Author: Jim Dryden

Ken Yamaguchi, MD, the Sam and Marilyn Fox Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, fixes shoulders and elbows. Although many think of rotator cuff tears affecting athletes, almost 50 percent of people over age 70 have rotator cuff tears, either with or without pain.

For obese seniors, dieting and exercise together are more effective at improving physical performance and reducing frailty than either alone. Although weight loss alone and exercise alone improve physical function, neither is as effective as diet and exercise together, which improved physical performance in seniors by 21 percent.  

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched its new Center for the Study of Itch, believed to be the world’s first multidisciplinary program designed solely to understand and treat itch. It was established to bring scientists and clinicians together to study the mechanisms that transmit the perception of itch and to translate those findings into better treatments for chronic sufferers. 

Young women who have experienced traumatic events are more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who have not, according to researchers at the School of Medicine and the Midwest Alcoholism Research Center. 

High school students who smoke, drink, use drugs or engage in other risky behaviors also are more likely to become pregnant or to impregnate a sexual partner, according to new research from psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. And it wasn’t just one pregnancy. Those involved in risky activities had an even greater risk for multiple pregnancies. 

The Longer Life Foundation is encouraging inquiries from scientists seeking funding for research into long-term prognoses for common disorders and diseases.

Diabetes researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a key mechanism that appears to contribute to the blood vessel damage that occurs in people with diabetes.

Retired NFL players use painkillers at four times the rate of the general population, according to new research conducted by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers say the brutal collisions and bone-jarring injuries associated with football often cause long-term pain, which contributes to continued use and abuse of pain-killing medications. 

A form of play therapy between parents and their toddlers can relieve depression in preschoolers, according to child psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. For the study, the researchers adapted a play-based technique known as parent-child interaction therapy, adding a focus on emotional development. 

Stuart A. Kornfeld, MD, has received the E.B. Wilson Medal, the highest scientific honor awarded by the American Society for Cell Biology. He was presented the medal at the society’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.