Medicine & Health

The National Children’s Study, the largest study ever conducted in the United States to learn about the health and development of children, is beginning in St. Louis this week.

Neurologists finally have an answer to one of the most important questions about Alzheimer’s disease: Do rising brain levels of a plaque-forming substance mean patients are making more of it or that they can no longer clear it from their brains as effectively? A new study by Randall Bateman, MD, assistant professor of neurology, shows clearance is impaired in Alzheimer’s patients.

School of Medicine students showcase their artistic talents at the Dec. 2 coffeehouse at the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center. Medical students such as Kristen Danley gather a few times a year to sing, play piano and other instruments and read poetry.

Washington University Orthopedics has opened a spine center at its outpatient facility in Chesterfield, Mo., to provide comprehensive, specialized care to patients with spine injuries and disorders.  

Harvey A. Friedman, a supporter of aging research at Washington University, died Sunday, Nov. 28, 2010. He was 90. Donations from Friedman and wife Dorismae Hacker Friedman enabled the creation of the Center for Aging at Washington University in St. Louis in 2000.

Alan Pestronk’s experience with neurodegenerative disease helps him tune in to the patient and the caregivers.

A new study shows that the environment interacts with DNA in ways that are difficult to predict, even in simple organisms like single-celled yeast, which complicates the prospects for personalized medicine. 

Mary C. Dinauer, MD, PhD, has been named the first Fred M. Saigh Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Washington University School of Medicine has opened a clinic for patients with treatment-resistant depression that targets those who haven’t responded to standard therapies. When at least two therapies have been tried, and a patient still hasn’t responded, that patient is said to have treatment-resistant depression, according to clinic director Charles R. Conway, MD.  

Try to imagine an environmentally friendly science lab that reduces, reuses and recycles. That’s the challenge posed by the second annual Olin Sustainability Case Competition at Washington University in St. Louis. Students who devise the best plan for green labs will be seeing green — a $5,000 first prize — when the winners are announced in February.