Medicine & Health

The School of Medicine event will be at Hudlin Park, adjacent to the tennis courts in front of Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

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.

Drawing by an autistic childA research team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified regions of DNA that may be related to risk for autism. The researchers are learning how autism is inherited, and to identify genetic factors, they’re studying families and looking for traits that normally aren’t considered autistic but have connections to autism risk. Several studies have demonstrated that autism has a strong genetic component. If one child in a family is autistic, there’s about a 10 percent chance that a sibling also will have autism.