Medicine & Health

Over the past seven months, two collaborating teams of scientists at Washington University School of Medicine – both focused on emerging infectious diseases – have redirected their efforts to concentrate on Zika virus.

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis offers strong guidance on the best way to reduce the infection risk. Rather than prepping patients with iodine-alcohol — a common antiseptic combination in C-sections — the research indicates that chlorhexidine-alcohol is significantly more effective.

In real estate, location is key. It now seems the same concept holds true when it comes to stopping pain. New research co-led by the School of Medicine indicates the location of receptors that transmit pain signals is important in how big or small a pain signal will be and how effectively drugs can block those signals.

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis use nanoparticle technology, applied to a drug found in most people’s medicine cabinets, to chemically alter a cancer tumor and stop its growth.

Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has benefited millions of women by reducing out-of-pocket spending on contraception, many still continue to have to pay for all or some of their contraceptives.

Breast cancer takes a daunting toll on all women, but it hits younger women especially hard, finds a new study from the Brown School. Women aged 18-44 with a history of breast cancer reported a lower health-related quality of life than older survivors, highlighting the impact of breast cancer on the physical and mental health of younger women.

Mistrust toward breast cancer treatment and the health care system at large were expressed by African Americans who participated in Chicago focus groups, suggests new research led by an expert on the health of vulnerable populations at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Most cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) are preventable with a vaccine. Yet the infection is responsible for 27,000 cancer diagnoses each year in the U.S. Siteman Cancer Center and the School of Medicine is joining with the 68 other National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers to promote HPV vaccination and reduce that number.

A team of neurosurgeons from the School of Medicine and engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed wireless brain sensors that monitor intracranial pressure and temperature and then are absorbed by the body, negating the need for surgery to remove the devices.

Many negative consequences are linked to growing up poor, and researchers at Washington University St. Louis have identified one more: altered brain connectivity.