Medicine & Health

New School of Medicine research indicates an investigational therapy for an inherited form of ALS extends survival and reverses signs of neuromuscular damage in mice and rats.

Projected demand for physician-scientists exceeds the expected supply, studies indicate. Melvin Blanchard, MD, director of the Division of Medical Education, led a multi-institution project to develop recommendations to improve U.S. training programs.

Longtime supporters of the medical school, Debra and George Couch are focused now on helping advance discoveries through precision medicine.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that inhibiting a receptor on immune cells called macrophages may help relieve pain in some patients, particularly those with chronic neuropathic pain, such as those with conditions like diabetic neuropathy.

Research led by the School of Medicine has shown, in mice, that genetic material can be delivered to damaged cells in the kidneys, a key step toward developing gene therapy to treat chronic kidney disease.

New research links outdoor air pollution — even at levels deemed safe — to an increased risk of diabetes globally, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs (VA) St. Louis Health Care System.

Washington University researchers have found that immune cells called macrophages can trigger smooth muscle contractions in the intestinal tract, independent of nerve cells. The research in mice holds potential for treating chemotherapy-induced diarrhea.

Deanna Barch, chair of the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences and the Gregory B. Couch Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, has been awarded a $3.5 million MERIT award from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Tommy John surgery, or reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the elbow, has been dubbed an epidemic among Major League Baseball pitchers. A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis plans to develop a bioinspired imaging technique to study how damage accumulates in the UCL during loading, or the stress of activating the ligament. This could provide insight into what is progressively happening to these soft tissues when pitchers throw fastballs dozens of times during a game.

New School of Medicine research on childhood depression demonstrates that an interactive therapy involving parents and children can reduce rates of depression and lower the severity of a child’s symptoms.