Medicine & Health

The sudden shortage of a nuclear weapons production byproduct that is critical to industries such as nuclear detection, oil and gas, and medical diagnostics was the focus as a House Science and Technology panel heard testimony today from a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are seeking participants for a study comparing two treatments for blood clots in the legs known as deep vein thromboses (DVTs). 

Three faculty members of the School of Medicine will be honored by the Academy of Science of St. Louis: Randall Bateman, M. Carolyn Baum and Alan L. Schwartz.

Barry Sleckman, MD, PhD, was a busy young entrepreneur and disaffected commuter college student when his life began taking a sudden series of unexpected turns in the late 1970s.

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.  

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. 

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.