School of Medicine

School of Medicine researchers are seeking volunteers with Parkinson’s disease for two studies. One is investigating the effects of antidepressant drugs on depression and motor function. The second study is assessing the safety and effectiveness of a drug for Parkinson’s patients who also have psychotic symptoms. In the National Institutes of Health-funded depression study, investigators […]

Researchers concentrated on large-scale connections between frontal and posterior brain regions that are associated with high-level cognitive functions such as learning and remembering.Comparisons of the brains of young and old people have revealed that normal aging may cause cognitive decline due to deterioration of the connections among large-scale brain systems, including a decrease in the integrity of the brain’s “white matter,” the tissue containing nerve cells that carry information, according to a new study co-authored by several researchers from Washington University in St. Louis.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Protein increases average lifespan (week of Dec. 5) • Alcohol’s link to sex partners (week of Dec. 12) • Tantrum season (week of Dec. 19) • Antidepressants for Parkinson’s (week of Dec. 26)

Courtesy Edward LifesciencesIn a nationwide clinical trial, physicians are testing an investigational device that allows them to insert replacement aortic valves without opening the chest or using a heart-lung machine, making the procedure available to high-risk and formerly inoperable patients. The School of Medicine has been selected as a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigative site in the trial evaluating this technique, which uses a far less invasive procedure than the standard open-heart surgery.

The executive faculty of the School of Medicine unanimously approved changing the name of the Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology to the Department of Developmental Biology. The change reflects a shift that has already occurred in the department’s research focus and coincides with the search for a department head.

School of Medicine researchers are seeking volunteers to see whether it’s possible to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis with the malaria drug chloroquine. The human study follows a mouse study that found chloroquine could blunt the progression of plaque buildup in mice that had a genetic predisposition to atherosclerosis.

School of Medicine researchers are seeking volunteers with Parkinson’s disease for studies investigating the effects of two drugs.

Demolition of the old Kingshighway Boulevard bridge Dec. 7-10 and Dec. 14-17 will require closure of Interstate 64/40 at Kingshighway over the two weekends.

Robert BostonThirty-seven second-, third- and fourth-year medical students were recognized with awards at the Student Awards luncheon Nov. 28.

The School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare are going wireless to allow users to connect to either network without plugging in.