Blocking stress protein decreases Alzheimer’s peptide in mice
Scientists revealed in November 2006 that stress increases production in mice of a brain peptide critical to Alzheimer’s disease. Now the same group has shown that blocking a different brain peptide slows the stress-induced increase, opening a new door to treatment. Researchers from the School of Medicine report the results online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
New tools and new possibilities for healing the sick
The following text was excerpted from a speech by Washington University Chancellor Emeritus William H. Danforth, M.D. He was recognized in May with the Christopher Hobler Spirit of Hope Award from Hope Happens, an organziation supporting the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders at Washington University.
Gay named Hawes professor
W. Donald Gay, D.D.S., has been named the Christy J. and Richard S. Hawes III Professor at the School of Medicine. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, made the announcement. Before their deaths, Mr. and Mrs. Hawes established the professorship in honor of and in gratitude to Gay, who directs the Division of Maxillofacial Prosthetics in the Department of Otolaryngology. Mrs. Hawes was one of Gay’s patients.
Washington University receives $2.5 million to provide HIV care to low income and underserved
The School of Medicine has received a $2.5 million grant to provide medical care to low-income and underserved adults living with HIV. The five-year grant, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was awarded through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act.
Personality changes may help detect form of dementia
A simple personality test could help doctors more quickly detect dementia with Lewy bodies, a form of dementia often confused with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study led by researchers at the School of Medicine. Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia. It shares many characteristics with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Chief pediatric surgeon named at medical school and St. Louis Children’s Hospital
WarnerBrad W. Warner, M.D., has been named pediatric surgeon-in-chief at the School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital. His appointment was announced jointly by Timothy Eberlein, M.D., Bixby Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery, and Lee Fetter, president of St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Gene discovery lays groundwork for targeted therapies for endometrial cancer
Discovery of alterations in a gene called FGFR2 could accelerate the development of new treatments for endometrial cancer, a type of uterine cancer. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen); the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, which is part of Cambridge University; and New York University School of Medicine reported the findings in the May 21, 2007, online version of the journal Oncogene.
WUSTL creates center to study women’s infectious diseases
The School of Medicine is launching a new effort to study infectious diseases that preferentially affect women. The center for Women’s Infectious Disease Research (cWIDR) will focus on issues such as microorganisms that cause urinary tract infections, infections that lead to premature delivery and microorganisms that may contribute to life-threatening conditions such as cancer and heart disease.
Volunteers sought for study of bone loss in breast-cancer patients
A School of Medicine study investigating bone loss in women with breast cancer who take aromatase inhibitors is seeking volunteers.
‘Thinking strategically’
Photo by Mary ButkusKent D. Syverud helps the School of Law develop a ‘cohesive identity’
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