Leading psychiatry researcher Lee Robins dies
RobinsLee Nelken Robins, professor emeritus of social science in psychiatry at the School of Medicine, died peacefully at her home Sept. 25, 2009, following a long battle against cancer. Robins was a world leader in psychiatric epidemiology research and had worked in the Department of Psychiatry for more than 50 years.
Vitamin D’s role in preventing asthma studied in pregnant women
A group of pregnant women who have asthma or allergies will get extra vitamin D as part of a study to determine if the vitamin can prevent their children from developing asthma.
Sleep loss linked to increase in Alzheimer’s plaques
Chronic sleep deprivation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease makes Alzheimer’s brain plaques appear earlier and more often, researchers at the School of Medicine report online this week in Science Express.
Young age at first drink may affect genes and risk for alcoholism
The age at which a person takes a first drink may influence genes linked to alcoholism, making the youngest drinkers the most susceptible to severe problems.
Registry to track children with infantile spasms
PaciorkowskiResearchers at the School of Medicine and the University of Chicago have launched what is believed to be the first worldwide, online registry of children with infantile spasms, a severe type of epilepsy that affects babies in the first few months of life.
Researchers find two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease
An international team of scientists has identified two more genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. The findings are reported in the online edition of the journal Nature Genetics.
Genomics and Future of Medicine is focus of Institute of Medicine meeting
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will host a regional meeting on Genomics and the Future of Medicine from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center at the School of Medicine.
Murray named chief of pediatric anesthesiology
MurrayDavid J. Murray has been appointed as chief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology at the School of Medicine. Murray, the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor and head of medical simulation at the School of Medicine, also becomes anesthesiologist-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Fat in the liver — not the belly — is a better marker for disease risk
New findings from nutrition researchers at the School of Medicine suggest that it’s not whether body fat is stored in the belly that affects metabolic risk factors for diabetes, high blood triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, but whether it collects in the liver. They report online in the journal PNAS Early Edition that when fat collects in the liver, people experience serious metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, which affects the body’s ability to metabolize sugar.
Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics
Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and now researchers at the School of Medicine think they know why. They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can’t process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
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