Post-stroke depression stems from the cardiovascular changes in the brain that lead to a stroke in the first place. It’s a type of depression that scientists are just now starting to probe. At the West Virginia University School of Medicine, a team of researchers is taking a bench-to-bedside look at whether magnetic fields can help treat this unexplored mood disorder.
One isn’t just the loneliest number. It may also be the unhealthiest. New research led by Laurie Theeke, a professor and nurse practitioner in the WVU School of Nursing, suggests that loneliness can make it harder for middle-aged Appalachians to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
Richard Goldberg, who directs the West Virginia University Cancer Institute, is searching for new ways to slow colorectal cancer’s progression. In a recent study, he and an international team of scientists investigated a new drug combination for treating metastatic colorectal cancer in patients who had no—or only temporary—success with conventional chemotherapy treatments.
About half of all people with cystic fibrosis, the most common genetic disorder in the United States, die from a lung disease before they turn 40. A form of pneumonia called Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a likely culprit. These bacteria have become so hard to treat that the Centers for Disease Control deemed it a serious threat to the nation.
Michael T. Escue, a native of Point Pleasant, has committed $1 million to West Virginia University to establish the Ronald E. & Jo Ann Reynolds Escue Neurology Endowment named for his parents.
As part of an ongoing commitment to battle opioid addiction, the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University today marked a major milestone, enrolling the first patient in a randomized clinical trial that will test the effectiveness of an injectable non-opioid, non-steroid micropellet to treat sciatica.
Amna Umer, an epidemiologist in the West Virginia University Department of Pediatrics, and her research team are working to circumvent barriers to effective healthcare for infants with neonatal-abstinence syndrome. In a recent project, they evaluated a new tool to collect real-time information on statewide NAS diagnoses and cases of fetal substance exposure. Their goal is to help make West Virginia the first state with such a system.
Paul Chantler, an associate professor in the West Virginia University School of Medicine, is researching why obese stroke patients have more trouble recovering than their lean counterparts. His work, funded by the National Institutes of Health, hints at a medical treatment that may narrow this gap.
Daniel Renfrew began studying the factors that created a lead epidemic in Uruguay while he was in graduate school. While visiting family in Uruguay, Renfrew traveled to investigate the social impacts of lead contamination, examining how the government responded to the crisis, why the crisis happened in the first place and how residents responded, such as through social activism.
Osama Elzamzamy, a doctoral student in the West Virginia University School of Medicine, is researching a new drug for use when multiple myeloma just won’t leave a patient alone. He is part of WVU’s doctoral program in clinical and translational science.