New tool to probe genetic mechanisms of disease
October 22, 2020
Vanderbilt Genetics Institute investigators have added a new method to the computational genetics toolbox.
News
Minimally invasive treatment option for AFib studied
October 22, 2020
A minimally invasive procedure that combines ligation of the left atrial appendage (LAA) with hybrid epicardial-endocardial ablation is a feasible, safe and effective method of treating patients with longstanding atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib), according to a new Vanderbilt-led study.
Genes spell penicillin allergy risk
October 01, 2020
From an analysis of 505,823 research subjects, Elizabeth Phillips, MD, and colleagues report in the American Journal of Human Genetics that individuals of European descent who carried a specific genetic variant were 47% more likely to have a self-reported penicillin allergy.
VUMC forms center focused on Alzheimer’s and related dementias
October 01, 2020
Leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have announced that the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center (VMAC), currently housed in the Department of Neurology, will become a freestanding institutional center.
VUMC awarded $34 million to lead nationwide convalescent plasma study
August 31, 2020
Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been awarded a one-year, $34-million grant by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to conduct a nationwide study of “convalescent plasma” as a treatment for COVID-19.
Salt, immune cells and hypertension
August 31, 2020
Excessive dietary salt is a major risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, but the mechanisms by which sodium elevates risk are not fully known.
Rathmell named chair of Department of Medicine
August 17, 2020
After serving as interim chair since Jan.
Study suggests new threshold for diagnosing PAH
August 17, 2020
Doctors diagnosing pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) — elevated pulmonary pressure due to an issue in the small vessels of the lung — rely on a hemodynamic threshold set in the early 1970s to determine whether patients would be candidates for pulmonary vasodilator therapy.
Stomach bug hit-and-run
July 24, 2020
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori colonizes the stomach in half of the world’s population and increases the risk of gastric cancer.
Criteria for lung cancer screens may be expanded
July 24, 2020
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.