Around the Medical Center
High-dose flu vaccine more effective in elderly, Vanderbilt-led study shows
Feb. 10, 2015—High-dose influenza vaccine is 24 percent more effective than the standard-dose vaccine in protecting persons ages 65 and over against influenza illness and its complications, according to a Vanderbilt-led study published in August 2014 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The multi-center study enrolled 31,989 participants from 126 research centers in the U.S. and Canada...
Brain surgery through the cheek
Feb. 10, 2015—Treating epilepsy often means drilling through the skull deep into the brain to destroy the small area where the seizures originate—invasive, dangerous and with a long recovery period. Five years ago, a team of Vanderbilt engineers wondered: Is it possible to address epileptic seizures in a less invasive way? They decided it would be. To...
Potential therapy for postpartum breast cancer investigated
Feb. 10, 2015—Nearly 25 percent of all breast cancers among premenopausal women occur within two to five years following a pregnancy. These postpartum tumors are more likely to spread or metastasize to other parts of the body, leading to an increased risk of death. A new study led by Rebecca Cook, Ph.D., assistant professor of Cancer Biology, and...
Q+A: Kristen Eckstrand, Ph.D.
Feb. 10, 2015—Kristen Eckstrand, Ph.D., a 2015 MD candidate, is the founder and co-director of the Vanderbilt Program for LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) Health. She is also chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Advisory Committee on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sex Development. She recently co-edited and co-authored a groundbreaking national...
Novel therapy eases stress of retinoblastoma treatment
Feb. 10, 2015—Doctors at Vanderbilt are on track to radically change the way retinoblastoma is treated using an approach that delivers chemotherapy directly to the tumor via the ophthalmic artery. This novel approach, known as IA chemo, uses a catheter that is inserted into the groin and threaded to the eye under X-ray guidance. IA chemo is...
Quicknotes
Feb. 10, 2015—Skin cancer risks higher for soldiers serving abroad Soldiers deployed to tropical and sunny climates are coming home with increased risk factors for a threat far from the battlefield: skin cancer. In a retrospective study of about 200 veterans seen at the post-deployment clinic of the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System of the U.S. Department of Veterans...
Children’s Hospital gets to heart of boy’s rare disorder
Aug. 21, 2014—Two-year-old Luke Reaves was diagnosed a year ago with cardiomyopathy (a weakened heart muscle) caused by a rare hereditary metabolic disorder, Barth syndrome. With only about 200 reported cases of Barth worldwide, finding a hospital that understood a metabolic heart condition like Luke’s was important for Emily and Jason Reaves, even if it meant traveling outside...
Q+A: Rivka Ihejirka
Aug. 21, 2014—Rivka Ihejirika is a third-year medical student from Los Angeles. She is the recipient of the Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship and the James Edward Holloran Scholarship, established by the Class of 1980. Q. When did you know you wanted to be a doctor? A. When I was a little kid, I was always curious about...
Gift creates one home for Medical School class photos
Aug. 21, 2014—For decades, the composite photos of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduating classes could be found spread all around the Medical Center. Some were framed and hung, while others were stowed in desk drawers or archived in various locations. Thanks to the graduating classes of 2014 and 2015, the Vanderbilt Alumni Association and Eskind Biomedical Library’s...
Grant aids search for Restless Legs Syndrome treatment
Aug. 21, 2014—Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been selected as one of three sites to share a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the potential therapeutic properties of manganese, a chemical element and biologically essential trace mineral, in treating Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). “The goal of this work is to determine if...
Quicknotes
Aug. 21, 2014—VICC debuts novel neuroendocrine tumor treatment A retired elementary school principal has become the first patient at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center to receive an investigational cancer therapy for the treatment of his neuroendocrine tumor. Harold (Cap) Caplan of Hilton Head, South Carolina received the first injection of a drug that delivers a high dose of radiation...
Physical signs of depression common among ICU survivors
Aug. 21, 2014—Depression affects more than one out of three survivors of critical illness, according to a Vanderbilt study released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and the majority of patients experience their symptoms physically rather than mentally. It is one of the largest studies to investigate the mental health and functional outcomes of critical care survivors, according...