Thirty-five years ago, specialists at Washington University School of Medicine and what was then Barnes Hospital played an integral role in advancing the new and developing field of lung transplantation. In January 2023, the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Transplant Center performed its 2,000^th lung transplantation. Here’s how it happened.

Once considered a disease that primarily affected older adults, colorectal cancer no longer fits that description. Over the past two decades, the number of new cases of colorectal cancer in adults under the age of 50 in the United States and worldwide has increased dramatically. The National Cancer Institute now projects that by 2030 it will be the leading cause of cancer deaths in Americans between the ages of 20 and 49. Oncologists across the country are alarmed by this fairly recent trend—and they want you to take notice, too.

A growing pile of evidence indicates that the tens of trillions of microbes that normally live in our intestines—the so-called gut microbiome—have far-reaching effects on how our bodies function. Members of this microbial community produce vitamins, help us digest food, prevent the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and regulate the immune system, among other benefits. Now, a new study suggests that the gut microbiome also plays a key role in the health of our brains, according to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Every day, nearly 1,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest, a catastrophic event in which the heart suddenly stops functioning. The most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest is a sustained, super-fast heart rhythm called ventricular tachycardia, commonly called V-tach. Among heart specialists, this condition is known as VT.

Building on imaging methods long used on the heart, researchers have developed a new technology that can produce 3D maps showing the magnitude and distribution of uterine contractions in real time and across the entire surface of the uterus during labor.

Academic hospitals—those affiliated with major medical schools and dedicated not only to caring for patients but to research and training the next generation of physicians—make up just 5% of the 6,100 hospitals in the U.S., but they have a significant impact on the communities they serve. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), people who receive treatment at an academic hospital are up to 20% more likely to survive a complex illness than those treated at a non-academic hospital.

Men with prostate cancer that has metastasized, spreading to other parts of the body, now have a new treatment option available to them that, though not lifesaving, can offer a better quality of life. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022, a drug, called lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide, or Pluvicto, may be used in patients for whom other available treatments did not work or became ineffective.

Imagine surgeons performing surgery with the assistance of augmented reality glasses. Or doing complex, minimally invasive procedures through an incision smaller than your fingernail. These aren’t some-day scenarios; they represent the latest advancements in spine surgeries, making these procedures more precise while causing less damage to surrounding healthy muscle and tissue.

Hot flashes. Night sweats. Irregular menstrual periods.

Black women approaching menopause may experience these symptoms—and others—for a decade before their menstrual cycles cease all together. White women, on average, experience menopausal symptoms for approximately 6½ years.

Worldwide, some 50 million people live with epilepsy. They face increased risks of falls, car accidents, burns and more, potentially leading to significant injury or even death. Work being done at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and at other academic health-care systems across the U.S., is now giving people with epilepsy many options for decreasing the frequency or severity of their seizures, or even removing them from their lives altogether.

In cities across the U.S., hospitals and other health-care buildings are changing in meaningful ways. A patient room today looks very little like one from the 1950s, the essentials—bed, walls, medical equipment—notwithstanding. Gone are the semi-private rooms, “hospital green” paint, bare metal beds and windowless walls that were prevalent not that long ago. In their place? Private rooms with comfortable beds allowing patient-controlled adjustment, soothing wall colors and artwork, sunlight, space for family to visit and stay overnight if needed—and windows with views to parks and gardens.

Huntington’s disease, a fatal, inherited neurodegenerative condition, is caused by a genetic error present at birth, though its symptoms often don’t begin until middle adulthood. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been trying to understand how the aging process triggers the onset of symptoms, with the expectation that such knowledge could point to treatments that delay or prevent neurodegeneration.

Citing current statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Family Physicians recently reported that the opioid epidemic is far from over. As long as the incidence of substance use disorder in pregnant women continues to rise, a growing number of babies will be born at risk for opioid withdrawal syndrome.

I lost my fight to avoid contracting COVID in May 2022.

My main symptoms passed quickly—a day or two of fatigue, mild cough, loss of taste, stuffy head. But other symptoms I’d struggled with for years became worse.

Don Sabol, 63, of Kampsville, Illinois.,is—literally—a poster boy for cancer screening. After receiving a flier from Siteman Cancer Center about the importance of early detection, Don asked his doctor about screening for lung cancer and discovered he qualified because of his history as a smoker. He was shocked and scared when he was subsequently diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, but early detection helped save his life.

Current injectable vaccines help prevent severe illness and death but do little to prevent infections, especially as highly contagious newer variants continue to spread. The advantage of the nasal vaccine is that it delivers a boost to immunity in the nose and upper respiratory tract, right where the virus enters the body, thereby potentially preventing infections altogether.

Until recently, the standard treatment for newborns with kidney disease, whether caused by congenital anomaly or acute injury after birth, has been kidney dialysis, a complex intervention that too often has not prolonged life.

Dineo Khabele, MD, FACOG, FACS, a specialist in gynecologic oncology, is head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine. She made history when she assumed that role in 2020, becoming the first Black department head at the medical school.

The marketing messages hit you from all directions. There are apps for weight loss and websites and books and online programs. It’s big business, and the quantity of often conflicting information can be overwhelming. Could it be true that there simply is no magic bullet?

E-cigs were praised as a healthier alternative to cigarettes when they were first invented, but a study looking at dual nicotine use says otherwise.

30% – 50% of older adults have mild sleep apnea: a condition that causes breathing to repeatedly stop and start during sleep. Some people may not have any signs or symptoms of impairment, resulting in increased risks when getting behind a steering wheel.