Poverty and crime can have devastating effects on a child’s health. But a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that some environmental factors influence the structure and function of young brains even before babies make their entrances into the world.
Category: Research
Serendipity unites physicians, researchers, families to fight rare genetic disease in kids (Links to an external site)
In 2008, a team of scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis became the first to decode the DNA of a patient’s cancer cells and trace the disease to its genetic roots. The patient, a woman in her 50s, suffered from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive and often deadly cancer of […]
New way viruses trigger autoimmunity discovered (Links to an external site)
Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes are thought to arise when people with a genetic susceptibility to autoimmunity encounter something in the environment that triggers their immune systems to attack their own bodies. Scientists have made progress in identifying genetic factors that put people at risk, but the environmental triggers have […]
Antibiotic doesn’t prevent future wheezing in babies hospitalized with RSV (Links to an external site)
The antibiotic azithromycin has anti-inflammatory properties that can be beneficial in some chronic lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. With that in mind, researchers investigated its potential to prevent future recurrent wheezing among infants hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). With such babies at increased risk of developing asthma later in childhood, the scientists hoped […]
Researchers unravel omicron’s secrets to better understand COVID-19 (Links to an external site)
When South African scientists announced in November that they had identified a new variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, they also reported two worrying details: one, that this new variant’s genome was strikingly different from that of any previous variant, containing dozens of mutations compared with the original virus that emerged in 2019; and […]
Researchers solve medical mystery of deadly illness in young child (Links to an external site)
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has solved the medical mystery of why a 2-year-old child — seemingly healthy at birth — succumbed to an undiagnosed, rare illness. The research team identified a previously unknown genetic cause of interstitial lung disease, providing answers to the parents and doctors puzzled by […]
Drug mimics beneficial effects of fasting in mice (Links to an external site)
An investigational cancer drug that starves tumors of their energy supply also shows evidence of improving whole body metabolism, leading to improved weight control, according to a new study in mice from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Study examines risk factors for severe health problems in kids with COVID-19 (Links to an external site)
An international study involving researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that children up to age 18 with COVID-19 were at low risk for serious health problems stemming from such infections. The study was based on pediatric data analyzed up to June 2021, before the delta and omicron variants took hold.
New treatment target ID’d for radiation-resistant cervical cancer (Links to an external site)
Understanding how cells die is key to developing new treatments for many diseases, whether the goal is to make cancer cells die or keep healthy cells alive in the face of other illnesses, such as massive infections or strokes. Two new studies from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a previously […]
Improving health of mothers, infants aim of imaging tech to monitor contractions (Links to an external site)
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received three grants totaling more than $6.8 million to advance research on a novel imaging system to monitor uterine contractions.