School of Medicine

Calorie restriction may not be as effective at extending life in people as it is in rodents, according to School of Medicine scientists.

A new predictive measurement developed at the School of Medicine could bring good news to many women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.

Deadline for nominations for the 2008 Samuel Goldstein Leadership Awards in Medical Student Education is 5 p.m., Oct. 20.

A study by WUSTL biologists shows that the more diverse a bird population is in an area, the less chance humans have of exposure to West Nile Virus.

Deborah L. Ratliff, staff nurse in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Oncology, died Sept. 25, 2008.

The School of Medicine is hosting free blood pressure screenings at a mini Health Happening ’08 to be held Friday, Oct. 24.

Two faculty members at the School of Medicine have been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors medical scientists in the United States can receive. Jeffrey Gordon and David Holtzman were recognized for their major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health and commitment to service.

Scientists at the School of Medicine have determined that the same factors play key roles in three different diseases that can lead to blindness. In age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity, abnormal blood-vessel growth threatens vision. Reporting in the journal PLoS One, Washington University vision scientists say that although the mechanisms are a bit different, all three retinal diseases involve the same immune-system factors.

Diet and lifestyle changes, combined with medication, can lower the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with high levels of so-called bad cholesterol. But some patients genetically predisposed to high levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) don’t respond well to drug therapy. Now physicians at the School of Medicine can help these patients with a technique called LDL aphersis.

Scientists have used a technique originally developed for economic study to become the first to overcome a significant challenge in brain research: determining the flow of information from one part of the brain to another. Researchers at the School of Medicine and Florida Atlantic University report the new capability in The Journal of Neuroscience. It will provide important insights into brain organization and function, advancing efforts to help patients recover from brain injuries and mental disorders.