Health

West Virginia University researcher Jianhai Du is investigating how the retina pigment epithelium turns proline—an amino acid—into fuel that the retina can easily burn. Using animal models and primary human cells, he and his team discovered that if the RPE can’t process proline properly, the retina is undernourished, and retinal degenerative diseases result. Their findings, which appear in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, may point to innovative treatments that make incurable blindness preventable.

Do the nutritional supplements people take or the diets they adhere to actually protect them against cardiovascular problems and death? Maybe not, suggests a new umbrella review of meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials by Safi Khan, an assistant professor in the West Virginia University School of Medicine. His findings appear in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at West Virginia University have mapped the crystal structure of a protein that resides in our cells and determined—for the first time—how a drug latches onto it. The findings appear in Communications Chemistry, a Nature research journal.

West Virginia University researcher Nicholas Castle is part of a team investigating how nursing homes can best meet obese residents’ healthcare needs. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality—a division of the Department of Health and Human Services—has awarded them nearly $2 million for the project.

West Virginians may gain better access to investigational approaches to managing and preventing substance abuse disorders related to the ongoing opioid epidemic as part of a collaborative $5.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The Boards of Directors of Wheeling Hospital and the West Virginia University Health System (WVU Medicine) today (June 20) announced that they have entered into a management services agreement and named Douglass E. Harrison as Wheeling Hospital’s new chief executive officer.

Pediatric Urology at WVU Medicine Children’s has again been nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report, this year coming in at 30th in the nation – a dozen spots up from last year’s ranking, which marked WVU Medicine Children’s first-ever appearance on the list.

One reason pancreatic cancer is so lethal is its resistance to traditional chemotherapy. But West Virginia University surgical oncologist Brian Boone is exploring whether FOLFIRINOX—a new combination of cancer drugs—can improve outcomes in patients whose pancreatic cancer is “borderline resectable,” meaning that a tumor may be too close to a blood vessel to be removed safely.

The West Virginia University School of Nursing today (June 13) announced that its baccalaureate degree, master’s degree, Doctor of Nursing Practice and post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse certificate programs have been granted accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education for another 10 years.

Sundus Lateef, a second year medical student in the WVU School of Medicine and Bridgeport native, was one of only 50 students selected from across the nation to participate in the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program.