Hope Center Investigators Dr. Sheng-Kwei Song and Dr. Anne Cross have identified an imaging approach that can lead to earlier diagnosis of optic nerve inflammation in multiple sclerosis. In addition to helping with diagnosis and treatment, this finding could also lead to better assessment of MS attacks throughout the brain and spinal cord. Read More >

Hope Center Scientist Dr. Brad Schlagger and his collaborators are examining the functional connections between different brain areas in individuals with Tourette’s. The discovery that these connections appear immature or irregular may eventually make it possible to treat the causes – rather than just the symptoms – of the disease. Read More >

Dr. Mark Goldberg and Dr. Eugene Johnson were recently selected by Washington University medical students to receive Distinguished Service Teaching Awards. Read More >

The Hope Center's Program in Protein Folding and Neurodegeneration will have a new home in the BJC Institute of Health. Read More >

David M. Holtzman, M.D., the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and Chair of Neurology, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Holtzman is among 65 newly elected medical scientists who will provide advice on matters of biomedical science, medicine, and health to policy-makers, health professionals, and the public at large. Read More >

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. In exploring this relationship, Hope Center investigators including David L. Brody, M.D., Ph.D., Gregory J. Zipfel, M.D., and David M. Holtzman, M.D., monitored rapid changes in amyloid in TBI patients, and found that amyloid levels increase during recovery from TBI. Read More >

Hope Center member Brad Schlaggar, MD, PhD, has been named the new A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Professor of Developmental Neurology. Read More >

Hope Center member Philip Bayly, Ph.D., the Lilyan and E. Lisle Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was recently appointed the chair of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Structural Engineering. Read More >

Ralph G. Dacey Jr., M.D., the Henry G. and Edith R. Schwartz Professor and chair of neurological surgery, has been named president of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, a national organization for the leaders of academic and hospital neurological surgery departments. Read More >

Clubfoot is one of the most common birth defects. Christina Gurnett and other investigators identified a homeobox protein that is linked to clubfoot, indicating a defect in early limb development. Read More >

Pain and itch have classically been considered as different severities which are controlled by the same pathways. In recent studies, Zhou-Feng Chen has determined that pain and itch are regulated by distinct molecular mechanisms. Read More >

A decrease in nerve cell innervation of bowel can lead to irritable bowel syndrome or, in more severe cases, Hirschprung disease. Robert Heuckeroth has found that bowel innervation can be regulated by Vitamin A or its metabolite, retinoic acid. Read More >

Neurofibrillary tangles are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. These tangles are made up of tau, a microtubule-associated protein that normally is found in nerve cells but which aggregates in patients with Alzheimer’s. A collaboration involving Hope Center investigators Alison Goate, John Kauwe, Anne Fagan, and David Holtzman found that DNA sequence variations in the tau gene are associated with early onset of Alzheimer's disease symptoms. Read More >

John "Keoni" Kauwe, PhD, an inaugural Hope Center Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine, is using his expertise in population genetics to advance Alzheimer's research. Read More >

On May 8, 2008, the Second Annual Symposium on Translational Neuroscience featuring the 53rd Annual George H. Bishop Lecturer, Stephen Hauser, MD, and the 2nd Annual Hope Center Lecturer, Ben Barres, PhD, took place at Connor Auditorium. Read More >

The fourth annual Evening of Hope Gala on May 14, 2008 starred world-famous violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, “Goddess of Fire,” in an exclusive performance accompanied by pianist Peter Henderson. Read More >

The Hope Center is pleased to announce the winners of the 4th Annual Hope Center Awards Competition. Read More >

Research reveals that levels of amyloid beta can be decreased by pharmacologically blocking endocytosis or nerve cell communication. Read More >

Hope Center Faculty member Michael Wong, MD PhD, studies Tuberous Sclerosis (TS), one of the most common genetic causes of epilepsy. Read More >

The Hope Center is pleased to announce the inaugural Hope Center Fellows: Ann Stowe and John Kauwe. Read More >

Linghui Zeng, M.D., Ph.D. (right), a postdoctoral research associate in neurology, shows Michael Wong, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology and Zeng's mentor, her winning poster titled "Rapamycin Prevents Epilepsy in a Mouse Model of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex" at the 2008 Postdoc Scientific Symposium poster session at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Read More >

"Life, Death, and the Renewal of the Neuron: The Leap from Bench to Bedside" took place on February 29th, 2008, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center on the campus of Washington University School of Medicine. This one-day Symposium was a celebration of the career of Eugene M. Johnson, Jr., Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, and Molecular Biology and Pharmacology. Read More >

Research conducted at the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders has linked a mutation in the TDP-43 gene to ALS. Senior researcher Nigel Cairns, Ph.D, says the discovery has implications for research and treatment of both inherited and sporadic forms of ALS. Read More >

Some patients with Alzheimer’s Disease harbor a mutation in the presenilin gene. Raphael Kopan and collaborators identify a conserved role of presenilin in moss and mammals, so are able to further study the molecular pathways that lead to Alzheimer’s Disease. Read More >

Amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Dave Holtzman’s laboratory finds that overexpression of ABCA1, which is involved in the transport of cholesterol and other lipids, leads to a lower incidence of amyloid plaques. Read More >

Using novel technique of resting-state functional connectivity MRI, Brad Schlaggar and colleagues find connections between brain regions involved in the default network firmer in adults. Findings show promise of improving assessment and treatment of brain disorders. Read More >