Medicine & Health

Scientists have learned that a temporal “window of opportunity” was critical to their earlier successes in treating diabetic rats with embryonic pig tissues.

Obese elderly people can improve physical function and lessen frailty by losing weight and exercising, according to a pilot study by researchers at the School of Medicine.

Scientists have uncovered a new method the immune system uses to label foreign invaders as targets to be attacked. Researchers showed that the immune system can brand foreign proteins by chemically modifying their structure, and that these modifications increased the chances that cells known as lymphocytes would recognize the trespassers and attack them.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have learned that a temporal “window of opportunity” was critical to their earlier successes in treating diabetic rats with embryonic pig tissues.

Scientists studying mice have identified a gene that allows immune cells known as neutrophils to protect themselves from the inflammatory chemicals they secrete. Researchers at the School of Medicine showed that knocking the gene out in mice prevented the development of an arthritis-like disorder by making the neutrophils victims of their own damaging secretions.

Changes in regional brain activity from childhood to adulthood may reflect more efficient use of the brain as it matures.

It’s part of the ninth annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program; the condition is responsible for nearly 4,500 deaths each year.

The urban legends about managed care convey a sense that managed care often leads to early death. However, the business methods employed by managed care frequently result in reduced cost for the companies and the individuals enrolled in the programs. Because of the potential savings, the trend has been to encourage Medicare enrollees to use managed care programs. A recent study by a professor in the business school Washington University in St. Louis and a colleague suggests that it’s not managed care that increases mortality; it’s lack of drug coverage. The study suggests that a one percent increase in the number of people enrolled in Medicare Managed Care without drug coverage would result in an additional 5,100 deaths among the elderly population of the United States in one year.

As our brains mature, we tend to use the red regions more frequently for these certain tasks, using the regions represented in blue less.Children activate different and more regions of their brains than adults when they perform word tasks, according to investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Reporting in the journal Cerebral Cortex, the researchers say those changes in regional brain activity from childhood to adulthood may reflect the more efficient use of our brains as we mature.

Adolescence can be a trying time for the whole family.Adolescence is characterized by dramatic physical changes as young people grow from childhood to physical maturity. During adolescence, we gain 50 percent of our adult weight and 20 percent of adult height while going through puberty and developing the ability to reproduce. With so many physical and emotional changes occurring at the same time, Washington University adolescent medicine researchers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital say it’s important for parents to be prepared for change. They also must be ready to listen to their children at any time, day or night, and do as much as possible to stay involved in their lives.