|
|
 |
 | Medical News Releases >
More Medical News
February 2006
continued from the previous page |
Girl inspires family to get on fitness track
Feb. 28,
2006 -- A program designed by the Weight Management Center at the School of Medicine and the YMCA of Chesterfield has helped the Garcia family from Chesterfield lose roughly 105 pounds. The Family Lifestyle Intervention Program (FLIP) is designed to show families how to get healthy together through supervised exercise, counseling and education.
|
Treks through microscopes and mountains keep professor motivated
Feb. 24,
2006 --
 |
| Photo by Robert Boston |
| Stewart and postdoctoral student Lionel Guittat discuss a readout of protein expression in cancer cells. |
Whether she's following a tantalizing thread of scientific evidence in the laboratory or trekking to remote corners of the world with her husband, Jake, Sheila Stewart loves epic journeys. Stewart, assistant professor of cell biology and physiology, speaks with equal enthusiasm of her studies of molecular structures on the ends of DNA and of the time she had to confront a "bird spider whose body was bigger than the size of my head."
|
New drug strengthens bones in older women
Feb. 23,
2006 -- A new drug for osteoporosis increases bone mineral density and decreases the rate of bone destruction in postmenopausal women, according to a study published in the Feb. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. WUSM professor Michael Whyte comments on the new drug, denosumab, in the following HealthDay story.
|
Researcher works to identify genetic changes that lead to cancer
Feb. 22,
2006 --
 |
| Photo by Robert Boston |
| Goodfellow (right) and clinical fellow Israel Zighelbolm use gels to identify genetic mutations in cancer specimens. |
Paul J. Goodfellow, Ph.D., is in a professional war with cancer. The professor of genetics, surgery, and of obstetrics and gynecology brings an arsenal of knowledge and passion to his research battle with the formidable adversary. Using what he calls "clinical specimens," Goodfellow looks at inherited factors contributing to cancer risk.
|
Some 30 WUSTL faculty to present at AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis
Feb. 17,
2006 -- More than 30 Washington University faculty, administrators and staff will participate in science and technology presentations when the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific organization, holds its annual meeting Feb. 16-20 in St. Louis.
|
Girls proving to be at higher risk for certain sports injuries
Feb. 15,
2006 -- When female athletes get injured, health-care professionals must pay close attention to the anatomic, biomechanical, hormonal and functional factors that are unique to women and weigh those factors before deciding on a course of treatment. This article from KSDK.com looks at how physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists at the School of Medicine are taking gender into account in the treatment of sports injuries.
|
Cutting calories to lengthen life
Feb. 14,
2006 -- Eating a very low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet is good for your heart. Although drastically reducing food intake is not easy, research at the School of Medicine suggests caloric restriction can slow the effects of aging on the heart. Read more in the following Los Angeles Times article
|
Whyte helps solve genetic mystery
Feb. 9,
2006 -- An international team of researchers that includes scientists from Washington University and Shriners Hospital partially untangled the genetic details of a mysterious disorder that formerly caused seizures and death in infant boys within a month of birth. This New York Times article recounts the decades-long quest to identify and understand the causes of the disorder.
|
Samuel Stanley named vice chancellor for research at Washington University
Feb. 9,
2006 --
Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., a professor of medicine and of molecular microbiology at the School of Medicine, has been appointed the university's new vice chancellor for research. The announcement of Stanley's appointment was made by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, and is effective July 1, 2006.
|
Gene causes immune cells to 'jail' flu viruses, may increase resistance
Feb. 1,
2006 -- An abundance of a gene that causes certain immune cells to act like jail cells for flu viruses may make some people more resistant to infection. Michael Holtzman, director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, presents his ideas on how flu viruses infect cells in the following article from ScienCentral.
