1/3/2020

As the most complex organ in the body, the brain takes decades to develop. In this episode, Washington University neurosurgeons at Barnes-Jewish Hospital chat with Dr. Azad Bonni, Edison Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience at Washington University about the process that begins in utero, including deviations which may be responsible for the spectrum of conditions classified as autism.

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Though people living in rural communities across the United States may be less likely to get cancer, they are more likely than people living in suburbs and cities to die from it. That’s what is known as a health disparity, a term that can sound rather abstract. The problem, however, is anything but.

An aneurysm is an enlargement of arteries caused by a weakening of the artery wall. It can be especially dangerous if located in the brain, where a rupture can cause bleeding that is neurologically devastating. To date, standard treatment for a brain aneurysm includes, among other strategies, medication to control blood pressure, as well as various surgical interventions that essentially seal off the aneurysm as a way to help prevent rupture.

When Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine established the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center in 1999, the partnering institutions already shared a decades-long history of advancing cancer research and treatment.

Eric Leuthardt, MD, and Albert Kim, MD, PhD, frequently engage in long talks together about the brain and the yet-to-be-solved mysteries of this complicated organ. Because both men are Washington University neurosurgeons treating patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center, it could be assumed these conversations are a natural consequence of their mutual profession.