Newsroom Stories

Early treatment is key with Down syndrome.Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21, and its occurence is random 95 percent of the time. The condition can be detected during pregnancy, and intervention during infancy can greatly improve outcomes for children with Down syndrome. Learn more about this condition, which affects 350,000 Americans, in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article by WUSM pediatrician Kathy Grange.

A new study has shown a stroke-prevention drug designed to be an improvement over prior treatments is less cost-effective for most patients than warfarin, the blood thinner with a 50-year history of helping prevent blood clots and strokes. The study, conducted by researchers at the School of Medicine found, however, that the new drug would be cost-effective for those atrial fibrillation patients whose risk of bleeding is high.

Research on alcoholism and disorders that tend to occur with it will be presented by national experts at the fifth annual Guze Symposium on Alcoholism. The symposium is dedicated to the late Samuel B. Guze, M.D., a pioneer in alcoholism research, who served 18 years as vice chancellor for medical affairs and president of the Washington University Medical Center.

William PeckThe economic future of St. Louis as well as the nation hinges on successful innovation and entrepreneurship. That’s part of the message Dr. Bill Peck, former director of Washington University School of Medicine and new chair of Technology Gateway, a regional economic development organization, will deliver Thursday, February 10. In his talk Peck will explore our definition of “entrepreneur” and examine the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to education, medical and social progress. Peck will also challenge economic development policies and the current focus on corporate America.

Among them is three-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Thomas L. Friedman, who will give the address at the May 21 ceremony in Brookings Quadrangle.

WilliamsThe celebrated spoken word artist Saul Williams will give a presentation for Washington University’s Assembly Series at 11 a.m. Wed., Feb. 16. The talk is free and open to the public and will be held in Graham Chapel, located just north of Mallinckrodt Center (6445 Forsyth Blvd.) on the Washington University campus.

JostR. Gilbert Jost, M.D., the Elizabeth Mallinckrodt Professor and head of Radiology at the School of Medicine, has been named chairman of the board of directors of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). The society is an organization of more than 37,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists and related scientists.

Philadelphia but up a good fight during Sunday’s Super Bowl, but in the end the New England Patriots and Diet Pepsi were the clear winners–that’s according to the votes cast by faculty and students from the Olin School of Business during the annual Super Ad Bowl event.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services”Bloody Poetry”In the summer of 1816, Romantic poets Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord George Byron, both fleeing scandal in their native England, met in Switzerland, sparking one of literature’s most storied, passionate and tumultuous friendships. From Feb. 17-20, the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will revisit those days with Howard Brenton’s Bloody Poetry, a swirling, lyrical (and darkly satirical) look at that legendary encounter and its political, emotional and artistic consequences.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Is field turf safe? (week of Feb. 2) • Heart surgery and depression (week of Feb. 9) • Reversing Alzheimer’s in mice (week of Feb. 16) • Age affects cervical cancer treatments (week of Feb. 23)