Author: Chris Amelung

Gaining confidence can be hard for anyone. St. Louis native Brad Cohen had the added pressure of Tourette syndrome, but that didn’t stop him from gaining his. Cohen is now a successful elementary schoolteacher and author. WUSM neurologist Bradley Schlaggar describes the battle Cohen and others with the disruptive neurological disorder face each day.

With the start of the new school year, it’s important for parents to keep a watchful eye on their children for behavioral problems. One of the most common back-to-school burdens is bullying. Bullying occurs most frequently in late elementary school and middle school and can take several forms. Boy bullies tend to intimidate with physical aggression. Girls engage more in verbal teasing.

Courtesy PhotoJeffrey Lowell (left) and Eric Shirley, lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, perform clubfoot repair surgery on a child while on board the USNS Comfort.Jeffrey Lowell, professor of surgery and of pediatrics, not only serves his patients, he serves his country, too. He was recently deployed on a mission serving in his role as a commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Reserve. Commander Lowell was deployed on the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort July 13-Aug. 6 to serve as a general surgeon while the ship was in Panama, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

For eight weeks this summer, St. Louis high school students Cherise Gilmore and Christopher Leatherwood worked in laboratories at the School of Medicine. Gilmore studied aceruloplasminemia, an inherited neurodegenerative disease, and Leatherwood delved into skeletal disorders. They are part of the Young Scientist Program (YSP) at the School of Medicine, which provides a way for disadvantaged high school students to learn about scientific careers.

A $5.7 million grant will establish a new center for kidney disease research at the School of Medicine. Directed by Marc R. Hammerman, the Chromalloy Professor of Renal Diseases in Medicine, the center will investigate the underlying causes of kidney disease to speed the development of new treatments. The center’s funding comes from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Promotions were recently announced for two key members of Medical Alumni and Development Programs. Patricia Gregory has been named assistant vice chancellor and executive director of medical corporate and foundation relations, and David Shearrer has been named executive director of development for clinical programs.

Asthma is the No. 1 cause of hospitalizations among children, but with proper management, children can have full participation in school and sporting events. Experts estimate nearly 20 million Americans have asthma, ranging from 7 percent to 12 percent of children. Among African-Americans the rate of asthma is even higher.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Rotator cuff repair (week of Aug. 1) • Better treatment for itching (week of Aug. 8) • New risk factor for diabetes (week of Aug. 15) • Filtering out side effects (week of Aug. 22) • Treating post-partum depression (week of Aug. 29)

Horse Series by Robert Boston is currently on display on the second floor of the Ferrell Learning and Teaching Center. The photos in the series focus on the world-famous Clydesdale horses at Grant’s Farm.

With today’s rapid rate of medical advancement, it’s hard to imagine that an over-the-counter drug introduced in the 1800s could still be widely popular and effective. But due to its low cost and versatility, millions of Americans still keep a bottle of aspirin in their medicine cabinets.