A bi-weekly review of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine media appearances.

IN THE NEWS February 8, 2013

As leaders in medicine, we are frequently featured in the media both locally and nationally. Here are highlights from the past two weeks:

1. Two studies out last week in New England Journal of Medicine and Science offer new findings about causes and treatment of severe malnutrition. Both studies were referenced in this New York Times article. In addition, Jeffery Gordon, MD; Indi Trehan, MD; and Mark Manary, MD, discussed their findings with NPR All Things Considered, BBC World Service, National Geographic, The Economist, U.S. News and World Report,and Agence France Presse. Read the WUSM news releases about gut microbes and antibiotics.
2. In a leap forward in understanding lethal cancers, researchers have found mutations in most melanomas that are unlike any they have seen before in cancer. Elaine Mardis, PhD, co-director of The Genome Institute at Washington University, discussed the findings in the New York Times.
3. Dr. Mardis also explained how non-coding mutations may drive cancer in The Scientist.
4. Pancreatic cancer specialist Andrea Wang-Gillam, MD, PhD, shared her thoughts about a new pancreatic cancer drug for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer with the New York Times.
5. The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer found overall death rates  continue to decline, but cases of some human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers are on the rise. Medical oncologist Loren Michel, MD, and gynecologic oncologist David Mutch, MD, spoke with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the HPV vaccine and what the public should know.
6. Dr. Michel also discussed HPV and cancer with the St. Louis Business Journal.
7. Emergency department physician Mark Levine, MD, explained the dangers of hypothermia to the Associated Press and KSDK-TV (no link).  
8. A unique program aimed at reducing readmission rates at BJH is bringing medicine to patients¹ before they¹re discharged. More about the Mobile Pharmacy in the St. Louis Business Journal, KMOX, and Fierce Healthcare.  
9. BJH pharmacy director Jim Gray also discussed the power of pharmacists in reducing readmissions in this piece from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
10. WUSM residents from BJH are visiting beauty parlors and barbershops to help St. Louisans improve their health. Read more about their work in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
11. A new study proposes a possible link between therapeutic aspirin usage and macular degeneration. Daniel Joseph, MD, a Barnes-Jewish ophthalmologist from The Retina Institute, explained with KTVI-TV why patients shouldn¹t necessarily stop taking their daily aspirin.   
12. Could years of birth control use interfere with a woman¹s fertility? That¹s the  question a new study at WUSM is looking to answer. More on KSDK-TV and  KTVI-TV.
13. Amber Cooper, MD, shared details of a new study that finds chemicals in cosmetics, plastics and household cleaners could be causing women to go through menopause earlier than their peers. Watch it here on KMOV-TV.
14. The St. Louis region has been hit by a new strain of norovirus. Emergency physician Robert Poirier, MD, provided details on symptoms and treatment to KSDK¹s Talia Kaplan and the St. Louis Business Journal.
15. Ramsey Hachem, MD, a Washington University pulmonologist at BJH, spoke with MSNBC and KMOX about a new study finding that smokers¹ lungs are safe for transplant.
16. Doctors may one day treat some forms of blindness by altering the genetic program of the light-sensing cells of the eye. That¹s according to Joseph Corbo, MD, who shared more with United Press International. Click here for the WUSM news release. 
17. A new project, The Human Connectome, is mapping the wiring of the mind. One of its principal investigators, David Van Essen, PhD, explained why it represents a huge advance in Discover Magazine. Click here for the WUSM news release.
18. Remember, you can hear transplant surgeon Jeffrey Lowell, MD, talk with KTRS¹ McGraw Milhaven about timely health news every Wednesday at 8:20 a.m.