Author: Chris Amelung

Dawn Majors, Post-DispatchPerry 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.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Non-visual functions of the eye (week of Jan. 4) • Calorie restriction dieting (week of Jan. 11) • Alzheimer’s gene (week of Jan. 18) • Genes and side effects (week of Jan. 25)

Jerry Naunheim Jr., Post-DispatchNearly all of the senses get used in some of the newer cognitive therapies for Alzheimers.Alzheimer’s patients at a Creve Coeur residential community enjoy a nontraditional type of therapy — gardening. “I have to say that gardening’s fairly new, at least in long-term care,” says David Carr, associate professor of medicine. “And I have no scientific proof, but based on my personal experience and the literature, these types of activities can help maintain cognitive ability over time.”

Pancreatic cancer kills 99 percent of those diagnosed with it. Despite being the fourth leading cause of death from cancer, funding for pancreatic cancer research is among the lowest of all the leading cancers. The local chapter of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is striving to raise funds for research that may unlock the many mysteries of this deadly disease.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook recently received the Tony Conigliaro Award from the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Cook garnered the award — established in 1990 to honor major league players who overcome adversity — for his return to the mound following two surgeries to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Both procedures were performed by WUSM surgeon Robert Thompson, who conducted similar surgery on Arizona outfielder Luis Terrero in 2003.

Karen Elshout, Post-DispatchRobin Harris holds a blanket that belonged to her daughter, Kaitlyn, a teen whose depression led her to kill herself.The teenage brain may hold secrets which could help unlock some of the mysteries of mental illness. Adolescent brains undergo serious transitions and can become very volatile, making it sometimes difficult to distinguish between normal teenage behavior and serious mental illness. Some scientists believe several severe mental illnesses may even have roots in the developing teen brain.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Tongues can sense fat (week of Dec. 7) • Bipolar preschoolers (week of Dec. 14) • Gambling risk factors (week of Dec. 21) • Genetic link to alcoholism (week of Dec. 28)

The Story Link program lets prisoners talk to their children via cassette tapes.Thousands of Missouri inmates have been given a chance to reconnect with their children thanks to a volunteer program led by WUSM’s Dana and Jane Abendschein. The Story Link program allows inmates to record messages and children’s stories onto a cassette, which is then mailed to their families. For many inmates, it’s the only form of communication they have with their children.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Pitchers’ elbow (week of Nov. 2) • Mouse love songs (week of Nov. 9) • Early removal of thyroid cancer (week of Nov. 16) • Diabetic epidemic worsens (week of Nov. 23)

Antibiotics are not the answer to curing the common cold.The sniffles. A runny nose. A cough. That’s right — the cold season is upon us. But before you head off to your doctor demanding antibiotics to lessen your symptoms, be aware that those drugs don’t always work and can have serious side effects, say two physicians at Washington University in St. Louis.