Medicine & Health

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.

An abdominal MRI scan showing the locations of subcutaneous and visceral fatAs scientists learn more about the key role of inflammation in diabetes, heart disease and other disorders, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that fat in the belly may be an important promoter of that inflammation. It’s well known that excess fat is associated with disease, but the researchers have confirmed that fat cells inside the abdomen are secreting molecules that increase inflammation. It’s the first evidence of a potential mechanistic link between abdominal fat and systemic inflammation. More…

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted the ban on fresh spinach and the produce is back on many grocery store shelves and restaurant plates, some consumers may not be so eager to return to eating the leafy greens that left at least three people dead and 199 others sickened across 26 states after an E coli O157:H7 outbreak. A dietitian at Washington University in St. Louis offers advice on finding new sources of the nutrients offered by spinach for those who are avoiding the leaf vegetable because they are still concerned about its safety. More…

Courtesy of Cell MetabolismMay ’05 coverWhere fat comes from determines whether the body can metabolize it effectively. Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that the “old” fat stored in the body’s peripheral tissues — that is, around the belly, thighs or bottom — can’t be burned efficiently unless “new” fat is eaten in the diet or made in the liver.

Studying elderly people with mild to moderately elevated blood pressure, researchers at the School of Medicine have found that exercise is just as effective as blood pressure medicine at reducing heart mass and the thickness of the heart wall. Exercise also provided benefits that blood pressure medicine did not, such as lowering an individual’s risk of developing diabetes.

ManaryMark Manary, a WUSM pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, is saving the lives of children in Malawi with peanut butter. His revolutionary new method for treating starving children in malnourished regions could become a worldwide standard of care. Tina Hesman tells the story of Manary’s work in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.