School of Medicine

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine have identified a human antibody that prevents — in pregnant mice — the fetus from becoming infected with the Zika virus. The antibody also protects adult mice from Zika disease.

Throughout our lives, our brains are always changing. To capture that transformation, scientists will scan the brains of people from kindergarten through their later years to build maps of the brain as it develops and changes over the decades. The endeavor, led by researchers at Washington University, is funded by two grants totaling $34 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Inflammation is one of the main reasons why people with diabetes experience heart attacks, strokes, kidney problems and other, related complications. Now, in a surprise finding, researchers at the School of Medicine have identified a possible trigger of chronic inflammation.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have developed a chemical compound, named Fluselenamyl, that detects amyloid clumps in Alzheimer’s patients better than current FDA-approved compounds.

Ramakrishna Rao, an associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recently received the 2016 Anne Maurer-Cecchini Award, an honor that recognizes outstanding epidemiological or clinical research on neglected tropical diseases.

A new study in mice co-authored by School of Medicine scientists suggests that Zika infection may have consequences for men that interfere with their ability to have children. Studies in people are needed to determine if men are similarly affected.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have shown that supplementing healthy mice with a natural compound called NMN can compensate for a loss of energy production in aging cells, reducing typical signs of aging such as gradual weight gain, loss of insulin sensitivity and declines in physical activity.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often receive portable oxygen therapy to help raise oxygen levels and allow them to breathe easier. But a major study published Oct. 26 in The New England Journal of Medicine indicates that supplemental oxygen does not benefit a large group of patients with COPD: those with moderately low levels of oxygen in the blood.

Using MRIs, researchers at the School of Medicine have identified areas in the brains of children with Tourette’s syndrome that appear markedly different from the same areas in the brains of children who don’t have the neuropsychiatric disorder. The findings were published online Oct. 25 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Joseph Pangelinan has been named director of cultural awareness and diversity in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine.