Author: Jim Dryden

Researchers have found that seeing well as we age depends, at least in part, on a recycling process in the eye that mops up cellular debris and recycles light-sensitive proteins. The findings suggest that disruptions in that process may harm vision and play a key role in the development of eye diseases related to aging. Inside the retinal pigment epithelium cells pictured are structures used for recycling (green) that engulf and digest spent parts of photoreceptor cells (red).

A key brain structure that regulates emotions works differently in preschoolers with depression compared with their healthy peers, according to new research at the School of Medicine. Brain scans of preschoolers with depression revealed elevated activity in the amygdala, the area shown in the red circle, when compared with scans of young children exhibiting no signs of depression.

A study of older adults has found that combining antidepressants with cognitive behavioral therapy appears to be effective as a treatment for anxiety. Pictured is Eric J. Lenze, MD, professor of psychiatry, discussing therapy options with Diana Simpson.

The School of Medicine plans to construct an energy-efficient, multistory research building dedicated to interdisciplinary research. Positioned along McKinley Avenue just west of Taylor Avenue, the six-story building eventually will house 138,000 square feet of highly flexible, open laboratories. Shown is a rendering of the building.

Nitrous oxide — best known as laughing gas — is one of the world’s oldest and most widely used anesthetics. Despite its popularity, however, experts have questioned its impact on the risk of a heart attack during surgery or soon afterward. But those fears are unfounded, a new study indicates.

States that want to reduce rates of adult smoking may consider implementing stringent tobacco restrictions on teens. Washington University researchers discovered that states with more restrictive limits on teens purchasing tobacco also have lower adult smoking rates, especially among women.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a popular artificial sweetener can modify how the body handles sugar. They analyzed the sweetener sucralose in 17 severely obese people and found it can influence how the body reacts to glucose.

William H. Daughaday, MD, a leading diabetes researcher, world authority on growth hormone, and the former director of the metabolism division at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, died after a long illness Friday, May 3, 2013, in Milwaukee. He was 95.

For nearly a decade, doctors have used implanted electronic stimulators to treat severe depression in people who don’t respond to standard antidepressant treatments. Now, preliminary brain scan studies conducted by School of Medicine researchers are revealing that vagus nerve stimulation brings about changes in brain metabolism weeks or even months before patients begin to feel better.

Using a miniature electronic device implanted in the brain, scientists have tapped into the internal reward system of mice, prodding neurons to release dopamine, a chemical associated with pleasure. This LED light can activate brain cells and may lead to the mapping of circuits involved in sleep, depression and addiction.