June 2005
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WUSM doctor leads charge against heart-rhythm abnormalities
June 3,
2005 --
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| Photo by Robert Boston |
| Bruce Lindsay (left) discusses selecting a defibrillator for a patient with Dennis Fogarty. |
WUSM cardiologist Bruce Lindsay is an internationally known expert on arrhythmias. He has seen the treatments for heart disorders make enormous strides in more than 20 years as a cardiologist, and he continues to utilize the most innovative methods for treating heart-rhythm abnormalities.
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Better understanding helps when choosing sun protection
June 2,
2005 --
Knowing how to read the label can be a big help when choosing sunscreen. Sun protection factor (SPF) ratings can be misleading and are often misunderstood by consumers. WUSM dermatologist Shawn Allen helps allay the confusion in the following article from Outside Magazine.
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Illinois man loses 300 pounds
June 1,
2005 -- School of Medicine weight loss experts were impressed to see a local man lose 300 pounds. John Smith of Granite City, Ill., still needs to drop a few more pounds before he can schedule surgery to remove the excess skin that has accumulated during his 13 months of weight loss. Read the full story from KSDK.
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WUSM study will test whether ginseng prevents diabetes
May 31,
2005 --
School of Medicine researchers are testing ginseng, an ancient Asian herbal medicine, to see if it can help prevent diabetes in overweight adults. Read more about the study in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
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New asthma drug holds hope for some
May 24,
2005 -- A new medication can reduce emergency room visits and improve the overall quality of life for moderate to severe asthma sufferers, according to a study by researchers from the School of Medicine and St. Louis University. Learn more about the new drug in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch story.
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Biostatistician integrates cutting-edge analysis into medical research
May 23,
2005 --
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| Photo by Robert Boston |
| Biostatistics wizard Philip Miller checks e-mails on his Sidekick while simultaneously viewing system logs on his dual monitors. |
In its Clinical and Translational Research Program, the Siteman Cancer Center runs about 350 clinical trials simultaneously, gathering health information from hundreds of patients. To set up each study and analyze the resulting data requires expertise in biostatistics. This keeps J. Philip Miller, the biostatistics core director at Siteman, very busy. He and his staff guide study investigators through the mathematical morass of statistical analysis.
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WUSM grad poised to blaze a trail in plastic surgery
May 20,
2005 --
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| Photo by Robert Boston |
| Surgeon Thomas Tung (right) and Michael Cohen review images of a fractured thumb. |
As a young boy growing up in Cold War Russia, the power of medicine profoundly touched Michael Cohen's life. A family friend and surgeon saved his critically ill cousin, and that's when Cohen knew he, too, wanted to become a surgeon. He's seen his childhood dream through and graduates from the School of Medicine May 20.
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Variations in gut bacteria may explain differences in body fat
May 6,
2005 -- Bacteria living in human guts may play a vital role in determining how much fat is stored in the body, according to the research of Jeffrey Gordon, director of the Center for Genome Sciences. Read more about about his studies from Discover.
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Alcohol kills food poisoning germs, but only when highly concentrated
May 5,
2005 --
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| Can alcohol prevent food poisoning? |
Some studies have linked alcohol consumption to lower rates of food poisoning, but WUSM gastroenterologist Brian Dieckgraefe told KSDK he doesn't believe moderate drinking can produce a high enough concentration of alcohol in the stomach to kill the bacteria that cause food poisoning.
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WUSM gets grant for work on microscopic capsules
May 4,
2005 -- The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has chosen the School of Medicine as one of four national research centers dedicated to the advancement of nanotechnology. The center, funded by a five-year, $12.5 grant, will be headed by WUSM chemist Karen Wooley. Read more in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
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Fat plays vital roles within human bodies
April 27,
2005 --
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| What exactly does the fat from these donuts do to your body? |
In recent years, scientists have learned a lot about the mysterious and much maligned fat cells in the human body. Fat helps regulate numerous bodily processes and plays a key role in controlling numerous diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. In the following story at News-Leader.com, WUSM weight and nutrition expert Sam Klein dispels a number of misconceptions about fat and provides up-to-date insight into the function of fat cells.
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WUSM physicians take proactive approach to ethics
April 26,
2005 -- An operating room trauma team is told their unconscious patient is a Jehovah's Witness with religious objections to blood transfusions, but the patient has lost a lot of blood. Doctors are faced with ethical dilemmas such as this in hospital rooms and doctor offices around the nation every day. To help deal with these issues, the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Washington University offers monthly surgical ethics sessions as a way to contemplate the emotional, humane and legal implications of medical decisions. Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Adolescence can be trying times for parents, children
April 22,
2005 --
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| Balancing independence and rules can be tough for parents with teenagers. |
Adolescence is often viewed as a time when children regularly push their parents' patience to the limits. However, the trials and tribulations of a mother and father may be outweighed by the drastic life changes the teenagers themselves face, and parents should bear this in mind, says WUSM physician Katie Plax in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.
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Tinnitus sufferers should avoid loud noises, protect ears
April 21,
2005 --
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| Tinnitus sufferers should avoid loud noises. |
Scientists aren't sure of the exact cause of tinnitus, a frustrating disorder that produces phantom sounds in the ears of its sufferers. Loss of sleep, anxiety, and depression can result from the noises. In the following KSDK story, WUSM otolaryngologist Jay Piccirillo discusses the disorder and precautions for those who suffer from it.
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Park receives award for neurosurgery procedure
April 20,
2005 --
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| Park hosts a party for cerebral palsy patients from around the world. |
T.S. Park, M.D., the Shi H. Hung Professor of Neurosurgery and neurosurgeon in chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital, recently received the Korean Overseas Compatriots Award from the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) at a ceremony in Seoul. The network presents the national award to people in the fields of natural science, societal service, the arts and business who enhance the image and reputation of the country while living abroad
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Breast cancer strikes young women, too
April 19,
2005 --
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| Straube |
For many people, their early twenties can be some of life's most stressful. It's an adjustment period of being on your own for the first time, for college graduations and the stress of finding and landing that first job. But for 24 year-old Melissa Straube of Highland, IL, that stress was compounded by words she didn't expect to ever hear at her young age: "You have breast cancer."
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Atkins Foundation establishes new center for obesity research at WUSM, BJH
April 13,
2005 -- A new facility for obesity research and treatment will be established at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital thanks to a $5 million donation from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation. Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Siteman HUGS program helps children cope with loved ones touched by cancer
March 30,
2005 --
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| Photo by Tim Parker |
| (From left) Sam, Dylan and Ashley Mopkins show the scarves they made for their mom. |
When dealing with life-threatening diseases such as cancer, complete care sometimes extends to other members of the family. That's the idea behind the Help Us Give Support (HUGS) program at Siteman Cancer Center. Members of HUGS, children between the ages of 4 and 12, recently took part in an Arts as Healing event to create decorative scarves for their mother or grandmother fighting breast cancer. Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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Scientists sequence human X chromosome
March 25,
2005 --
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| What makes a woman a woman? |
The mysteries of both human sex chromosomes have now been laid bare with the publication of the sequence of the human X chromosome in the journal Nature. Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England led the effort to sequence the X, with significant contributions from the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University.
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Terminal care decisions made daily in hospitals throughout U.S.
March 23,
2005 -- Thousands of Americans make tough decisions every day about the continuing care of terminally ill loved ones. Nearly all of these situations occur unnoticed by the public. In the following ABC News story, WUSM professor Stephen Lefrak discusses the reality of these life-and-death decisions in the wake of the national debate over Terri Schiavo.
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Medical News
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