Adults and teenagers with clinical depression don’t respond to rewards in a normal manner. Their moods are less enthusiastic, and their brains don’t act the same way as those in adults and adolescents who are not depressed. Although depression

Sex differences contribute to vision damage in NF1

Dec 13th, 2016

Vision problems can be caused by neurofibromatosis. Kids with mutations in the NF1 gene that causes neurofibromatosis often develop tumors on the optic nerve, but not all of them develop vision problems. Interestingly, Washington University res

Brain changes in Tourette syndrome

Oct 25th, 2016 2m 59s

Using MRIs, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified areas in the brains of children with Tourettes syndrome that appear markedly different from the same areas in the brains of children who dont hav

Bruchas-BRAIN grant

Oct 12th, 2016 2m 55s

As part of the White House Brain Initiative, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received two grants to develop tools to map and activate pathways in the brain with light. With $3.8 million in funding from

PCORI depression grant

Oct 11th, 2016 2m 56s

Treatment-resistant depression is a big problem for older adults. More than half of seniors with clinical depression dont get relief from standard antidepressant medications. To address that problem, psychiatrists at Washington University Scho

Sickle cell pain & methadone

Sep 28th, 2016 3m

Children with sickle cell disease frequently have painful episodes that can require hospitalization for a few days. Physicians want to treat those episodes quickly to eliminate pain and get a child back home and back to school as quickly as pos

ABCD study

Sep 12th, 2016 2m 59s

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will play a major role in the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in U.S. history. The landmark study will follow the biological and behavioral devel

Benefits when heavy smokers quit

Aug 30th, 2016 2m 57s

Quitting smoking improves health and lowers odds of developing lung cancer. But a new study shows that even among smokers with a genetic predisposition to smoking heavily and developing young cancer at a young age, the benefits of quitting are

Grandma study

Aug 11th, 2016 2m 53s

In search of genetic clues regarding autism spectrum disorder, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are launching a study focused on grandmothers. Autism has a strong genetic basis, and rates of the disorder may

Drug company money and retina drug use

Jul 20th, 2016 2m 54s

A new study reveals that some eye specialists who receive money from pharmaceutical companies are more likely to use drugs promoted by those companies than similar drugs that are equally effective but less expensive. Although the data cant con

Itch pathways and TRP channels

Jul 19th, 2016 2m 38s

Researchers have found how sensory nerve cells work together to transmit itch signals from the skin to the spinal cord, where neurons then carry those signals to the brain. Their discovery may explain why some people experience various types of

Breast cancer genes in African-American women

Jul 13th, 2016 2m 56s

Scientists understanding of the genetic roots of breast cancer is based largely on research conducted in women of European ancestry. But that knowledge does little to explain why African-American women with breast cancer are more likely to be

SYNCHRONY project

Jun 16th, 2016 2m 59s

A program aimed at helping abused and neglected children and their families is improving short-term outcomes for kids and providing children with stable home environments as their cases move through the courts. The program is for children and f

Sweet preferences & obesity

Jun 13th, 2016 2m 58s

As young people reach adulthood, their preferences for sweet foods typically decline. But for people with obesity, new research suggests that the drop off may not be as steep and that the brains reward system is operating differently in obese

Teen problems with pot declining

May 20th, 2016 2m 46s

With more U.S. states legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana use, the number of adults using the drug has increased. But a survey of more than 216,000 adolescents from all 50 states indicates the rates of marijuana use are falling among the yo

Chronic idiopathic pruritis

May 19th, 2016 2m 59s

People who suffer itching with no clear cause may have defects in their immune systems that havent been recognized. In a small study of patients who struggle with itching but have no known cause, researchers from the Center for the Study of It

Overprescribing opioids

Apr 27th, 2016 2m 59s

There is news almost every day about the epidemic of opioid drug use in the United States. Some 65 percent of heroin users report that they used prescription opioids first and then made the switch to heroin. And current estimates are that 4-20

GDLs and drinking

Apr 20th, 2016 2m 59s

State laws designed to help teens gradually ease into full driving privileges may have an unintended benefit: They appear to lower rates of teen alcohol consumption and binge drinking. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in

Kids book on psychiatry

Mar 24th, 2016 2m 56s

Going to the doctor can be a frightening experience for some kids, and a visit to the psychiatrist can be even more unnerving. So a Washington University psychiatrist has written a childrens book about what happens on a visit to the psychiatri

Treating genetic form of diabetes

Mar 16th, 2016 3m 3s

Some cases of diabetes are caused by mutations to a single gene, In studies of such cases, a team of Washington University researchers has identified the way that those genetic mutations cause problems. Although most people with the genetic for

Diabetic retinopathy

Mar 15th, 2016 2m 59s

Diabetes-related vision loss most often is blamed on blood vessel damage in and around the retina, but new research indicates that much of that vision loss may result from nerve cell injury and probably begins long before any blood vessels are

Omega-3 levels and depression

Mar 7th, 2016 2m 56s

Washington University researchers studying the interplay between depression and heart disease are studying whether dietary supplements called omega-3 fatty acids can be of benefit to people suffering from both ailments. Levels of omega-3 tend t

OHTS 3 study

Feb 15th, 2016 3m

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received almost $12 million in grants to resume the landmark Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS), which concluded that lowering pressure in the eye prevents or del

Gastric balloons

Dec 24th, 2015 2m 49s

Some people need to lose a lot of weight to be healthy, but for many, diets havent worked and bariatric surgery seems too big a step. This population is the target of a newly approved, nonsurgical therapy being performed by Washington Universi

Delay discounting

Dec 7th, 2015 3m

The phenomenon scientists call delay discounting can tell a lot about a persons ability to set and attain goals. Some people are more likely to prefer smaller but immediate rewards rather than larger but delayed rewards. The tendency to pref