Medicine & Health

New research in mice suggests that a class of drugs approved to treat leukemia and epilepsy also may be effective against kidney stones. Pictured is the surface of a kidney stone with calcium oxalate crystals.

An investigational drug studied in animals significantly reduced damage to heart muscle from a heart attack and minimized the risk of bleeding during follow-up treatments, according to a study by scientists at the School of Medicine. Pictured is senior author Dana Abendschein, PhD.

The population of bacteria in premature infants’ guts may depend more on the babies’ biological makeup and gestational age at birth than on environmental factors, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. They discovered that bacterial communities assemble in a choreographed progression, with the pace of that assembly slowest in infants born most prematurely.

A new study suggests uric acid may play a role in causing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The work also demonstrates the importance of the intestine in removing uric acid from the body, opening the door to potential therapies for preventing or treating type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

A method of growing human cells from tissue removed from a patient’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract eventually may help scientists develop tailor-made therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other GI conditions. Pictured are Kelli L. VanDussen, PhD, and Matthew A. Ciorba, MD, members of a School of Medicine team that developed the method.

As part of a multi-institutional $20 million effort, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis will conduct several studies, including one that uses medical imaging on plants to see what’s broken or about to break inside (pictured). Four university researchers will receive funding from the National Science Foundation to support work aimed at helping Missouri plants and crops adapt to climate variability.

Susan Bayliss, MD, is director of pediatric dermatology at the School of Medicine. She uses humor and kindness in connecting with her patients. Most of them are in the St. Louis region, but she also treats children she meets while on medical missions overseas. Wherever she is, her passion for her work is evident.

The Vandeventer Avenue exit from eastbound Interstate 64/Highway 40 will reopen about noon Friday, Aug. 8.

New research at the School of Medicine helps explain why brain tumors occur more often in males and frequently are more harmful than similar tumors in females. Pictured is the study’s senior author, Joshua Rubin, MD, PhD.

Richard L. Wahl, MD, has been named the Elizabeth E. Mallinckrodt Professor and head of radiology at the School of Medicine. He also will serve as director of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.