A photo of Steve W. Wu.

Steve W. Wu, MD


  • Director, Movement Disorder Clinic and Tourette Syndrome Clinic
  • Medical Director, Dystonia Program
  • Division of Neurology
  • Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
First, I like to hear from patients and their parents about how involuntary movements affect their quality of life. I then use that information to help create a care plan for each patient.
Steve W. Wu, MD

About

Biography

As a pediatric neurologist, I use different treatment options to help my patients regulate their abnormal motor movements. I care for patients in the Dystonia/Deep Brain Stimulation Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s.

First, I like to hear from patients and their parents about how involuntary movements affect their quality of life. I then use that information to help create a care plan for each patient. Treatment possibilities for movement disorders may include psychological and behavioral therapy, oral medications, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections and deep brain stimulation.

From a research perspective, my interests focus on movement disorders, neurophysiology and the neuroplasticity of the brain. I am interested in how people control and carry out normal movements. I’m working to figure out the physiological properties associated with the control of motor movements.

I have received research grants from the Tourette Association of America and collaborated on different projects funded by the National Institutes of Health.

In my free time, I like to enjoy sunshine and warm weather.

BA: University of California, Berkeley, CA, 1997.

MD: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 2003.

Residency: Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2003-2008.

Fellowship: Pediatric Movement Disorders, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2008-2009.

Interests

Pediatric neurology with specialty in pediatric movement disorder; botulinum toxin (Botox) injection for dystonia, spasticity, tics; deep brain stimulation (DBS); AADC (aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase) deficiency

Services and Specialties

Neurology, Tourette Syndrome, Dystonia and Surgical Movement Disorders, Rasopathy, Cerebrovascular

Interests

Neuroplasticity; movement disorders; transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS); electroencephalography (EEG); electromyography (EMG)

Research Areas

Neurology

Additional Languages

Chinese

Insurance Information

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Publications

Long-read sequencing and optical genome mapping identify causative gene disruptions in noncoding sequence in two patients with neurologic disease and known chromosome abnormalities. Sund, KL; Liu, J; Lee, J; Garbe, J; Abdelhamed, Z; Maag, C; Hallinan, B; Wu, SW; Sperry, E; Deshpande, A; Stottmann, R; Smolarek, TA; Dyer, LM; Hestand, MS. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A. 2024; 194:e63818.

Post Deep Brain Stimulation Time Course of Aperiodic Activity in Childhood and Young Adult Dystonia. Larsh, TR; Gilbert, DL; Vadivelu, S; Binder, DK; Pedapati, EV; Wu, SW. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 2024; 11:1305-1307.

Case report: Childhood erythrocytosis due to hypermanganesemia caused by homozygous SLC30A10 mutation. Coppola, T; Hughes, H; Finch, PT; Hess, JA; Wu, S; Prada, CE; Miethke, AG; Zhang, W; Kalfa, TA. 2024; 3:1331485.

Differences in Tic Severity Among Adolescent Girls and Boys with Tourette Syndrome During the Pandemic. Larsh, TR; Wu, SW; Huddleston, DA; Lipps, TD; Gilbert, DL. Neuropediatrics: journal of pediatric neurobiology, neurology and neurosurgery. 2024; 55:67-70.

Emerging Subspecialties: Pediatric Movement Disorders Neurology. Kahlon, S; Barton, CR; Abu Libdeh, A; O'Malley, JA; Pearson, T; Waugh, JL; Wu, SW; Zea Vera, AG; Kruer, MC. Neurology. 2024; 102:e208050.

From urges to tics in children with Tourette syndrome: associations with supplementary motor area GABA and right motor cortex physiology. Larsh, TR; Huddleston, DA; Horn, PS; Wu, SW; Cecil, KM; Jackson, HS; Edden, RA E; Mostofsky, SH; Gilbert, DL. Cerebral Cortex. 2023; 33:3922-3933.

Adolescent Gender Differences in Tic- and Non-Tic-Related Impairments in Tourette Syndrome. Larsh, TR; Wu, SW; Huddleston, DA; White, S; Lipps, TD; Gilbert, DL. Journal of Child Neurology. 2023; 38:283-289.

Spectrum of Pediatric to Early Adulthood POLR3A-Associated Movement Disorders. Zea Vera, A; Bruce, A; Larsh, TR; Jordan, Z; Brüggemann, N; Westenberger, A; Espay, AJ; Gilbert, DL; Wu, SW. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice. 2023; 10:316-322.

Neocortical localization and thalamocortical modulation of neuronal hyperexcitability contribute to Fragile X Syndrome. Pedapati, EV; Schmitt, LM; Ethridge, LE; Miyakoshi, M; Sweeney, JA; Liu, R; Smith, E; Shaffer, RC; Dominick, KC; Gilbert, DL; Binder, DK; Lamy, M; Axford, M; Erickson, CA. Communications Biology. 2022; 5:442.

Deep Brain Stimulation for Pediatric Dystonia: A Review of the Literature and Suggested Programming Algorithm. Gelineau-Morel, R; Kruer, MC; Garris, JF; Abu Libdeh, A; Barbosa, DA N; Coffman, KA; Moon, D; Barton, C; Zea Vera, A; Bruce, AB; Larsh, T; Wu, SW; Gilbert, DL; O’Malley, JA. Journal of Child Neurology. 2022; 37:813-824.

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4.6
Overall Patient Rating