School of Medicine

Dr. Mario Castro and nurse Michelle Jenkerson visit with patient Wil Klages and his mom, Peg Klages.Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital found that a child’s age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.

Most pediatric burns can be prevented.Childhood burns can happen when least expected: An inquisitive toddler crawling around the kitchen pulls on a coffee pot’s dangling electrical cord, causing the scalding liquid to burn his tiny arm. The Trauma and Burn Program at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital admits approximately 165 burn patients a year and treats another 200 on an outpatient basis. Robert P. Foglia, M.D., director of the program, offers tips on how to prevent household burns, the leading cause of accidental deaths in the home.

Michael R. Brent and Tamara L. Doering examine data from the *C. neoformans* microarray.A team of collaborators, including two researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, has sequenced the genomes of two strains of the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans), one which is virulent, the other harmless. This work provides researchers with clues on how the fungus does its dirty work and a host of genes to study for a better understanding of fungal pathogens in general. Estimates are that about 15 percent of people with HIV will suffer at least one life-threatening infection of C. neoformans. In Africa, that could be as much as 40 percent of HIV sufferers.

Rates of celiac disease are significantly higher in patients with osteoporosis, according to researchers at the School of Medicine. They recommend using blood tests to screen osteoporosis patients for celiac disease because their study has shown that treating celiac disease with diet can restore bone health in these patients.

*Arabidopsis thaliana*A team headed by Craig Pikaard, Ph.D., Washington University professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, has discovered a fourth kind of RNA polymerase found only in plants and speculated to have been a plant feature for more than 200 million years.

Photo by Robert BostonThe School of Medicine’s Central Administration Recognition Luncheon recognized 64 employees with at least 10 years of service.

Researchers at WUSTL, Stanford University and Loyola University Medical Center, among others, used a first-of-its-kind statistical method.

About 19 percent of people have a genetic variation that may increase susceptibility to osteoporosis, a School of Medicine study says.

The research shows that the stroke-prevention drug Exanta is less cost-effective for most patients than the blood thinner warfarin.

Missouri legislators have introduced bills that would criminalize certain kinds of research into medical uses of embryonic stem cells. More medical news