Medicine & Health

A new School of Medicine study indicates that gut microbes influence the severity of parasitic worm infections in developing countries. The findings suggest that manipulating the gut’s microbial communities may offer protection.

A small clinical trial led by Richard S. Hotchkiss, MD, at the School of Medicine, shows that a drug that revs up the immune system holds promise in treating sepsis. The approach goes against the grain of earlier strategies that have relied on antibiotics and inflammatory medications to tamp down the immune system.

School of Medicine researchers report they found a way to treat urinary tract infections without using antibiotics, at least in mice. The scientists are working on an alternative that would prevent bacteria from causing disease.

Stigmas, attitudes of self-reliance and misattributing symptoms led a group of young adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis to delay seeking treatment, finds a new study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have used the gene-editing technology CRISPR to engineer human T cells that can attack human T cell cancers without succumbing to friendly fire. The study evaluating the approach in mice appears online in the journal Leukemia.

Colin Nichols, the Carl F. Cori Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology, has received a grant to study how the genetic mutations underlying Cantu syndrome are linked to cardiovascular disease.

A research team from the School of Medicine led by Allan Doctor, MD, has received $5 million in grants to develop artificial red blood cells to act as a blood substitute. The research aims to prevent deaths from traumatic bleeding.

For years, researchers have attempted to harness the full potential of gene therapy, a technique that inserts genes into a patient’s cells to treat cancer and other diseases. However, inserting engineered DNA molecules into cells is difficult. A team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new method that could make the process easier.

School of Medicine researchers have found that when mature cells transition to begin dividing again, they all seem to do it the same way, regardless of what organ those cells come from. These older cells may be dangerous because when they revert to stem cell-like behavior, they carry with them all the potential cancer-causing mutations that have accumulated during their lifespans.

A large-scale study that analyzed genetics and smoking habits has revealed new information about blood pressure. The study, conducted by an international consortium of investigators, was led by School of Medicine researchers.