Medicine & Health

Researchers at the School of Medicine are helming a global study of an estimated 30,000 health-care workers to establish whether the antimalaria drug chloroquine might prevent or reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections in such workers.

Spanish-speaking students and faculty at the School of Medicine have collaborated with community leaders to create and disseminate information in Spanish about the novel coronavirus for the St. Louis region’s Latino population.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine found that gene therapy in mice helped build strength and significant muscle mass quickly, while reducing the severity of osteoarthritis. The gene therapy also prevented obesity, even when the mice were fed a high-fat diet.

A study led by the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis has found that stroke evaluations fell by nearly 40% during a period of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that many stroke patients are not seeking potentially life-saving medical treatment.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that flies sleep more when they can’t fly, possibly because sleeping helps them adapt to a challenging new situation.

An in-home monitoring program for COVID-19 patients who are not sick enough to be hospitalized has been launched by the School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare. By keeping close watch over COVID patients, doctors hope to identify signs of deterioration early so that they can intervene and, ideally, keep more people out of the hospital.

Disabling a gene in specific mouse cells, School of Medicine researchers have prevented mice from becoming obese, even after the animals had been fed a high-fat diet. The researchers blocked the activity of a gene in immune cells called macrophages, key inflammatory cells.

People with the genetic condition neurofibromatosis type 1 are prone to developing tumors on nervous system tissue. A new study from Washington University School of Medicine has found that the development and growth of such tumors are driven by nearby noncancerous neurons and immune cells.

In the COVID-19 wards of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where Washington University physicians are fighting an exhausting battle against a new, baffling and sometimes lethal disease with the help of the hospital’s nurses, other medical professionals and support staff.

Moving through a global pandemic has severely impacted every American, but maybe none more than older people. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the deleterious effects of deep-seated ageism, sexism and racism on older Americans, suggests a new paper from the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging at Washington University in St. Louis.