New drug target
Mutation linked to pediatric brain tumor may pave way for targeted treatment
Oct. 29,
2009 -- Researchers at the School of Medicine have linked mutations in a gene to a benign pediatric brain tumor, a finding that will help scientists seek drug treatments that block growth of the tumors, they report in the journal Neurology.
|
Earlier diagnosis
Skills tests like 'connect the dots' may be early Alzheimer's indicator
Oct. 13,
2009 -- A study of mental decline in the years prior to diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease suggests that changing the focus of testing may help physicians detect signs of the disease much earlier. School of Medicine researchers have found that visuospatial skills, evaluated with tasks such as connecting the dots or using a guide to build a structure with blocks, begin to deteriorate up to three years prior to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's.
|
Toward a cure
Scientists encouraged by new mouse model's similarities to human ALS
Oct. 12,
2009 -- A new mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) closely resembles the paralyzing disorder in humans, researchers at the School of Medicine report online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
|
Sharpening connections
Scans show learning 'sculpts' the brain's connections
Oct. 8,
2009 -- Spontaneous brain activity formerly thought to be "white noise" measurably changes after a person learns a new task, researchers at the School of Medicine and the University of Chieti in Italy have shown. The scientists also report that the degree of change reflects how well subjects have learned to perform the task.
|
Top honors
NIH Director's Pioneer Award to Washington University scientist
Oct. 1,
2009 -- A Washington University scientist has won a prestigious NIH Director's Pioneer Award — one of only 18 given this year — to develop innovative ways to simultaneously monitor the activity of many neurons.
|
Digging deeper
Researchers find two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease
Sept. 6,
2009 -- An international team of scientists has identified two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease. The findings are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics.
|
Spicy therapy
Dementia induced and blocked in Parkinson's fly model
Aug. 1,
2009 -- Parkinson's disease is well-known for impairing movement and causing tremors, but many patients also develop other serious problems, including sleep disturbances and significant losses in cognitive function known as dementia. Now researchers at the School of Medicine have modeled Parkinson's-associated dementia for the first time.
|
Immune cell self-destruction
Gene regulates immune cells' ability to harm the body
July 16,
2009 -- A recently identified gene allows immune cells to start the self-destructive processes thought to underlie autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at the School of Medicine have found.
|
Brain interface controls devices with thoughts
Technology connects people's thoughts to machines
July 8,
2009 --
 |
| St. Louis Post-Dispatch image |
It sounds like something from a science fiction movie: Sensors are surgically inserted in the brain to understand what you're thinking. Machines that can speak, move or process information — based on the fleeting thoughts in a person's imagination. But it's not completely fictional. Researchers at Washington University have developed ways of tying humans and computers together.
|
Understanding dementia
$10 million grant awarded for healthy aging and Alzheimer's studies
June 25,
2009 -- Alzheimer's disease researchers at the School of Medicine have won renewal of a grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to study the differences between people who remain mentally spry in the golden years of life and those who develop dementia.
|
Medical News
Print ready page