Romney tough on Huckabee in new Iowa ad
Newer sedative might help patients on ventilators
Lawmakers look to lower tuitions as endowments soar
New treatment boosts odds of surviving trauma

Romney tough on Huckabee in new Iowa ad
McClatchy News Service
Tuesday, Dec. 11

Mitt Romney, battling to stop Mike Huckabee's surge in the nation's first voting state, has unleashed a television and mail attack on the former Arkansas governor.

On the eve of the last scheduled Republican presidential candidates' debate before Iowa's caucuses Jan. 3, Romney launched a 30-second television ad Tuesday in Iowa blasting Huckabee's record on immigration.

Huckabee fought back gently but firmly, likening the former Massachusetts governor to an elementary school tattler.

"We didn't like it when we were in the third grade," Huckabee told a news conference in this western Iowa city. "We don't like it now. Usually the tattler is not the most popular kid in the classroom."

John G. Geer, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, is quoted.

Newer sedative might help patients on ventilators
The Washington Post
Wednesday, Dec. 12

Doctors routinely use sedatives on patients who are hooked up to mechanical ventilators in intensive care units, but some experts worry that too much sedation might slow down recovery and leave patients in an unnecessary fog.

Now, researchers report that by substituting a newer medication, dexmedetomidine (Precedex), for the more commonly used lorazepam (Ativan), doctors could reduce the amount of time patients experience delirium and coma. They also found a reduction in the length of time on mechanical ventilation and an improvement in survival, though these differences didn't reach the level of statistical significance.

"By changing the way we give medications, we may be able to improve outcomes," said study author Dr. Pratik Pandharipande, from the anesthesiology and critical care department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. His report is published in the Dec. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lawmakers look to lower tuitions as endowments soar
The Tennessean
Wednesday, Dec. 12

Some lawmakers are eyeing universities' growing endowment funds as a way to defray tuition increases.

"Our colleges and universities are sitting on some of the largest fortunes amassed by any institutions in the history of our nation," Lynne Munson of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, told the Senate Finance Committee this fall. "In too many cases, this wealth is being hoarded instead of shared."

Schools may not have total control over their endowments in the first place. About three-quarters of Vanderbilt University's endowment is designated by donors for specific purposes — scholarships for students from a particular Tennessee county, for instance.

"There are very direct and very specific designations from donors about the usage of a vast majority of the endowment fund," Vanderbilt spokesman Mike Schoenfeld said.

In 2006, Vanderbilt's endowment was the 23rd largest in the nation at $2.9 billion. The endowment has since grown to $3.5 billion, according to Schoenfeld.

New treatment boosts odds of surviving trauma
The Tennessean
Wednesday, Dec. 12

Chances of surviving a car accident or other traumatic injury where large amounts of blood are lost are increasing thanks to research conducted by trauma specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The Trauma Exsanguination Protocol (TEP), led by Bryan Cotton, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, involved administering - early in the treatment process - an aggressive regiment that included a cocktail of blood products.

The study demonstrated the new protocol reduced the odds of death by more than 70 percent.