Medicine & Health

Brain cells long lumped into the same category have hidden differences that may contribute to the formation of tumors, according to a new study from researchers at the School of Medicine. Scientists showed that brain cells known as astrocytes make use of different genes depending on what region of the mouse brain they came from. These differences are too subtle to overtly mark them as distinct cell types, but substantial enough to make it easier for the cells to multiply more in response to genetic changes that increase cancer risk.

Each year in the United States, doctors start about 2 million patients on warfarin (Coumadin™), an anticoagulant drug that’s notoriously hard to administer. Now a study from the International Warfarin Pharmacogenetics Consortium (IWPC), which includes researchers from the School of Medicine, confirms that using a patient’s genetic information can make it easier to get the warfarin dose right.

Children whose asthma improved while taking steroid drugs for several years did not see those improvements continue after stopping the drugs, new results from a comprehensive childhood asthma study show. The results come from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) clinical trial, in which more than 1,000 children age 5-12 were treated for mild to moderate asthma over more than four years.

What are your priorities for women’s health research? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) wants to know. Washington University will host a national meeting March 4-6 on behalf of the NIH Office of Research in Women’s Health as it begins to develop research priorities for the next decade.

An ambitious new study has added considerable weight to the claim that exercise can lower the risk for colon cancer. Researchers at the School of Medicine and Harvard University combined and analyzed several decades worth of data from past studies on how exercise affects colon cancer risk. They found that people who exercised the most were 24 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who exercised the least.

A new brain-imaging study is shedding light on what it means to “get lost” in a good book — suggesting that readers create vivid mental simulations of the sounds, sights, tastes and movements described in a textual narrative while simultaneously activating brain regions used to process similar experiences in real life.

A set of 50 genes can be used to reliably identify the four known types of breast cancer, according to research conducted at the School of Medicine and collaborating institutions. Using this 50-gene set, oncologists can potentially predict the most effective therapy for each breast tumor type and thereby personalize breast cancer treatment for all patients.

Surgeons at the Washington University Eye Center are among the first to use a new surgical device to treat glaucoma. Surgery with the device, called a Trabectome, is an outpatient procedure that takes less time to perform and offers a shorter recovery than traditional glaucoma surgery.

Autism researchers at the School of Medicine are joining other scientists to image the brains of infants and attempt to identify anatomical and behavioral changes that may be linked to the onset of autism. The $10 million, NIH-funded Infant Brain Imaging Study allows investigators to analyze early brain development in children at risk for autism spectrum disorders by virtue of having an autistic sibling.

Neurobiologists at the School of Medicine have identified pathways that allow microscopic worms to survive in a low-oxygen, or hypoxic, environment. They believe the finding could have implications for conditions such as stroke, heart attack and cancer. Sensitivity to low oxygen helps determine how damaging those medical conditions can be.