Medicine & Health

Organisms from yeast to rodents to humans all benefit from cutting calories. In less complex organisms, restricting calories can double or even triple lifespan. But researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and two other centers report in the journal Science that they are less interested in calorie restriction for longer life than for its ability to promote good health throughout life.  

Using powerful DNA sequencing technology to decode the genomes of cancer patients, scientists at the School of Medicine are getting an unprecedented look at the genetic basis of a highly lethal breast cancer that disproportionately affects younger women and those who are African-American, they report in the journal Nature.

An ophthalmologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is implanting radioactive discs in the eyes of children with a rare cancer in an attempt to save their vision and eyes. The treatment for the rare childhood eye cancer, called retinoblastoma, involves implanting a small disc, or plaque, which stays in the eye for three days before a second surgery to remove it.  

Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, was the keynote speaker at the Medical Scientist Training Program 40th Anniversary Symposium April 9 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.

The spring Health Happening health and wellness fair at the School of Medicine attracted students and employees for screenings and information.

Girls and young women who drink alcohol increase their risk of benign (noncancerous) breast disease, says a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University. Benign breast disease increases the risk for developing breast cancer. 

He’s Canadian, he plays hockey, and he’s had a brush with Olympic glory. Physician-scientist Gregory D. Longmore, MD, investigates problems relevant to cancer onset and metastasis.

I. Jerome Flance, MD, a renowned physician, educator and pulmonary disease specialist at Washington University School of Medicine since the 1940s, died Friday, April 2, 2010, at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He was 98.

A five-year, $3.7 million clinical trial will investigate how to balance the benefits and risks of warfarin, a drug that helps prevent potentially deadly blood clots. The multicenter study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, will evaluate customized warfarin dosage based on patient genetics and will test which range of blood clotting is optimal in orthopedic patients.

A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a pair of proteins excreted in the urine that could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of kidney cancer. The research is the first to identify proteins in urine that appear to accurately reveal the presence of about 90 percent of all kidney cancers.