Sepsis is a serious medical condition caused by an overwhelming immune response to infection. Despite availability of antibiotics, the mortality and hospitalization of patients with severe sepsis has increased rapidly, causing approximately 200,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. Guoyun Chen, MD, PhD, and his research team are hoping to investigate further and explore… Read More
Anna Bukiya, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology in the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has received a five-year grant totaling $1.6 million to study how cholesterol and alcohol interact to modulate blood vessel function in the brain. The award from the National Institute on… Read More
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most devastating neurodegenerative conditions, afflicting more than 4 million Americans each year. The available FDA-approved drugs only stabilize the conditions. More robust medications are needed to improve the syndrome. Synaptic damage is the earliest sign of AD, which leads to memory loss. Therefore, uncovering novel synaptic mechanisms and… Read More
Edward Chaum, MD, PhD, Plough Foundation Professor of Retinal Diseases at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), Hamilton Eye Institute, has a successful history of collaborating with scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to battle diseases of the eye. So when he was approached about working together to apply technology being developed… Read More
Although gene mutations that cause early onset Alzheimer’s disease have been identified, the vast majority of cases result from what is known as “sporadic,” or late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD), which has no known cause. Sarah Neuner’s research focuses on identifying currently unknown genes that influence a person’s likelihood of developing LOAD. Neuner, a graduate research assistant… Read More
Approximately 5 percent of all children stutter for some period of time, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Many recover, but for those who do not, stuttering often progresses and severely impairs communication. There is no clear predictor of who will recover from stuttering and who will not. However,… Read More
Receives Grant to Test Newly Developed Mouthwash to Prevent Dental Erosion in Women with Eating Disorders Mojdeh Dehghan, DDS, assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry in the College of Dentistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was honored by the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) with the 2014 Proctor and… Read More
Almost 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries discharged from hospitals will be readmitted within 30 days, costing the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) almost $25 billion per year. Because many readmissions may be preventable, CMS began in 2012 to penalize hospitals with unplanned readmission rates for congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia… Read More
