Medicine & Health

The first detailed studies of two of the largest human chromosomes have revealed enormous gene “deserts” lacking any protein-coding sequences and relics of the merger of two ape chromosomes to form a single human chromosome.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are seeking volunteers to participate in a study to determine if botulinum toxin (Botox) injections can help heal diabetic foot ulcers.

Scientists studying a common childhood brain tumor have uncovered a pleasant surprise: evidence that the tumors may be vulnerable to a class of drugs that has been in use for years.

WenThree students from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been chosen for prominent offices, including national president, within the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). Leana S. Wen was elected national president; Andrew R. Reinink was named an associate regional trustee for Region VIII; and Kao-Ping Chua was hired for the position of Jack Rutledge Fellow.

Photo by Tim Parker(From left) Sam, Dylan and Ashley Mopkins show the scarves they made for their mom.When dealing with life-threatening diseases such as cancer, complete care sometimes extends to other members of the family. That’s the idea behind the Help Us Give Support (HUGS) program at Siteman Cancer Center. Members of HUGS, children between the ages of 4 and 12, recently took part in an Arts as Healing event to create decorative scarves for their mother or grandmother fighting breast cancer. Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Scientists have identified an important link between kidney damage and cardiac problems, creating new possibilities for treating the primary cause of death in kidney disease patients.

Vegetarians who don’t cook their food have abnormally low bone mass, usually a sign of osteoporosis and increased fracture risk. But a research team at the School of Medicine also found that raw food vegetarians have other biological markers indicating their bones, although light in weight, may be healthy.

What makes a woman a woman?The mysteries of both human sex chromosomes have now been laid bare with the publication of the sequence of the human X chromosome in the journal Nature. Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England led the effort to sequence the X, with significant contributions from the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University.

A bacterium that lives in the human gut adaptively shifts more than a quarter of its genes into high gear when its host’s diet changes from sugar to complex carbohydrates. This not only allows the bacteria to survive rapidly changing nutrient conditions but also helps maintain the stability of the gut’s highly complex microbial society, according to WUSM researchers.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are testing the effectiveness of an investigational drug for the treatment of sciatica pain. Sciatica involves pain in the lower back and hip that radiates down the thigh into the leg.