Medicine & Health

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a study aimed at identifying effective treatment methods for seniors with depression that does not respond to standard medications.

The 21st Century Cures Act, the vast bill aimed at bolstering medical research and revamping the way drugs are approved, is a step in the right direction but is far from perfect, says an expert on the health care industry at the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Patients with the most lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – based on genetic profiles of their cancers – typically survive for only four to six months after diagnosis, even with aggressive chemotherapy. But new research led by the School of Medicine indicates that such patients, paradoxically, may live longer if they receive a milder chemotherapy drug.

Chris Ferguson left the business world to venture into food. Now he’s the founder and owner of Bee’s Knees, providing gourmet bar snacks that pair well with craft beers.

The parasite that causes river blindness infects about 37 million people in parts of Africa and Latin America, causing blindness and other major eye and skin diseases in about 5 million of them. A study from the School of Medicine sheds light on the genetic makeup of the parasite, a step toward the goal of eradication.

A combination of two topical drugs that have been in use for years triggers a robust immune response against precancerous skin lesions, according to a new study. The research, from the School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School, shows that the therapy activates the immune system’s T cells, which then attack the abnormal skin cells. The study was published Nov. 21 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

New research at the School of Medicine shows that excess weight increases the risk that a benign blood disorder — called monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance — will progress into multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood.

Washington University in St. Louis is launching a bold $25 million initiative over the next five years to develop innovative technologies aimed at improving science and medicine worldwide. The Imaging Sciences Initiative – a partnership between the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the School of Medicine – will support the development of new imaging technologies to diagnose and treat disease as well as study intricate biological structures, metabolism and physiology, and critical molecular and cellular processes.

A national clinical trial involving Washington University physicians at St. Louis Children’s Hospital will compare three commonly used anti-seizure medications used to treat seizures that last over five minutes and don’t respond to initial treatment. Such seizures can strike anyone but are most common in people already diagnosed with epilepsy.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a new clinical trial to assess the safety of a drug treatment for patients with the rare disease Wolfram syndrome.