Medicine & Health

The combination of a bacterium that normally lives in the gut and a protein-rich diet promotes a more tolerant, less inflammatory gut immune system, according to new research at the School of Medicine. The findings may potentially spell relief for people living with inflammatory bowel disease.

A new study from the School of Medicine shows that a particular gut microbe can prevent severe flu infections in mice, likely by breaking down naturally occurring compounds — called flavonoids — commonly found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.

With the aim of streamlining the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, a Washington University student-led team has designed an online app to help doctors more quickly evaluate patients. The app is being tested at the School of Medicine.

A research group started in 2013 by two neuroscientists at the School of Medicine collected a massive amount of data on individual brains. The study’s subjects were the scientists themselves and eight others, all junior faculty or graduate students.

Using the gene editing technology CRISPR, scientists at the School of Medicine have shed light on a rare, sometimes fatal syndrome that causes children to gradually lose the ability to manufacture vital blood cells.

New research from the School of Medicine sheds light on what might be happening in an anxious brain.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have shown that E. coli bacteria — those at the root of hard-to-treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) — hijack trace amounts of copper in the body and use it as a nutrient to fuel growth. The finding may open the door to treating UTIs using drugs that work differently from traditional antibiotics.

Irregular heartbeat — or arrhythmia — can have sudden and often fatal consequences. A biomedical engineering team at Washington University in St. Louis examining molecular behavior in cardiac tissue recently made a surprising discovery that could someday impact treatment of the life-threatening condition.

A study led by researchers at the School of Medicine suggests that measures of amyloid beta in the blood have the potential to help identify people with altered levels of amyloid in their brains or cerebrospinal fluid. The test could identify people who have started down the path toward Alzheimer’s years before symptoms occur.

A new study in mice shows that females vaccinated before pregnancy and infected with Zika virus while pregnant bore young with no trace of the virus. The findings offer evidence that an effective vaccine administered prior to pregnancy can protect vulnerable fetuses.