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School of Medicine

About 8 percent of West Virginia babies are exposed to alcohol shortly before birth

Just because a pregnant woman is nearing her due date doesn’t mean it’s safe for her to drink alcohol. Alcohol exposure in the third trimester can still cause her baby developmental problems later in life, including difficulty with language, memory and focusing. WVU researchers Candice Hamilton, Amna Umer, Collin John and Christa Lilly were part of an investigation into how often West Virginia babies are exposed to alcohol in the last two to four weeks before their birth. They found that about 8 percent of newborns statewide had markers for prenatal alcohol exposure in their blood.

Momen family pays tribute to WVU with School of Dentistry scholarship

Dentistry students at West Virginia University who demonstrate a commitment to compassionate care will benefit from the generosity of an alumnus who found a supportive family atmosphere at the School of Dentistry and his wife who leads a WVU health care studies program.

In rural hospitals, telemedicine may promote faster, noninvasive stroke treatments

West Virginia University’s telestroke program connects rural hospitals throughout West Virginia—and across the Maryland border—with neurologists at WVU, who can offer insight into stroke cases. New research suggests that since the program’s launch in 2016, more patients at those hospitals are receiving prompt, noninvasive stroke treatments there, rather than being driven or flown somewhere else.

Taking the whoop out of whooping cough

Only about one-fourth of adults are up to date on their whooping-cough vaccines. If they catch whooping cough, they may just think they have a cold. But if they give it to a baby, it can be deadly. In a new study, Allison Wolf and Dylan Boehm —researchers from the West Virginia University School of Medicine—investigated how to make the vaccine more effective, for longer. One possible way: making it a nose spray instead of a shot.

Cell-phone-sized device that stimulates nerve in neck may prevent migraine

Could applying a cell-phone-sized device to your neck three times a day prevent migraine attacks? WVU researcher Umer Najib thinks it might. In a new clinical trial, he’s testing how well a vagus nerve stimulator averts and relieves migraine symptoms. The noninvasive device showed promise in earlier animal studies. Now Najib wants to know if it works in actual migraine patients, too.

Chambers’ planned gift to benefit WVU

The legacy of Drs. John T. (Jack) and June Richie Chambers of Charleston will live on through a planned gift made by the late alumni to West Virginia University.

When physical activity extends beyond PE class

West Virginia University researchers Nancy O’Hara Tompkins and Lesley Cottrell have launched a project to help teachers increase physical activity in West Virginia's public school classrooms.