Medicine & Health

Scientists have advanced a brain-scanning technology that tracks what the brain is doing by shining dozens of tiny LED lights on the head. The technique compares favorably to other approaches but avoids the radiation exposure and bulky magnets the others require, according to new research at the School of Medicine.

Prostate biopsies performed using magnetic resonance imaging are more likely to find aggressive tumors than those that rely on ultrasound, suggests a new study led by Gerald Andriole, MD, chief of urology at the School of Medicine.

Brian Nussenbaum, MD, the Christy J. and Richard S. Hawes III Professor of Otolaryngology, is a surgeon dedicated to caring for patients with life-threatening head and neck cancers. Passions for teaching, research and patient safety have steered his career.

Women plagued by repeated urinary tract infections may be able to prevent them with help from over-the-counter painkillers, new research in mice shows. School of Medicine scientists found that inhibiting an immune protein that causes inflammation eliminated recurrent urinary tract infections in mice.

Adding vitamin D to asthma treatment to improve breathing only appears to benefit patients who achieve sufficient levels of the supplement in the blood. Overall, the ability to control asthma did not differ between a study group that received vitamin D supplements and a group that received placebo. Mario Castro, MD, (left) led the study.

Washington University’s Bear Cub program is funding four innovative projects that have commercial potential. Pictured is William G. Hawkins, MD, who is developing a new treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Project ARK, with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s new media project, will mark National Prevention Week with a screening of the documentary “You Are Not Alone” at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at the Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., in Forest Park.

Antidepressants can reduce production of the main ingredient of Alzheimer’s brain plaques, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania. The plaques are highlighted in red in this image of a mouse’s brain.

Interdisciplinary student teams presented innovations designed to solve problems in health care at IDEA Labs’ Demo Day last month. Engineering student Matthew Burkhardt (seated) won a summer internship through the university’s Skandalaris Center to continue developing his team’s invention. His teammates are (from left) Yuni Teh, Katrina Leyden, Adina Stoica and Elizabeth Rosenberg.​

Four School of Medicine nurses recently received the 2014 Excellence in Nursing Award from St. Louis Magazine, honoring local nurses who have made a difference in the lives of their patients and colleagues. Several others were honored as finalists.