Medicine & Health

Getting treated for a common type of cancer just became easier: An international team of surgeons including two at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has determined that minimally invasive surgery is as safe and effective as standard open surgery for most patients with cancer confined to the colon.

Requiring hospital workers and patient families to wear protective gowns when they visit patients with a drug-resistant bacteria provides infection control benefits that significantly outweigh gown costs, according to a new study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Areas of red and yellow show increased uptake of the altanserin tracer due to binding to the serotonin receptors.Most of us feel sad from time to time, even very sad, but during a bout of clinical depression, a person is unable to escape their low mood for several weeks at a time. A popular and effective treatment for depression involves a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Those drugs increase serotonin levels in the brain and help relieve symptoms of depression, and most scientists believe the brain chemical serotonin plays a key role in depression. Now neuroscience researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that in people who are depressed, a key brain structure has an abnormally low number of cellular serotonin receptors.

Neurons that have been infected with West Nile Virus.The cold winter is over, and spring rains and warmer weather mean that mosquito season is coming. Since 1999, summer mosquitoes have meant a risk for West Nile Virus. No one knows what 2004 will bring, but the season seems to have started early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already is reporting the presence of the virus in mosquitoes, birds and other animals in nine states. There even is confirmation of a human case in Ohio. Infectious diseases specialists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis remind that the people at greatest risk are those 50 and older and those with weakened immune systems. Younger people also can acquire the infection, but their risk is significantly lower.

Immunofluorescent staining showing both active (right) and inactive (left) protein effects on cells.For a cell, interior design is more than just a matter of decorum or taste. The special placement of the “furnishings” contained within the confines of the cell’s walls — a phenomenon scientists call cellular polarity — can significantly affect essential, life-sustaining functions both during development and in mature organisms. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a new link between two key proteins that regulate the placement of parts within cells. The researchers believe that a more complete understanding of how regulatory proteins control cellular polarity may help them treat patients with a wide range of disorders.

Lung cancer tumor to be treated with radiation.More than half of the lung cancer patients who receive radiation treatment for their illness develop a painful swelling and inflammation in the esophagus known as esophagitis. Although treating the lung cancer is the top priority for doctors, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hope to lower the risk of this unpleasant side effect. They have quantified risk factors for esophagitis, linking it to the amount of radiation a patient’s esophagus receives and to simultaneous chemotherapy. The findings mean it may be possible to predict and potentially avoid esophagitis, according to Jeffrey D. Bradley, M.D., assistant professor of radiation oncology and lead author of a paper published recently in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

A possibly important ally of the immune system that can help with the tricky task of separating friend from foe has been identified by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

People who severely restrict their caloric intake drastically reduce their risk of developing diabetes or clogged arteries, the precursor to a heart attack or stroke. In fact, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, some risk factors were so low they were comparable to those of people decades younger.

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ICU personnel are instructed in proper placement of catheters to lower infection risk.Because patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are, by definition, in dire health, the consequences of even the slightest medical error can be devastating. Now two quality-improvement studies by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis suggest solutions to two of the most common and dangerous patient safety challenges in ICU patients: restoring normal phosphorus levels and preventing infections related to catheters. The research was a multi-disciplinary effort between physicians, nurses, dietitians and the rest of the surgical ICU team at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The quality-improvement studies led to dramatic improvements in patient health and safety, and the team believes these initiatives could improve patient health and safety at any ICU in the country.