Medicine & Health

In a first for the St. Louis region, surgeons at the School of Medicine are removing patients’ gallbladders using a single small incision in the bellybutton that leaves only a barely visible scar. Surgery to remove the gallbladder is one of the most common operations performed in the United States. More than 750,000 patients undergo the procedure each year, often due to the formation of gallstones that cause intense pain.

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob bobbin’ along, think West Nile Virus (WNV).This one’s for the birds. A study by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that the more diverse a bird population is in an area, the less chance humans have of exposure to West Nile Virus (WNV). Now, let’s hear it for the birds. “The bottom line is that where there are more bird species in your backyard, you have much lower risk of contracting West Nile fever,” said Brian Allan, doctoral candidate in biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scientists report in this week’s Nature that they have linked the health of specialized gut immune cells to a gene associated with Crohn’s disease, an often debilitating and increasingly prevalent inflammatory bowel disorder. The link to immune cells intrigued researchers at the School of Medicine because they and others believe Crohn’s disease is caused by misdirected immune responses in the intestine that damage gut tissue.

A confluence of changes in the health-care system are going to lead to a perfect storm that will make us realize our health-care system needs a major overhaul, says Timothy D. McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and professor of social work.

Scientists used a direct monitoring grid of electrodes (left) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (right) to detect a low-frequency brain signal that doesn’t stop, even in sleep.Neuroscientists at the School of Medicine have taken one of the first direct looks at one of the human brain’s most fundamental “foundations”: a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions. Their results are an important step forward for efforts to outline what neuroscientists call the functional architecture of the brain. Better understanding of this architecture will aid efforts to treat brain injury and mental disorders.

A protein that helps keep immune cells quiet is more abundant in the spinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), further boosting suspicion that the protein, TREM-2, may be an important contributor to the disease.

Calorie restriction, a diet that is low in calories and high in nutrition, may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to scientists at the School of Medicine. Previous research had shown that laboratory animals given 30 percent to 50 percent less food can live up to 50 percent longer, but new research suggests the diet may not have the desired effect unless people on calorie restriction also pay attention to their protein intake.

The genome of a humble worm that dines on the microbial organisms covering the carcasses of dead beetles may provide clues to the evolution of parasitic worms, including those that infect humans, say scientists at the School of Medicine and the Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany. In a paper published in the current issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers reported finding some surprises as they have decoded the genome of the worm, a tiny nematode called Pristionchus pacificus.

A new predictive measurement, called a PEPI score, could bring good news to many women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer — a low PEPI (preoperative endocrine prognostic index) score could show that they have little risk of relapse and can safely avoid chemotherapy after surgery. For others, a high PEPI score could warn that the risk of relapse after breast surgery is large and indicate that careful follow-up and aggressive therapy may be needed, say researchers at the School of Medicine.

Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. As a result, cancer incidence (the rate of newly diagnosed cases) between the races is equal, although the death rate will probably remain higher for African Americans for some time.