School of Medicine

Lung transplants have been performed successfully for more than 20 years in humans but never before in mice – until now. Surgeons at the School of Medicine have developed the first mouse model of lung transplantation, and they’re hoping it will help explain why the success of the procedure in humans lags far behind other solid organ transplants.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that a protein absorbs lipids in the upper part of the intestine, and they believe its key role in this process may provide a novel approach for obesity treatment in the future. Principal investigator Nada Abumrad first identified the protein, CD36, that facilitates the uptake of fatty acids.

YokoyamaWayne M. Yokoyama, M.D., is the new director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the School of Medicine. The appointment went into effect July 1. Students in the program graduate with combined medical and doctoral degrees. The MSTP at Washington University is the largest M.D.-Ph.D. program in the nation with 183 students.

An antibody frequently used as a diagnostic marker for multiple sclerosis (MS) is present at greater levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of blacks with MS than Caucasians with the disease. The findings suggest that genetic differences among ethnic groups contribute to changes in the immune system, affecting susceptibility to MS. And they add another piece to a tantalizing but stubborn puzzle: Why do blacks get MS less often than other ethnic groups but suffer more serious symptoms when they develop the disease?

Stepping out of your own head might seem like the last thing one would want to do to avoid tripping and falling, but neuroscientists who study the brain’s navigation and orientation systems recognize this change of perspective as a necessity. To successfully orient yourself and move about the environment, you have to look at the world both from the viewpoint of your own sensory organs, which are fixed in your head and body, and from the viewpoint of your relationship to the space around you and to the force of gravity.

Graham Colditz and the Your Disease Risk Web siteA few clicks of the mouse tell visitors to the “Your Disease Risk” Web site their risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and osteoporosis. The Siteman Cancer Center at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital recently launched this easy-to-use tool, which offers a wealth of information about risk factors and prevention strategies for five prominent diseases affecting millions of Americans.

A new brace that maintains correction for clubfoot, a birth defect in which the foot is turned in toward the body, has shown better compliance and fewer complications than the traditional brace used to treat the condition. Matthew B. Dobbs, M.D., associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the School of Medicine, designed the new dynamic brace, called the Dobbs brace, to allow active movement, preserve muscle strength in the foot and ankle and be less restrictive to the child than the traditional brace.

In a unanimous decision, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that tissue and blood samples donated to the School of Medicine for prostate cancer research belong to the institution. The three-judge panel said the donors voluntarily made a gift to Washington University when they donated their biological samples and, therefore, the specimens belong to the school.

Susan E. Mackinnon, M.D., was named president of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons at its recent annual meeting in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Mackinnon is the Sydney M. Jr. and Robert H. Shoenberg Professor of Surgery and chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the School of Medicine.

Women who get most of their daily calcium from food have healthier bones than women whose calcium comes mainly from supplemental tablets, say researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Surprisingly, this is true even though the supplement takers have higher average calcium intake. More…