For people living with rare and puzzling medical symptoms, getting a diagnosis is often a long and frustrating process punctuated by many tests and few results. The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) Diagnostic Center of Excellence was established in 2019 to solve the trickiest medical mysteries in Missouri and nearby […]
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has launched the Center for Rare, Undiagnosed and Genetic Diseases, supported by an $8.5 million grant from Children’s Discovery Institute (CDI), a partnership with St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation and WashU Medicine. The new center brings together WashU Medicine researchers and the rare […]
Andrew Yoo, PhD, a professor of developmental biology at WashU Medicine, has received the 2024 Transformative Research Award, a two-year $1 million grant from the Hereditary Disease Foundation. Yoo and his collaborator, Osama Al Dalahmah, MD, PhD, of Columbia University, will use this support to pursue potential therapeutics for Huntington’s disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder […]
Strategy involves placing targets on deadly cancer’s cells, potentially making them vulnerable to immunotherapies
Guoyan Zhao, PhD, an assistant professor of genetics and of neurology, and Erik Musiek, MD, PhD, the Charlotte & Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology, both of WashU Medicine, have received a $433,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study brain cells called astrocytes and their roles […]
Three researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have received highly competitive and prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s awards for “High Risk, High Reward” medical research funding totaling $10 million over five years. Hong Chen, PhD, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering and of neurosurgery at the […]
Mouse study shows engineered immune cell therapy protects damaged neurons
With new technique, patient-derived neurons accurately model late-onset Alzheimer’s, point to potential treatments
The brain needs to flush out waste products to stay healthy and fend off conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists are beginning to understand how the the brain’s waste removal system works. [Transcript] A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: Turns out the brain needs regular cleaning. Otherwise, it gets clogged up with waste products, including some associated with diseases […]
Human brain diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, involve damage in more than one region of the brain, requiring technology that could precisely and flexibly address all affected regions simultaneously. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have developed a noninvasive technology combining a holographic acoustic device with genetic engineering that allows them to precisely target […]
The one-year awards promote collaborative research within the university
A study in mice by researchers at the School of Medicine indicates that brain injury can lead to brain tumors in susceptible individuals. For this study, they used mice that model people with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder that causes brain tumors. The study showed that molecules released by injured neurons set off […]
For the past several years, Washington University in St. Louis researchers have been using focused ultrasound combined with microbubbles to target an opening in the tough, protective blood-brain barrier to deliver drugs or retrieve biomarkers. To ensure that the fast-developing technology functions safely and consistently, Hong Chen, PhD, and her team, including first author and […]
Popular alternative to CPAP machines may not be appropriate for all
Hong Chen, Jon Silva, both in biomedical engineering, are honored as rising leaders in their fields
First-in-human trial demonstrates safety of sonobiopsy in patients with glioma Getting a biopsy is often an important first step for cancer diagnosis and treatment. But brain tumors present unique challenges: to perform a biopsy, a neurosurgeon will likely need to drill into the skull, and removing brain tissue can cause complications, including bleeding, brain swelling, […]
FDA grants WashU-based technology ‘Breakthrough Device’ designation
Sarah D. Ackerman, PhD, Gabor Egervari, MD, PhD and Tao Xie, PhD, all of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have been named 2023 Young Investigator grantees by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. This year’s funding will support 150 promising early-career scientists across the field of neuropsychiatry with innovative ideas in mental health research. The two-year grant […]
Membership is one of highest U.S. honors in health and medicine
Sonobiopsies generate genetic, molecular data to inform treatment decisions for brain diseases
Hong Chen, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering and radiation oncology at Washington University in St. Louis, is dedicated to what may seem like the impossible. “This constant puzzle of what’s happening in my brain.” Chen is referring to all human brains that share this complexity. And getting answers to serious problems can be very […]
Researchers have developed methods to study and manipulate areas of the brain, though many of those methods are restricted by the limited depth that light can reach within the brain. A multidisciplinary team at Washington University in St. Louis plans to overcome that limitation by integrating ultrasound with genetics to precisely modify neurons in the […]
Grant will support research on brain plasticity
Some mammals and birds have a clever way to preserve energy and heat by going into torpor, during which their body temperature and metabolic rate drop to allow them to survive potentially fatal conditions in the environment, such as extreme cold or lack of food. While a similar condition was proposed for scientists making flights […]
Diabetes researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered at least one reason insulin-secreting cells made from stem cells in the lab don’t work as well as natural cells. The discovery could help speed progress toward making insulin-secreting cells — called islet beta cells — more effective in the treatment of […]
Like the lymphatic system in the body, the glymphatic system in the brain clears metabolic waste and distributes nutrients and other important compounds. Impairments in this system may contribute to brain diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. A team of researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has […]
A new drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a rare, inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a paralyzing neurological disease. Known as tofersen, the drug has been shown to slow progression of the deadly disease. International clinical trials of tofersen, developed by the global biotechnology company Biogen Inc., […]
For older adults with clinical depression that has not responded to standard treatments, adding the drug aripiprazole (brand name Abilify) to an antidepressant they’re already taking is more effective than switching from one antidepressant to another, according to a new multicenter study led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Aripiprazole originally was […]
Honored for work developing new kind of therapy for neurodegenerative diseases
New imaging technique reveals circulation patterns in developing brain
Research could facilitate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
“These trials don’t go without huge input and commitment from the participants and of course, their caregivers, and the clinical trial sites. I have the privilege of speaking to you about the trial as the lead author of this paper, but this is a team effort and includes a large group of people from multiple […]
Findings in mice suggest new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer’s, other age-related diseases
Neurons made from Huntington’s disease patients’ skin cells shed light on cognitive decline
Hong Chen’s lab develops noninvasive focused ultrasound intranasal delivery method
Extended use of tofersen may help stabilize muscle strength, control
Hong Chen’s lab develops technique to generate Airy beams for ultrasound focusing
A submarine can inadvertently reveal its location because of cavitation, a condition that creates bubbles underwater that burst, then emit sound waves that can be detected by sonar. A team of biomedical engineers at Washington University in St. Louis plans to use the same concept to detect cavitation in human brains that may contribute to […]
Neurosurgeon Albert H. Kim is nationally recognized expert on brain tumors
Hong Chen’s lab created an $80 device that is accurate and easy to use
Hong Chen and Eric Leuthardt’s sonobiopsy method uses blood test instead of surgery
Low-cost drug lowers risk of hospitalizations, deaths
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Oct. 1, numerous faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure or granted tenure, effective that day. Promotion with tenure Su-Hsin Chang, PhD, to associate professor of surgery (public health services) at the School of Medicine; Milan G. Chheda, MD, to associate professor of medicine […]
Research to explore the effects of social isolation on cognitive, emotional health
Hong Chen, medical school faculty to collaborate on NIH-funded work
When a patient is informed of a brain tumor, the experience is frightening. “When anyone finds out they have a brain tumor. It is super scary,” described neurosurgeon and scientist Dr. Albert Kim, MD, PhD, the inaugural director of the new Brain Tumor Center at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes Jewish Hospital and Washington University […]
Finding prompts researchers, clinicians to consider impact in future research, clinical treatment of brain diseases
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting May 7, numerous faculty members were appointed or promoted with tenure or granted tenure, effective July 1 unless otherwise indicated. Promotion with tenure Megan Tierney Baldridge, MD, PhD, to associate professor of medicine at the School of Medicine; Trevor G. Gardner II to professor of […]
Immune cells from skull bone marrow guard the brain, spinal cord
Nanofiber device allows insulin to be released while defending against immune cells