Eating fewer calories may protect nerves

By Jim Dryden

Skipping the donuts may preserve your brainpower. A new study finds that cutting calories by about a third protects nerve cells from damage caused by interrupted blood flow.

Blocking blood flow to the eye in rats mimicked the shortage of blood in the brain that causes the most common type of stroke.

"Whether an observation in rats will apply to humans is not known," said Arthur H. Neufeld, Ph.D., the Bernard Becker Research Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences in the School of Medicine. "But when we combine our findings with those from other studies, we see a pattern. It suggests that eating fewer calories may lead to a longer and healthier life."

Neufeld's team reported its finding in the latest edition of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology online journal, FJ Express (www.fasebj.org).

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Alzheimer's on stage Members of the St. Louis Black Repertory Company perform "The Eighth Day of the Week," a play about an African-American family's struggles to care for their mother, who has memory loss and dementia. The play is sponsored by the School of Medicine and its Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, as well as the Alzheimer's Association and the Black Rep. The production, performed April 2 and again April 9, aims to increase awareness of Alzheimer's disease in the African-American community and to educate the public about early warning signs of the disease. For reservations, call 534-3810.

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Stuart Boxerman named director of Health Administration Program

The appointment was announced by William A. Peck, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the medical school.

"Under Stuart Boxerman's leadership, the Health Administration Program will continue its mission to educate outstanding health care administrators," Peck said.

Boxerman, who is also associate professor of health administration, will teach courses in statistics, operations research and information systems. He will continue researching process improvement and error reduction in health-care delivery systems.

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Class looks at discourse in doctoring

By Anne Enright Shepherd

Claudia Mink's mother was critically ill, and it seemed as if she was developing a new set of symptoms every few days. As her mother's caregiver, Mink found herself interpreting and explaining results from the many doctors involved in the treatment.

"The doctors really just didn't seem to know what to say," she said as she recounted her mother's final weeks to a rapt audience of first-year medical students.

Mink's account was part of Discourse in Doctoring, a new selective course intended to help students understand the role of storytelling in health-care communication.

Elliot Gellman, M.D., course master and Mink's brother, invited her to share their mother's story as a way of emphasizing that doctors do not always communicate well with patients and their families.

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Capt. Joel Funari to deliver sixth Shepard lecture

Capt. Joel Funari, D.D.S., will deliver the sixth annual Shepard Memorial Dental/Otolaryngology Lecture from 9-11 a.m. Wednesday in the Eric P. Newman Education Center, 320 S. Euclid Ave. A free continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Funari, chief of service of Dental/Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., will speak on dental implants. He is a noted teacher, lecturer and author and has served with distinction in the Navy. He is involved in numerous professional organizations.

The Shepard Lecture Series honors the late Wilma Shepard and Earl Shepard, D.D.S. Earl Shepard was professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics at Washington University School of Dental Medicine from 1953-75 and was a nationally recognized leader in the field of orthodontics

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Grants up to $25,000 are available for diabetes, endocrinology research

Faculty members who conduct research in the areas of diabetes and endocrinology may apply for funding through the Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC) at the School of Medicine.

Researchers from Hilltop and Medical campuses are encouraged to apply for the two-year, $10,000-$25,000 grants, which begin Dec. 1. Applicants from basic science, epidemiological and behavioral science departments are particularly encouraged.

The DRTC pilot and feasibility program fosters projects required to develop preliminary data that could lead to independent research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH awards three to four of these projects at the medical school each year.

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