School of Medicine

Research suggests inflammation is the cause of postoperative atrial fibrillation, giving doctors new options for preventative therapy.

Until now, there were no studies to determine if exercise has protective effects in older obese people, says principal investigator Dennis Villareal.

Two genes were found to affect sensitivity to alcohol intoxication, interest in alcohol consumption and risk of developmental brain damage from alcohol. More medical news

Photo by Robert BostonProject ARK members enjoy ice cream at the School of Medicine’s Employee Appreciation Day picnic at Hudlin Park.

Breast cancer in younger women is more often fatal than the disease in older women. A research team at the School of Medicine has begun a study designed to find genetic factors that may contribute to this difference and is calling for interested women to participate.

In these brain sections of neonatal mice exposed to ethanol, mice deficient in certain enzymes (right) exhibit much more neurodegeneration as indicated by the black material in the dying neurons.Can you blame your genes if you can’t handle your liquor? A new study conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may pave the way to finding out. Researchers found that the brain’s response to alcohol is partially under the influence of two genes. The genes, studied in both adult and newborn mice, were found to affect sensitivity to alcohol intoxication, interest in alcohol consumption and risk of developmental brain damage from alcohol.

Lung tumors from mutant mice show an abundance of abnormal, undifferentiated cells.Often mice are used to investigate cancer because their accelerated life spans allow discoveries to be made in a few months. But most strains of mice stay relatively free of lung tumors, even when exposed to heavy tobacco smoke, so there has been a shortage of models suitable for studying tobacco smoke-induced lung cancer. Now, cancer researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a strain of mice that readily develops lung tumors that have the same genetic mutations found in human lung tumors.

Medical experts suggest leaving fireworks to professionals.Fireworks can be beautiful against the night sky on July 4th, but a Washington University emergency medicine specialist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital says, for safety’s sake, parents and children should leave the fireworks to professionals. All fireworks are dangerous, especially to children. Typically, about two-thirds of all fireworks injuries occur in the days around the July 4th holiday.

Among the areas activated by tasks designed to stimulate voluntary attention were the intraparietal sulcus and frontal eye fields, both believed to be part of a network of neurons called the dorsal attention system.The first direct analysis of the interactions between two brain networks that govern visual attention may help researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis develop treatments for stroke patients with a condition known as spatial neglect. These patients have difficulty focusing on or paying attention to stimuli in the left half of their visual field. They may forget to shave the left side of their face, fail to eat food on the left side of a plate or seem to be unaware that their left arm belongs to them. However, researchers have found that if they explicitly tell these people to pay attention to their left side, for a brief time they can do so.

Listed below are this month’s featured news stories. • Bad metabolism and atherosclerosis (week of June 1) • Gulf War syndrome (week of June 8) • Timing key in diabetes cure (week of June 15) • New arthritis treatments (week of June 22) • Fireworks safety (week of June 29)