapies targeting mutant p53
Sep. 2, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes) drives malignant phenotypes in cells expressing mutant p53, a tumor suppressor protein that is mutated in more than half of all human cancers.
Children’s Hospital to benefit from raffle of new home
Sep. 2, 2021—Middle Tennessee home builder Willow Branch Homes has donated one of their new homes to raffle off in support of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Study shows gene-drug interactions are common
Sep. 2, 2021—When a drug or combination of drugs causes different responses in different people, genetic variation is often at play. Pharmacogenomics, through discovery of genetic risk and use of clinical genotyping, aims to reduce trial-and-error approaches to drug prescribing.
Navy vet LeClere joins VWCH orthopaedic surgery team
Sep. 2, 2021—Cmdr. Lance LeClere, MD, former orthopaedic surgeon for the U.S. Navy Seals and current head team physician for the U.S. Naval Academy, is joining Vanderbilt Orthopaedics Lebanon at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital (VWCH) beginning Sept. 7.
Alarming number of pregnant COVID-19 patients hospitalized in August
Sep. 1, 2021—Vanderbilt University Hospital treated 39 pregnant patients hospitalized with active COVID-19 infections in August, 10 of whom were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Initiative helps physicians interpret genetic test results
Sep. 1, 2021—A new institutional initiative will offer a secure and easy way for physicians at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to ask for help interpreting genetic test results for their patients.
Dean, Price named to LifeFlight leadership roles
Sep. 1, 2021—Two industry veterans with clinical and operational expertise in patient transport have been named to top leadership positions at Vanderbilt LifeFlight.