Unsuspected oxygen reserve found in human brain

By Gila Z. Reckess

Scientists have discovered that, unlike many other animals, humans have a reserve of oxygen in the brain. This buffer allows the brain to adapt to arduous situations without demanding a sharp increase in blood flow.

"Our finding challenges the previously accepted idea that blood flow increases occur during tasks such as reading to raise oxygen levels in the brain," study leader Mark A. Mintun, M.D., said. "That idea has been long assumed in brain imaging studies that attempt to understand how the human brain functions."

Mintun is a professor of radiology and professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. His group's findings appeared in the June 5 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Mintun: Professor of radiology,
psychiatry

Walker, Tucker to direct Center for Advanced Medicine

Rose A. Walker and Kimberly Tucker will team up to direct the Center for Advanced Medicine, the new ambulatory care center scheduled to open in November. Walker will represent the School of Medicine, and Tucker will represent Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Walker, who played a critical role in developing the Center for Advanced Medicine, also is director of ambulatory operations of the Faculty Practice Plan. She formerly worked as a nurse clinician and a nursing administrator for inpatient and ambulatory services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and as a physician practice administrator for the medical school.

A clinical manager, Tucker has been in management at Barnes-Jewish Hospital since 1987. She earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and she is completing a master's degree in nursing from The Jewish Hospital College of Nursing and Allied Health.

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Radiation technique fights nasal-passage cancer

By Anne Enright Shepherd

Patients with advanced cancer of the nasal passages who receive a combination of chemotherapy and a cutting-edge radiation technique called intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) live longer than patients who receive conventional radiation, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Medicine.

"We found that cancer patients who were treated here with chemotherapy and IMRT were better off than the national standard," said K.S. Clifford Chao, M.D., assistant professor of radiology.

Chao and his colleagues presented their results in May at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in San Francisco.

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Protein key to lung development

By Gila Z. Reckess

A recently discovered protein appears essential for lung development.

Mice unable to make a protein called fibroblast growth factor 9 (Fgf9) die at birth with under- developed lungs, researchers have found. They suggest that Fgf9 controls lung size and shape.

"We believe Fgf9 tells the lungs how big to grow," David M. Ornitz, M.D., Ph.D., said. "And we suspect it might be involved in some lung diseases ranging from cancer to fibrosis. Blocking Fgf9 may in the future be used to treat those conditions."

Ornitz, professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at the School of Medicine, led the study. The first author was Jennifer S. Colvin, Ph.D., a student in the school's M.D./Ph.D. program. The results were published in the June issue of the journal Development.

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