Medicine & Health

The question of what constitutes “naturalness” — and consumers’ attitudes about it — lies at the heart of Washington University in St. Louis research from lead author Sydney Scott, assistant professor of marketing in the Olin Business School.

Faculty at the Envolve Center for Health Behavior Change, a collaboration among Washington University, Duke University and Centene Corp., share what it takes to make bad habits into good ones.

Jeff Gordon’s influence in the race to understand the human gut microbiome extends to the many students he has mentored at the Washington University School of Medicine. Here is a small sampling of his former students and postdocs, and where they are now.

At the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center, the university encourages healthy living through ­ state-of-the-art fitness and recreation facilities.

Chris Ferguson left the business world to venture into food. Now he’s the founder and owner of Bee’s Knees, providing gourmet bar snacks that pair well with craft beers.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are studying whether fasting from food a few days a week provides some of the same health benefits as severely limiting calories every day of the week.

People with diabetes often develop clogged arteries that cause heart disease. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that when vitamin D levels are adequate in people with diabetes, blood vessels are less likely to clog. But in patients with insufficient vitamin D, immune cells bind to blood vessels near the heart, then trap cholesterol to block those blood vessels.

Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the brain cells involved in alcohol-related blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie them. Alcohol interferes with key receptors in the brain, which in turn manufacture steroids that inhibit long-term potentiation, a process that strengthens the connections between neurons and is crucial to learning and memory. 

Nutrition and longevity researchers, including Luigi Fontana, MD, PhD, have found more evidence that eating less may help people live longer. They report that individuals who significantly reduce their calorie intake have lower core body temperatures. Mice and rats consuming fewer calories also have lower core body temperatures, and they live significantly longer than littermates eating a standard diet. 

In a recent clinical study of people with asthma, scientists found that those who consumed the least amount of soy had the most flare-ups of their asthma symptoms. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions around the country are conducting a trial to test the effect of soy compounds on asthma symptoms.