Repeated stress produces long-lasting resistance to stroke damage in the brain
An innate protective response that makes the brain resistant to injury from stroke can be made to last for months longer than previously documented, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report.
Helen Piwnica-Worms named head of cell biology and physiology
Helen Piwnica-Worms, PhD, the Gerty T. Cori Professor, has been named head of the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Alzheimer’s patients can’t effectively clear sticky plaque component
Neurologists finally have an answer to one of the most important questions about Alzheimer’s disease: Do rising brain levels of a plaque-forming substance mean patients are making more of it or that they can no longer clear it from their brains as effectively? A new study by Randall Bateman, MD, assistant professor of neurology, shows clearance is impaired in Alzheimer’s patients.
Cancer drugs may help stop major parasite
A parasite estimated to afflict as many as 12 million people worldwide relies on a family of genes that should make it vulnerable to compounds developed to treat cancer and other disorders, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.
Baby brain growth mirrors changes from apes to humans
A study undertaken to help scientists concerned with abnormal brain development in premature babies has serendipitously revealed evolution’s imprint on the human brain.
Extended use of anti-clotting drug helps some bedridden patients
A treatment plan used to prevent potentially dangerous blood clots in recovering surgical patients can also benefit some patients immobilized by acute medical illness, doctors have found in a multi-institutional study. In women, patients age 75 or older, and patients strictly confined to 24-hour bed rest, a month of extended treatment with a blood thinner significantly reduced the chances of blood clots while only slightly increasing the risk of bleeding.