Medicine & Health

A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Loss of a gene that helps keep track of time makes brain cells more vulnerable to damage from dangerous compounds known as free radicals.

Two faculty members from Washington University in St. Louis have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. They are Michael J. Holtzman, MD (left), and Rohit V. Pappu, PhD.

Reducing barriers to breast-feeding and providing a welcoming and accessible space for students and staff to pump milk or feed their babies is the focus of a new initiative at the School of Medicine. Shown is Assistant Vice Chancellor Melissa Hopkins, who is leading the effort.

Fighting cancer requires a team of medical experts. But for many patients, another key team member is a licensed clinical psychologist. Siteman Counseling Service at Siteman Cancer Center provides free therapy to help patients cope. Pictured is patient Eileen Garofalo (left) with Amanda Kracen, PhD, one of the service’s three licensed psychologists.

The Department of Anesthesiology has established a partnership with a hospital in Ghana to help improve medical care in that African nation while providing training opportunities for residents and fellows. Pictured is Ellen Lockhart, MD, of the School of Medicine, alongside Divine Kwami, MD, a faculty member at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.

Rotator cuff disease in the shoulder is among the most common of all musculoskeletal disorders. Several patients recently were on hand for an update on a landmark study on rotator cuff injury at the Eric P. Newman Education Center at the School of Medicine. The study, Asymptomatic Rotator Cuff Tears: A Model for Pain Development, was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The brain uses more glucose than just about any other organ in the body, and Tamara Hershey, PhD, uses brain-imaging tools to study the effects of diabetes. She also studies Parkinson’s disease, obesity, Tourette syndrome and Wolfram syndrome, learning about how fluctuations in glucose levels can influence brain function.

A Washington University ophthalmologist was one of 31 finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal. David E. Vollman, MD, and the other finalists recently were honored in a White House ceremony praising the country’s civil servants.

The School of Medicine now offers genetic testing to help diagnose and treat patients with heart disorders that can lead to sudden death. The new test, offered though the school’s Genomics and Pathology Services (GPS) and developed in collaboration with Washington University cardiologists, analyzes genes linked to arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies.

Friendly microbes in the intestinal tracts of healthy American children have numerous antibiotic resistance genes, according to results of a pilot study by scientists at the School of Medicine. The genes are cause for concern because they can be shared with harmful microbes, interfering with the effectiveness of antibiotics in ways that can contribute to serious illness and, in some cases, death. Pictured is the study’s senior author, Gautum Dantas, PhD.