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Scientists to explore whether anti-inflammatory drugs control blood sugar
Meals prepared for scientific studies of metabolism and nutrition stand ready for distribution at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Researchers at the School of Medicine are studying whether drugs to treat inflammatory conditions such as Crohn’s disease also could help control blood sugar levels. (Photo: Matt Miller/School of Medicine)
Inflammation and metabolic disorders are deeply intertwined. For example, people with inflammatory conditions such as Crohn’s disease and psoriasis are at risk of developing metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance and diabetes. However troubling that connection might seem, it also might point to some promising news.
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IMAGE: Bright spots indicate that cancer cells have responded to a one-day challenge with estrogen in this positron emission tomography (PET) scan of a woman with breast cancer. In a small. view more
Credit: Farrokh Dehdashti
Hormone therapy commonly is given as a targeted treatment for women whose cancer cells carry receptors for estrogen. But the therapy only works for about half of all patients. Until now, there hasn t been a good way to reliably predict who will benefit and who will not.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown they can distinguish patients likely or unlikely to benefit from hormone therapy using an imaging test that measures the function of the estrogen receptors in their cancer cells. In a small phase 2 clinical trial, the researchers showed that the cancers of all patients with working estrogen receptors remained stable or improved on hormone therapy, and progressed in all women with nonfunctional es
Could aid in assessments of donated kidneys, ID people in early stages of disease
January 22, 2021 SHARE A patient in end-stage kidney disease receives dialysis while he waits for a kidney transplant. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an imaging agent that could help refine assessments of kidney health, potentially salvaging some otherwise discarded kidneys. (Photo: Getty Images)
More than 3,000 donated kidneys are discarded every year in the U.S., even as thousands of people die on kidney transplant waitlists. About a fifth of all donated kidneys particularly those from people who are older, have metabolic or cardiovascular conditions, or have died are deemed poor quality. Doctors and patients often refuse such kidneys rather than risk transplanting an organ that might not work.
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A patient in end-stage kidney disease receives dialysis while he waits for a kidney transplant. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an imaging agent that could help refine assessments of kidney health, potentially salvaging some otherwise discarded kidneys.
More than 3,000 donated kidneys are discarded every year in the U.S., even as thousands of people die on kidney transplant waitlists. About a fifth of all donated kidneys particularly those from people who are older, have metabolic or cardiovascular conditions, or have died are deemed poor quality. Doctors and patients often refuse such kidneys rather than risk transplanting an organ that might not work.