Research

CT scans of 37 Egyptian mummies found strong correlations between oral disease and calcified blood vessels, offering new evidence that the link between dental and cardiovascular health spans 4,000 years of human history.

Translational research brings discoveries from the laboratory and preclinical studies forward to clinical trials and studies in humans.

Treatment options are limited for the more than 500,000 people in the U.S. who are diagnosed annually with C. diff infections, but researchers are working on potential vaccines, therapeutic antibodies and — most recently — nanobodies, to prevent and treat C. diff infections.

New study represents a major step forward for vaccine development for C. diff, the leading cause of health care- and antibiotic-associated infection.

There currently are no approved treatments or vaccines to protect against the infection, which can cause internal bleeding, organ failure, and in roughly 50% of cases, death.

Researchers at Vanderbilt Health and around the country continue to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the severity and lethality of respiratory infections caused by the ever-mutating SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The technique, termed REUP (rapid recovery with extended ultraoxygenated preservation), avoids traditional methods that reanimate the heart within or outside the donor’s body.