Cigarette smoking impedes tendon-to-bone healing
Copyright The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Used with permission.Increased cell proliferation in the saline solution group (B) compared to the nicotine group (A)Orthopaedic surgery researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified yet another reason not to smoke. Studying rotator cuff injury in rats, the research team found exposure to nicotine delays tendon-to-bone healing, suggesting this could cause failure of rotator cuff repair following surgery in human patients. This study, the first to evaluate the effects of nicotine on rotator cuff repair, found that inflammation persisted longer in the shoulder joints of rats exposed to nicotine. The researchers also noted less cellular proliferation and decreased collagen production, indications of poor healing. More…
High-energy clamp simplifies heart surgery for atrial fibrillation
This illustration of the Cox-Maze procedure shows the ablation lines in the left atrium.Heart surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have helped usher in a new era in the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Using radiofrequency devices — rather than a scalpel — they’ve greatly shortened the surgery and made it significantly easier to perform. WUSM surgeon Ralph J. Damiano Jr. and colleagues have played a vital role in developing the devices, which deliver high-energy waves to heart tissue and very quickly create scars or ablations. More…
Innovative surgery corrects vision in kids with neurological disorders
Ophthalmologist Lawrence Tychsen examines a patient.A pediatric ophthalmologist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital conducts specialized testing and vision correction (refractive) surgery, on children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and neurobehavioral disorders such as autism. To date, this is one of the only U.S. medical centers performing refractive surgery on these children and has the highest volume, operating on about 60 special-needs children a year. More…
Previously approved drugs may be helpful in fatal pediatric disorder
A fatal pediatric neurodegenerative disorder may be treatable via a molecule already targeted by approved drugs, School of Medicine researchers have found.
Unmasking nutrition’s role in genetic makeup, birth defects
School of Medicine researchers used transparent fish embryos to discover how genes and diet interact to cause birth defects.
Copper vital for thinking, fetal growth
School of Medicine research has found that if the brain could make the right connections, we all might be smarter.
A life in science
Photo by Robert BostonStephen J. Benkovic, Ph.D., Arthur Horwich, M.D., and Carl Frieden, Ph.D., talk at the “Symposium at 77” held in honor of Frieden Sept. 21.
Nanotechnology gets to the heart of the matter
A St. Louis based company has developed a nanotechnology process to reduce artery-clogging plaque, which causes heart attacks. Drs. Samuel Wickline and Gregory Lanza made the discovery at the School of Medicine.
Education, retraining reduce catheter-associated infections
An education program reduced bloodstream infections associated with central venous catheters in critical care patients by 21 percent, School of Medicine researchers found.
Lectures to be simulcast at School of Medicine
Three Danforth Campus lectures exploring “A Higher Sense of Purpose” will be simulcast in School of Medicine facilities.
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