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 […]
Two pathologies drive the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Early on, amyloid beta plaques lead the way, but around the time cognitive symptoms arise, tau tangles take over as the driving force and cognition steadily declines. Tracking the course of the disease in individual patients has been challenging because there’s been no easy way to measure […]
Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of […]
Grant will support research on brain plasticity
Accurate diagnosis is a crucial step toward appropriate treatment
Ephraim Oyetunji likes a good challenge. “Everything is a mystery to be solved,” he said. A senior biology major on the neuroscience track, Oyetunji quickly established himself as a standout researcher. He’s been named a WUSTL ENDURE scholar, a Hope Center Scholar, and a recipient of the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Oyetunji discussed his path […]
People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease — after brain changes have begun but before cognitive symptoms become apparent — harbor an assortment of bacteria in their intestines that differs from the gut bacteria of healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The findings, […]
Microbiome pioneer Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has won the 2023 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research. The Asturias awards, among the most prestigious honors in the Spanish-speaking world, are presented annually in eight categories. The awards are designed to recognize exceptional scientific, technical, cultural, […]
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 […]
Martha Bagnall, PhD, an assistant professor of neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, received a $1.9 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to map neuronal connections in the zebrafish spinal cord. The Bagnall lab studies motor control […]
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 […]
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are defined by structural diversity, and the determinants of this diversity are an important area of biophysical investigation. IDPs are involved in a range of important biological processes, including cell signaling and regulation, that allow healthy cells to respond to environmental factors appropriately, but they are also associated with human diseases […]
The National Institutes of General Medical Sciences has awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award of nearly $2 million to Paul Taghert, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine, to study how the circadian clock orchestrates multiple biological cycles that operate at different phases. Physiological and behavioral rhythms, such as sleep, hormone fluxes, and eating, […]
Recognized for contributions to Alzheimer’s disease research
Sotos Syndrome and Tatton Brown Rahman Syndrome bear striking similarities, so much so that patients with one have been misdiagnosed as having the other. Both rare diseases cause large stature and head size, also known as overgrowth, distinct facial features, a high prevelance of autism, and intellectual disability. But the two diseases have different genetic […]
Alzheimer’s proteins rise sharply in response to stress in female mice
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., […]
Findings point to brain areas that integrate planning, purpose, physiology, behavior, movement
More research needed to determine if sleep medications prevent, delay Alzheimer’s
Findings could lead to universal therapies for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, opioid addictions
Findings, in mice, open up drug development possibilities for brain diseases linked to tau protein
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
The neurologist and physician scientist at Washington University in St. Louis provided insight on the general dieting strategies patients with multiple sclerosis should take as more information becomes available. [WATCH TIME: 6 minutes]
Funding from the National Institutes of Health will help Jackrel and her team study Matrin-3, a poorly understood protein linked to several neurodegenerative disorders.
New imaging technique reveals circulation patterns in developing brain
Jonathan D. Cooper, PhD, a professor of pediatrics, of genetics and of neurology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, received two grants totaling $2.55 million over five years from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Cooper will study enzyme replacement therapy as a possible […]
Research could facilitate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease
‘Father of the field’ honored for gut microbiome research
Hope Happens, collaborative partner of the Hope Center, is hosting the 17th Annual Evening of Hope Gala on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Hall at Olive+Oak in Webster Groves. Hope Happens will honor the work of Hope Center faculty members, Aaron DiAntonio and Jeffrey Milbrandt. The Charles Glenn Group will be the featured entertainment […]
Research from labs of Rohit Pappu, collaborators sheds light on condensate characteristics
Findings suggest new approach to treating Alzheimer’s, other neurodegenerative diseases
Anuradhika Puri, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate working with Meredith Jackrel, PhD in the Department of Chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, won the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association’s Milton Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship. The $150,000 award supports her work on applying the human disaggregase, HtrA1, to counter amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Originally published on […]
At the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 2, several faculty members were granted tenure. Their new roles took effect Dec. 2. Granting of tenure Marlon M. Bailey as professor of African and African American studies and of women, gender, and sexuality studies, both in Arts & Sciences; Adam Q. Bauer, PhD as […]
Four years after Washington University in St. Louis researchers detected a possible link between risk for Alzheimer’s disease and the appearance of the eye’s retina, a $10.3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is expanding the effort to understand that connection. Gregory P. Van Stavern, MD, […]
Focus is on therapies for Alzheimer’s, other neurodegenerative diseases
Successful cancer treatment approach extended to autoimmune 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 could help explain rare symptoms such as problems with language, vision
Installation talk, titled “For Whom the Bells Toll: Networked Circadian Clocks and Clock Watchers”
Findings in mice suggest new therapeutic approach to Alzheimer’s, other age-related diseases
Hope Center members Gabel and Rutherford granted tenure
Symposium brings together key leaders in the field
Funding from NIH HEAL Initiative
An idea that has propelled Alzheimer’s research for more than 30 years is approaching its day of reckoning. Scientists are launching a study designed to make or break the hypothesis that Alzheimer’s is caused by a sticky substance called beta-amyloid. The study will give an experimental anti-amyloid drug to people as young as 18 who […]
Neurons made from Huntington’s disease patients’ skin cells shed light on cognitive decline
Research into how key molecule triggers axon death may lead to new therapies
Song Hu, Yong Wang team up to find quantitative biomarkers for clinical pain management
Hong Chen’s lab develops noninvasive focused ultrasound intranasal delivery method