School of Medicine

Summertime marks the height of ATV season.Most parents would never consider letting their 6-year-old child ride on the back of a motorcycle, yet many adults don’t think twice about letting kids ride all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Injuries and death caused by ATVs are a serious and increasing problem in the United States, and it is critical that all riders understand the importance of safe and responsible ATV use, says Dee Hodge, pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

MaconesGeorge A. Macones, M.D., M.S.C.E., has been named head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Elaine and Mitchell Yanow Professor at the School of Medicine. Macones will replace James R. Schreiber, M.D., who has served as head of obstetrics and gynecology since 1991.

LindemanTwo students at the School of Medicine have been elected to prominent offices on the Assembly of Student Delegates Steering Committee of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Kristen Lindeman was elected chairperson, and Tim Wolf was elected vice chairperson at the annual AOTA convention.

AllenPaul M. Allen, Ph.D., the Robert L. Kroc Professor of Pathology and Immunology at the School of Medicine, today became president of the 6,500-member American Association of Immunologists (AAI). Allen is a cellular immunologist who specializes in the study of how T lymphocytes recognize antigen and initiate an immune response.

Nerves talk to each other using chemicals called neurotransmitters. One of those “communication chemicals,” aptly named GABA (gamma amino butyric acid), shows up in unusually high amounts in some aggressive tumors, according to a new study from the School of Medicine in St. Louis.

While the effects of autism are well documented, the underlying causes remain a mystery to scientists. A group of researchers at the School of Medicine are conducting a study to gain a better understanding of the genetic influences on the the disorder. Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

If you are a healthy male who is 65 years of age or older, you may be eligible for a study at the School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study is examining the benefits of restoring testosterone and growth hormone to youthful levels to determine if the therapy can improve muscle mass and strength, body fat, physical function and quality of life.

PomegranateExpectant mothers at risk of premature birth may want to consider drinking pomegranate juice to help their babies resist brain injuries from low oxygen and reduced blood flow, a new mouse study from the School of Medicine suggests.

People’s bodies respond to exercise in different ways, and their genetic makeup is partly responsible.

Scientists have found a new role for a previously identified enzyme that may make it a target for anti-inflammatory treatments.