School of Medicine

A promising new anti-cancer drug will be tested against several forms of thyroid cancer in a newly opened clinical trial at the Siteman Cancer Center.

As men age, testosterone and growth hormone levels gradually wane. Energy, strength and physical function tend to decline as well. Geriatrician Ellen Binder is trying to determine if she can slow the process by restoring hormones in older men to more youthful levels. See details in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch front-page article.

David Van Essen, Ph.D., the Edison Professor of Neurobiology and head of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the School of Medicine, has been elected president of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest organization for scientists who study the brain.

A baby’s first relationship is the most important.A child’s first relationship can begin in the womb as a parent reads or talks to the unborn baby. An infant’s first relationship is the most important because it begins the foundation for all future relationships, says School of Medicine child psychiatrist John Constantino.

Living inside each human intestinal tract are more microbes than there are human cells in the rest of the body. A poor relationship between these single-celled organisms and the intestines in which they reside could be the cause of irritable bowel syndrome, say School of Medicine researchers.

Researchers at the School of Medicine are seeking volunteers to test an investigational drug for the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The syndrome is a chronic nerve disorder that often affects the arms and legs after injuries such as trauma or infection.

Hydration is crucial during summer activities.The number of heat-related illnesses is rising as fast as the thermometer. Dehydration is the key component in most cases of sun-induced sickness. Barnes-Jewish Hospital and School of Medicine physicians Mark Levine and Matthew Matava discuss the symptoms and means for prevention in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

With the heat of summer upon us, kids everywhere are flocking to the pool. With that in mind, Kim Quayle, St. Louis Children’s Hospital emergency physician and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, provides a list of water safety tips in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

An experimental device implanted into a Missouri man’s chest hopes to do what maximum doses of four medications can’t — lower his blood pressure. The electrical implant was activated at Barnes-Jewish Dialysis Center July 11. Marcos Rothstein, center director and associate professor of medicine, comments about the procedure in the following St. Louis Post-Dispatch article.

Teenage soda consumption is on the rise.A new study released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest calls on the Food and Drug Administration to require health warnings on sodas as teenage consumption of sugary drinks continues to rise. Teenage boys who drink carbonated or non-carbonated soft drinks consume an average of three 12-ounce cans per day, and girls more than two cans, according to a new analysis of 1999-2002 government data. Teens who drink soft drinks get nearly 15 percent of their total calories from those drinks. Connie Diekman, a dietary expert at Washington University in St. Louis, has several suggestions for helping to curb teenage soda consumption.