Murray named chief of pediatric anesthesiology
MurrayDavid J. Murray has been appointed as chief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology at the School of Medicine. Murray, the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor and head of medical simulation at the School of Medicine, also becomes anesthesiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Fat in the liver — not the belly — is a better marker for disease risk
New findings from nutrition researchers at the School of Medicine suggest that it’s not whether body fat is stored in the belly that affects metabolic risk factors for diabetes, high blood triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, but whether it collects in the liver. They report online in the journal PNAS Early Edition that when fat collects in the liver, people experience serious metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, which affects the body’s ability to metabolize sugar.
Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics
Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and now researchers at the School of Medicine think they know why. They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can’t process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Low-dose estrogen shown safe and effective for metastatic breast cancer
When estrogen-lowering drugs no longer control metastatic breast cancer, the opposite strategy might work. Raising estrogen levels benefited 30 percent of women whose metastatic breast cancer no longer responded to standard anti-estrogen treatment, according to research conducted at the School of Medicine and collaborating institutions.
Scientists identify cells in fruit fly gut that start tumors
Tumor growth can start from stem cells in the gut, say researchers studying fruit flies at the School of Medicine. They found that tumors can grow from adult stem cells that have lost a specific tumor-suppressor gene. The gene, Apc, has previously been implicated in human gastrointestinal cancers, including colon cancer.
Sleckman named Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine
SleckmanBarry P. Sleckman has been named the Conan Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine at the School of Medicine. Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton and Larry Shapiro executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, announced the appointment.
WUSTL leads study of pediatric brain tumors
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded a five-year, $4 million grant to researchers at the School of Medicine to use genetically-engineered mice to study the origins and potential treatments of pediatric brain tumors. David H. Gutmann, the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology, is principal investigator of the grant, which is part of the NCI’s Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium. He is also on staff at Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals.
Tumors feel the deadly sting of nanobees
A computer simulation of a nanoparticle showing its core of perfluorocarbon (green) and its lipid coating (red, orange and blue).When bees sting, they pump poison into their victims. Now the toxin in bee venom has been harnessed to kill tumor cells by researchers at the School of Medicine. The researchers attached the major component of bee venom to nano-sized spheres that they call nanobees.
Researchers identify itch-specific neurons in mice, hope for better treatments
ChenSchool of Medicine researchers have discovered that itch-specific neurons exist in mice, and their studies suggest that itch and pain signals are transmitted along different pathways in the spinal cord.
Decoding leukemia patient genome leads scientists to mutations in other patients
Decoding the complete DNA of cancer patients is giving scientists at the School of Medicine a clearer picture of the complexity of the disease and allowing them to see intriguing and unexpected genetic relationships among patients.
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