Author: Jim Dryden

Nanette Tarbouni, director of admissions, received this year’s Dean’s Award for her support, service and commitment to the academic enterprise.

Red zones in this brain map suggest frontal parts of the brain are particularly sensitive to erotic content.A new study suggests the brain is quickly turned on and “tuned in” when a person views erotic images. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis measured brainwave activity in women as they viewed a series of slides that contained various scenes from water skiers to snarling dogs to partially-clad couples in sensual poses. When study volunteers viewed erotic pictures, their brains produced electrical responses that were stronger than those elicited by other material, no matter how pleasant or disturbing the other material may have been. This difference in brainwave response emerged very quickly, suggesting that different neural circuits may be involved in the processing of erotic images.

Controlling depression, by exercise, activity, cognitive therapy or medication, improves the likelihood that blood glucose will be better controlled in patients with diabetes.

Exercise and losing weight can help obese older people reduce their risks for impaired daily living, limited mobility and functional decline.

Patrick Lustman meets with a patient.A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that an antidepressant medication may reduce the risk of recurrent depression and increase the length of time between depressive episodes in patients with diabetes. Controlling depression in diabetes is important in helping patients manage their blood sugar. As depression improves, glucose levels also tend to improve. Although depression affects about 5 percent of the general population, the rate is about 25 percent for patients with diabetes. More…

John Holloszy and Luigi Fontana are getting ready to launch a investigation into whether calorie restriction can alter the aging process in humans. More medical news

Pain researchers have identified two key components in the pain cascade that may provide targets for more effective pain-relieving drugs with potentially fewer side effects.

Restricting calories may mean living longer.Can eating a low-calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet extend human life as it does in rodents? Preliminary research suggests it might, so researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a long-term study to find out. More…

A team of researchers at the School of Medicine is studying how fatty liver disease affects sugar and fat metabolism in overweight adolescents and how losing weight affects the condition. In the last 30 years, the number of overweight children has doubled in the United States, and overweight children are at increased risk for the problem.

School of Medicine researchers studied patients who already were eating a heart-healthy diet and taking statin drugs to control cholesterol.More medical news