Author: Jim Dryden

In a surprising discovery, neuroscientists, led by a team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have found that a molecule that is a breakdown product of cholesterol in the brain may be a target for developing new drugs to treat schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are studying whether fasting from food a few days a week provides some of the same health benefits as severely limiting calories every day of the week.

Although most smokers realize the habit isn’t good for their hearts and lungs, Washington University orthopaedic surgeon Jeffrey Johnson and other surgeons remind patients that if they need surgery, smoking increases infection rates, makes problems with wound healing more likely and also interferes with bone healing.

Researchers at the School of Medicine and the University of Southern California have found that rates of smoking, drinking and drug use are significantly higher among those who have psychotic disorders than in the general population.

A team led by researchers at the School of Medicine has identified variations in a gene that double a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Pictured are Carlos Cruchaga, PhD (left), and Alison M. Goate, DPhil, who led the research effort.

Older adults who have good vision when tested at their eye doctors’ offices may not see as well at home. A new study from researchers at the School of Medicine suggests dim lighting may be the culprit.

A nationwide survey of opioid drug abusers in rehab indicates that because of the high it produces, the prescription painkiller oxycodone is the most popular drug of choice. Hydrocodone, also prescribed to treat pain, is next in line. In all, some 75 percent of those surveyed rated one of these drugs as their favorite.

The Department of Anesthesiology has established a partnership with a hospital in Ghana to help improve medical care in that African nation while providing training opportunities for residents and fellows. Pictured is Ellen Lockhart, MD, of the School of Medicine, alongside Divine Kwami, MD, a faculty member at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Rotator cuff disease in the shoulder is among the most common of all musculoskeletal disorders. Several patients recently were on hand for an update on a landmark study on rotator cuff injury at the Eric P. Newman Education Center at the School of Medicine. The study, Asymptomatic Rotator Cuff Tears: A Model for Pain Development, was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The brain uses more glucose than just about any other organ in the body, and Tamara Hershey, PhD, uses brain-imaging tools to study the effects of diabetes. She also studies Parkinson’s disease, obesity, Tourette syndrome and Wolfram syndrome, learning about how fluctuations in glucose levels can influence brain function.