Child Couch Potatoes
Want to prevent chubby kids? Turn off the TV. Research by Thomas N. Robinson, an assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine, shows that the less kids watch TV, the fewer pounds they gain. Children who reduced their television time by about one-third to one-fourth gained nearly 2 pounds less on average than the kids in a control group over the same period.
Grow Your Own
Physicians at the School of Medicine are investigating new compounds that could allow patients to grow their own mini-bypasses around clogged coronary arteries. The drug, which is given through a catheter, naturally stimulates blood vessel growth. This nonsurgical method of rerouting the blood could provide an alternative to invasive heart procedures like angioplasty and bypass surgery.
Herbal Cure
Call it ancient Chinese wisdom. Researchers in the School of Medicine have discovered that an arthritis remedy made from Tripterygium wilfordii hook, a vine that grows in Southern China, can suppress an overactive immune system, prevent inflammation and kill cancer cells. Western doctors have known for 20 years that the herb has medicinal properties, but the new study shows how it works inside the body. The result: fewer side effects than conventional drugs.
Fixing the Fuzzies
For the 20 percent of Americans who are farsighted, a Medical School professor's work could eventually mean clearer vision without corrective lenses. Edward E. Manche, assistant professor of ophthalmology, is testing a fast, painless outpatient procedure that uses radio-frequency energy to reshape the front of the eye. The standard therapy -- laser eye surgery -- takes longer, is technically more challenging to learn and requires much more expensive equipment.
