Medicine & Health

Taking into account that each of us has unique physical characteristics partly determined by variations in our genes, pharmacogenetics researchers at the School of Medicine are finding ways to personalize cancer treatments.

The National Cancer Institute has awarded the center a five-year, $1.25 million grant to support its Program for the Elimination of Cancer Disparities.

However, Medicaid, Medicare and many private insurers specify CT (computed tomography) for diagnosing and monitoring this cancer.

Applications are being accepted for the University’s American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant.

Cardiac researchers have found treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs after heart surgery may lessen or prevent atrial fibrillation.

University researchers used questionnaires, physical examinations and laboratory tests to assess symptoms and disability levels.

Image courtesy of Benjamin Shannon, John Cirrito, and Robert Brendza Washington University in St. LouisBrain regions active during default mental tates in young adults reveal remarkable correlation with those regions showing Alzheimer’s disease pathology.Researchers who used five different medical imaging techniques to study the brain activity of 764 people, including those with Alzheimer’s disease, those on the brink of dementia, and healthy individuals, have found that the areas of the brain that young, healthy people use when daydreaming are the same areas that fail in people who have Alzheimer’s disease. Findings suggest Alzheimer’s may be due to abnormalities in regions of the brain that are active when people are musing, daydreaming, or thinking to themselves.

From laser surgery to simple eyeglasses, people of all ages now have a variety of vision correction choices available to them. WUSM ophthalmologist Michael Conners discusses today’s treatment options in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

Gabriel B. Tait/P-DDoctors are using stents to manage heart disease without opening the chest.The number of open-heart surgery patients is declining for several reasons. Better drugs and healthier lifestyle choices are keeping many people out of the operating room, but even those who do require surgery are frequently opting for less invasive procedures these days. Read more in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

LaRussaThe Washington University Assembly Series will have an unorthodox start to its fall schedule with a talk by Cardinals’ manager, Tony La Russa at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 in Graham Chapel. The rest of the series features speakers on a wide range of topics including politics, economics, writing, history, religion, medicine, literature, evolution, space exploration, social justice and the Holocaust.