Kirmani, Larsen named Loeb Teaching Fellows

Nigar Kirmani, MD, and Douglas Larsen, MD, have been selected to receive the 2012-14 Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Teaching Fellowships at Washington University School of Medicine. The fellowship program was established in 2004 by a gift from the Loebs to advance clinical education and to honor local physicians committed to clinical excellence.

Two drugs better than one to treat youth with type 2 diabetes

A combination of two diabetes drugs was more effective in treating 10-17-year-olds with recent-onset type 2 diabetes than one, according to researchers at Washington University in St. Louis who participated in a multicenter clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Washington University School of Medicine segment of the trial was led by Neil H. White, professor of pediatrics and of medicine and director of the Pediatric Clinical Research Unit and a diabetes specialist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Weight-loss surgery provides benefit to high-risk, severely obese patients

Among surgeries for obesity, a newer, increasingly popular procedure called sleeve gastrectomy provides more weight loss to high-risk severely obese patients than adjustable gastric banding, a new study by Esteban Varela, MD, suggests. Two years after surgery, patients in both groups had lost substantial weight, but those who had had a sleeve gastrectomy shed an average of 16 additional pounds.

Bear Cub grants awarded

Washington University in St. Louis has awarded five Bear Cub fund grants totaling $190,000 to support innovative research that has shown commercial potential. Jerry Morrissey (right), PhD, received one of the grants to develop rapid tests for the early development of kidney cancer.

Genes that promote cartilage healing protect against arthritis

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that the same genes that promote healing after cartilage damage also appear to protect against osteoarthritis, a condition caused by years of wear-and-tear on the cartilage between joints. Although the research was conducted in mice, the genes are likely to be important in people, too.

Celebrating Earth Day at School of Medicine

Jim Jackson (left), project manager in Facilities Management at the School of Medicine, explains energy used in light bulbs to a visitor to the energy conservation and alternative energy station at the School of Medicine’s Earth Day festivities April 19 in the BJC Institute of Health Hope Plaza. In addition to energy, visitors learned about recycling, gardening and water conservation, and transportation and clean air.

Jaffe named president of pediatric association

David M. Jaffe, MD, was elected president of the Academic Pediatric Association at its recent annual meeting in Boston. Jaffe is the Dana Brown Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and medical director of emergency services at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Unusual protein helps regulate key cell communication pathway

Charged atoms, or ions, move through tiny pores, or channels, embedded in cell membranes, generating the electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with one another. In new research, scientists have shown how an unusual protein plays a key role in temporarily blocking the movement of ions through these channels. Preventing ions from moving through the channel gives cells time to recharge so that they can continue firing.
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