Medicine & Health

Falls and balance problems may be early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report July 17, 2011, at the Azheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Paris.

Community-engaged research will be the focus of a two-day conference at Washington University School of Medicine Sept. 26 and 27. The theme of the event is “Community engaged research: Exploring the unique community-academic relationship.”

Bariatric surgery is not only cost-effective for treating people who are severely obese, but also for those who are mildly obese, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings support making bariatric surgery available to all obese people, the researchers say.

Steven Mumm, PhD (left), research associate professor of medicine, works in his lab at the School of Medicine with Adela Cajic, a rising senior at Affton High School and a participant in the Students and Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) program. STARS pairs academically talented high school juniors and seniors in the St. Louis area with scientists at five research institutions for a six-week apprenticeship in laboratories, including those on the Danforth and Medical campuses.

Measuring oxygen during eye surgery, investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a potential reason that African-Americans are at higher risk of getting glaucoma than Caucasians. They found that oxygen levels are significantly higher in the eyes of African-Americans with glaucoma than in Caucasians.

Washington University’s Department of Genetics has established the Genome Technology Access Center to offer high-speed genome sequencing and other advanced genetic technologies to scientists both within and beyond the university.  

Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the brain cells involved in alcohol-related blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie them. Alcohol interferes with key receptors in the brain, which in turn manufacture steroids that inhibit long-term potentiation, a process that strengthens the connections between neurons and is crucial to learning and memory. 

Health-care specialists, including Sarah J. Gehlert, PhD, at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, are working to improve breast cancer care for African-American women living in North St. Louis City, where death rates from breast cancer are disproportionately high.

Trisha Lollo has been named vice president of cancer services for the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

Excess nutrients, such as fat and sugar, don’t just pack on the pounds but can push some cells in the body over the brink. Unable to tolerate this “toxic” environment, these cells commit suicide. Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered three unexpected players that help a cell overloaded with fat initiate its own demise.