|
New team will fight children's diseases
Jan. 31,
2006 --
 |
| Robert Boston |
| Joe Buck, Jonathan Gitlin, Lee Fetter and Larry Shapiro (L-R) join a group of children to launch the Children's Discovery Institute. |
Download
|
Scientists from the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital have teamed up to search for cures for childhood diseases in four areas: heart disease, brain cancer, lung disease, and musculoskeletal defects. The Children's Discovery Institute is a new $120 million endeavor by the two partners aimed at reaping the rewards of a sequenced human genome.
|
Proper balance of gut bacteria can strengthen overall health
Jan. 30,
2006 --
An estimated 750 trillion bacteria live inside the human digestive tract, and that's a good thing. These friendly microbes help digest food, fight infection, and may even affect how the body stores fat. Jeffrey Gordon, director of the Center for Genome Sciences, tells more about our microbial partners in the following Newsweek article.
|
Ouchless ER doctor does all he can to ease the pain of young patients
Jan. 27,
2006 --
 |
| Photo by Tim Parker |
| Kennedy lets 2-year-old Jordan Schneider check out his stethescope. |
At one time, pediatric emergency physician Robert "Bo" Kennedy could guess without looking how many patients were waiting in the St. Louis Children's Hospital Emergency Department. The loud cries of these frightened children, many in pain, always tipped him off. So he decided to focus his research on alleviating children's anxiety and suffering from the moment they enter the hospital.
|
Weighing answers to obesity
Jan. 26,
2006 --
 |
| Klein |
Humans are genetically programmed to eat food and store energy as fat. Americans today have a variety of energy-saving devices at their disposal, which actually makes it hard for them to burn off that stored energy, says Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition. Klein and his colleagues are dedicated to improving health and preventing obesity using pioneering research, community programs and nutrition education.
|
Children's Discovery Institute to seek cures for childhood diseases
Jan. 25,
2006 -- By fueling their search with revolutionary stockpiles of data from the Human Genome Project, researchers at the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital hope to speed up the discovery of cures for childhood diseases. The two partners announced the $355 million Children's Discovery Institute January 25.
|
Medical ditties are hits with students
Jan. 23,
2006 --
 |
| Dawn Majors, Post-Dispatch |
| Perry sings for his students about Parkinson's disease to the tune of "Torna a Surriento." |
When students show up for class with Arie Perry, associate professor of pathology, they're not sure if they'll be getting a lecture or a concert. Chances are good it will be a little of both. Perry takes otherwise mundane medical jargon, adds a little guitar, and sings informative songs for students with hopes of helping them better retain the knowledge.
|
Antidepressants may protect brain from damage
Jan. 19,
2006 -- People who suffer repeat bouts of depression could be getting unexpected benefits from their medication. Antidepressants may help protect areas of the brain associated with learning and memory, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Medicine.
|
Microchip implant helps prevent epileptic seizures
Jan. 3,
2006 -- A microchip placed inside the skull of epilepsy patients can effectively regulate the brain's temperature, thus preventing seizures, according to a recent study by School of Medicine researchers. The findings point the way to advanced new treatment options for those currently unable to control their seizures.
|
Severely low blood sugar levels may impair spatial memory in children
Dec. 27,
2005 -- Spatial memory, the brain function that lets people know where they are in relation to their environments, can become impaired in young children who suffer episodes of severely low blood sugar levels, according to a recent study at the School of Medicine. Learn more from Diabetes Health magazine.
|
Links between kidneys, bones can put deadly strain on heart
Dec. 20,
2005 --
Multitasking might seem like a modern invention, but in biology it's been an established technique for millennia. The organs of the human body all have their well-known primary specialties, but many of them also play secondary roles in support of each other. One such moonlighter is the human kidney, which purifies waste from the blood, but also has a more recently identified role as a contributor to the structural integrity of the human skeleton.
|
Affiliated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, members of BJC HealthCare.
Please contact us and let us know how we can assist you.
Technical problems with this Web site? Email questions or comments.
Please review the WUSTL News & Information copyright/privacy policy.
| |
|
| | |
|
Print ready page