Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in every 68 children born in the United States has a form of autism. Children with autism spectrum disorder typically pay less attention to faces and other social stimuli, preferring to fixate on objects. Shuo Wang, an assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at West Virginia University, is hoping to find out what role a portion of the brain may play in this behavior.

WVU Medicine today announced that the WVU Stroke Center at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Comprehensive Stroke Centers. The Gold Seal of Approval® and the Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.

A 62-year-old Maryland man with a failing heart has received a permanent heart pump in an operation performed for the first time in West Virginia. A team of specialists at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute on Dec. 11 installed the pump, known as a left ventricular assist device for Ken Ritchey of LaVale, Maryland.

Laurie Theeke, a nurse practitioner in the West Virginia University School of Medicine and associate professor in the WVU School of Nursing, developed the Listen program to give lonely people the skills to explore what makes them lonely and devise strategies to feel more connected.

Diabetes and endocrinology expert Dr. Emma B. Morton-Eggleston was recently named associate vice president of Health Sciences and dean of West Virginia University’s Eastern Campus. She has been serving in an interim role following the retirement of former dean and associate vice president, Konrad C. Nau, M.D., in August.

Managing diabetes and high blood pressure can feel like a solitary enterprise dependent on relationships with objects (like pills or foods) and activities (like brisk walks or early bedtimes) instead of relationships with people, but a group of West Virginia University researchers is hoping to change that.

A research professor and forensic economic expert at West Virginia University said the opioid epidemic has taken a substantial, expensive toll on this state, preventing West Virginia from investing in its citizens because of this drug abuse crisis.

From protecting us from dangerous infections to redefining the future of artificial intelligence to advancing the use of natural gas to bring economic benefit to the state, the depth and breadth of West Virginia University’s research and its potential to improve the lives of the citizens of the state is being recognized.

Conventional diabetes medications tend to fix downstream problems, meaning they typically work by stabilizing blood sugar levels, not by improving the chemical processes that underlie how the body makes and processes blood sugar in the first place. A West Virginia University graduate student is working to change that by studying an unexplored enzyme.

West Virginia University’s chief economist said the opioid epidemic in West Virginia and across the U.S. has come with a hefty price tag, causing a void in this state’s economy of nearly $1 billion.