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Most people with the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma die less than 18 months after diagnosis. But a multicenter clinical trial of a personalized vaccine that targets the aggressive cancer has indicated improved survival rates for such patients. The study appears May 29 in the Journal of Translational Medicine. The phase three clinical trial included 331 […]

Losing weight can seem like an overwhelming undertaking, but even dropping just a few pounds can have a big impact on your overall health. “You get a large ‘bang for your buck’ with only a 5 percent weight loss,” says Samuel Klein, MD, professor of medicine and nutritional science, and director of the Center for […]

Two new studies of patients with difficult-to-control asthma show that the eczema drug dupilumab alleviates asthma symptoms and improves patients’ ability to breathe better than standard therapies. Dupilumab, an injectable anti-inflammatory drug, was approved in 2017 by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for eczema, a chronic skin disease.

A new study shows that a kind of E. coli most associated with “travelers’ diarrhea” and children in underdeveloped areas of the world causes more severe disease in people with blood type A. The bacteria release a protein that latches onto intestinal cells in people with blood type A, but not blood type O or B, according […]

Chikungunya virus is a growing threat to the United States and other regions of the world as the mosquito that carries the virus expands its reach. Telltale symptoms of chikungunya infection are fever and joint pain that last about a week. But in up to half of patients, the virus can cause a debilitating form […]

Faculty and fellows gathered to present the “Annual Gerald Medoff MD Visiting Professor”  plaque to Dr. Medoff.  Dr. Medoff is honored for his leadership, outstanding vision, dedication and commitment to excellence during his tenure in the Infectious Disease Division at Washington University. The perpetual plaque hangs on the wall of the Infectious Diseases Division with […]

A $5 million grant from the Department of Defense will support research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis aimed at improving breast cancer therapies. The research focuses on HER2-positive breast cancer. Such tumors are dotted with an overabundance of so-called HER2 receptors. About 20 percent of women with breast cancer have HER2-positive […]

Visceral fat differs from subcutaneous fat in that it releases fatty acids and inflammatory substances directly into the liver rather than into the general circulation. Some experts believe this may play a direct role in causing the diseases linked to abdominal obesity. But not everyone agrees. Samuel Klein, who heads the Center for Human Nutrition […]

For some people, particularly those who are elderly, even a light touch of the skin or contact with clothing can lead to unbearable itching. What’s worse, anti-itch treatments, including hydrocortisone, don’t provide much relief for this type of itching. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have discovered, in mice, why […]

Washington University students are working closely with staff at Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls in north St. Louis to help students succeed academically and introduce them to new experiences.

An investigational drug in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis prevents a common, life-threatening side effect of stem cell transplants, new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows. Studying mice, the researchers found the drug prevented what’s known as graft-versus-host disease, a debilitating, sometimes lethal condition that develops when transplanted stem cells […]

Researchers nationwide have reached a major milestone in describing the genetic landscape of cancer. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and other institutions have completed the genetic sequencing and analyses of more than 11,000 tumors from patients, spanning 33 types of cancer — all part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) […]

The National Advisory Committee of The Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences has recommended that Dr. Megan Baldridge be named a 2018 Pew Scholar.  The recommendations of the committee will be presented to the board of The Pew Charitable Trusts at it’s meeting in June, after which Pew will issue a national press release […]

Scientists have designed a new drug compound that dials down inflammation, suggesting possible future uses against autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. The new inhibitor is more selective than other compounds designed to target the same inflammatory pathway, according to new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Such precision, along with […]

People infected with West Nile virus can show a wide range of disease. Some develop life-threatening brain infections. Others show no signs of infection at all. One reason for the different outcomes may lie in the community of microbes that populate their intestinal tracts. A study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis […]

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For patients with difficult-to-treat, drug-resistant infections, seeing an infectious diseases specialist can be a lifesaver. Such patients experienced significantly lower mortality rates when treated by physicians specializing in infectious diseases, according to a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers found that infectious disease physicians helped reduce 30-day mortality rates by […]

Patients who developed infections that were resistant to antibiotics were much more likely to survive if doctors specializing in infectious disease were consulted on their cases, according to a study published today in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. “Having an infectious-disease specialist see you when you have one of these infections [was linked to] a 50 percent […]

Abstract Background Multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections are associated with high mortality and readmission rates. Infectious diseases (ID) consultation improves clinical outcomes for drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections. Our goal was to determine the association between ID consultation and mortality following various MDRO infections. Methods This study was conducted with a retrospective cohort (January 1, 2006–October 1, 2015) […]

I am very pleased to announce Todd A. Fehniger, MD, PhD, as the new Medical and Scientific Director of the Biologic Therapy Core Facility (BTCF). Dr. Fehniger is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology and Section of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Leukemia at Siteman Cancer Center. Fehniger received his MD and […]

Despite public health campaigns aimed at reducing unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics, the drugs continue to be prescribed at startlingly high rates in outpatient settings such as clinics and physician offices, according to a new study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The researchers analyzed de-identified data from Express Scripts Holding Co., which […]