Medicine & Health

Bacteria in the bloodstream can trigger an overwhelming immune response that causes sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found genes that help protect the body’s cells from dying during sepsis, which could lead to new treatments.

School of Medicine researchers have figured out how to grow the intestinal parasite Cryptosporidium in the lab, an achievement that will speed efforts to treat or prevent diarrhea caused by the parasite.

Only a few cases of the newly discovered Bourbon virus have been reported, and two of them ended in death, partly because no specific treatments are available for the tick-borne illness. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an experimental antiviral drug that cures mice infected with the potentially […]

The single-celled parasite Leishmania can reproduce sexually, according to a study from the School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The finding could pave the way towards finding genes that help the parasite cause disease.

School of Medicine researchers have snapped high-resolution pictures of the chikungunya virus latched onto a protein found on the surface of cells in the joints. The findings could accelerate efforts to find new ways to prevent or treat viral arthritis.

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to engaging with its global partners to help address our biggest challenges together. This spirit of collaboration was evident at the inaugural meeting of the Africa initiative, held April 23 on the Danforth Campus.

Pregnancy tests can sometimes give a false negative result to women several weeks into their pregnancies, according to research by Ann Gronowski, professor of pathology and immunology at the School of Medicine. Her findings led the FDA to change its standards for evaluating new pregnancy tests, but old tests with the false-negative problem are still on the market.

An international team led by Gary Weil, MD, of the School of Medicine is poised to help eliminate two disabling tropical diseases as public health problems. A large grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will fund clinical trials and other studies aimed at preventing new cases of elephantiasis and river blindness.

Centene Corp. and the School of Medicine announced a partnership April 8 to transform and accelerate research into treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, diabetes and obesity. As part of the partnership, Centene will fund up to $100 million over 10 years in research at the university.

The Trump administration said this week that the whole Affordable Care Act should be struck down in the courts. Doing so would have profound implications on health care and the economy, says an expert on health economics at Washington University in St. Louis.