Some genetic traits are easier to defy than others. Others, such as cancer or diabetes, are not so simple to escape. Advice on how you can reduce your risk with proven tips for protecting your health from head to toe. WUSTL surgery professor Ming You, director of the Chemoprevention Program at WUSTL's Siteman Cancer Center, comments on the role heredity plays in asthma, allergies and lung cancer.

References:

1. March 12, 2009 — Control your DNA destiny in the MSNBC.com

Ventilator tubes treated with silver to reduce infections cut the risk of pneumonia in gravely ill patients by 36 percent compared with similar, untreated tubes, according to a WUSTL study published in JAMA. WUSTL pulmonary specialist Marin Kollef and colleagues conducted the study.

References:

1. Aug. 19, 2008 — Coated ventilator tubes cut pneumonia threat in the MSNBC

and 6 others.

Front page story -- A quiet revolution in the world of lung transplants is saving the lives of people who, just two years ago, would have died on the waiting list. Changes include who gets a lung transplant first -- people who would soon die without a transplant, but who had a good chance of surviving after one.
Another major change is that more lungs from cadavers have become available.
WUSTL transplant surgeon Alexander Patterson comments. WUSTL has one of the country's largest lung transplant programs.

References:

1. Sept. 24, 2006 — Lung Patients See a New Era of Transplants in the The New York Times

To test whether federal health spending actually helps patients, Medicare has been requiring more and more of the nation's retirees to participate in clinical trials to measure the effectiveness of a growing range of treatments, before agreeing to pay for them. After seeing the clinical trial's results and the risks involved, many patients and the doctors who refer them to surgeons seemed to lose their enthusiasm for the procedure.
That first was a study of a risky but popular operation for patients with advanced emphysema, that was developed by then WUSTL surgeon Joel Cooper, who is now at U. Penn. Cooper published reports of his patients that were so promising that his medical center, Washington University, could hardly keep up with the demand. Cooper still stands by the lung volume reduction operation.

References:

1. March 3, 2006 — Medicare says it will pay, but patients say 'no thanks' in the New York Times

and 2 others.

A two-drug treatment may one day help restore healthy breathing in those with asthma and chronic bronchitis, according to a WUSTL study led by researcher Michael Holtzman. Holtzman and other researchers found that some cells lining the air passages of the lungs transform into another cell type in mice and humans with those disorders, leading to the overproduction of mucus in the airways.

References:

1. Feb. 2, 2006 — Study: Treatment May Aid Asthma Sufferers in the Los Angeles Times

and 61 others.

A type of temporary artificial heart to help near-death patients live long enough to receive a heart transplant has won the cautious backing of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration. The artificial heart is a complex and risky device that requires cutting out the bottom half of the human heart to implant. Side effects can include infection, bleeding and stroke. Patients implanted with the device are tethered to a washing machine-sized power generator until they can receive a donor heart. Still, the device "will fill a very important niche" for a small number of patients who have run out of other options, said Thomas Ferguson, professor emeritus of surgery at the School of Medicine.

References:

1. March 18, 2004 — Artificial heart can aid those on transplant waiting lists in the USA Today.com
2. March 18, 2004 — Panel backs artificial heart use in the CBSnews.com

and 21 others.