West Nile spread through nerve cells linked to paralysis
Scientists at the School of Medicine and at Utah State University believe they have found an explanation for a puzzling and serious complication of West Nile virus infection.
Children’s asthma may be prevented by blocking effects of viral infections, say WUSTL researchers
Babies who get severe respiratory viral infections are much more likely to suffer from asthma as they get older. Now School of Medicine researchers have pinpointed a key step in the development of asthma in mice after a severe respiratory infection. They suggest that medications designed to interfere with this mechanism could potentially prevent many […]
November 2007 Radio Service
Listed below are this month’s featured news stories.
• Age-related macular degeneration (week of Nov. 7)
• An eye on curing diabetes (week of Nov. 14)
• Obesity and heart disease in kids (week of Nov. 21)
• Depression and diabetes (week of Nov. 28)
Poxvirus’s ability to hide from the immune system may aid vaccine design
The cowpox virus, a much milder cousin of the deadly smallpox virus, can keep infected host cells from warning the immune system that they have been compromised, researchers at the School of Medicine have found. The scientists also showed that more virulent poxviruses, such as the strains of monkeypox prevalent in Central Africa, likely have the same ability.
Obese children show early signs of heart disease
Subtle markers in obese children’s hearts can help physicians predict who could be at risk for heart disease and heart attacks.
Lung cancer’s genetic alterations uncovered by genome researchers
New School of Medicine research provides an unprecedented view of the abnormal genetic landscape in lung cancer cells from patients with lung cancer.
Children’s asthma may be prevented by blocking effects of viral infections
Medications designed to interfere with this mechanism could prevent many cases of childhood asthma, School of Medicine researchers have found.
West Nile spread through nerve cells linked to paralysis
Injection of a West Nile virus antibody created by the University and Macrogenics Inc. blocked a complication of West Nile virus in laboratory animals.
Cancer gene drives pivotal decision in early brain development
A gene linked to pediatric brain tumors is an essential driver of early brain development, researchers at the School of Medicine have found. The study, published in October in Cell Stem Cell, reveals that the neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) gene helps push stem cells down separate paths that lead them to become two major types of brain cells: support cells known as astrocytes and brain neurons.
Old bones: years of hard work
The anthropological works of Glenn Conroy, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology and of anthropology, are on display through January 2008 in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center.
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