Clinical Applications

Raise your hand if these points hit a little too close to home: You see more patients per day to earn as much as—or even less than—you did just a few years ago. You spend additional time at work to manage EMRs, or your patients complain that you are staring at a screen during their…

We’ve all mused about how our children will never understand what it was like to use a rotary dial phone or to wait for your favorite song to play on an 8-track tape. Technology just moves so quickly. Chances are, the newest generation may feel that way about gene therapy. Dr. Samiah Al-Zaidy, MD, presented…

“A family history of neurologic disease was, in large part, what prompted me to enter the field of neurology. Having that personal experience empowered me to be an empathetic medical provider but also taught me the importance of resilience for patients and caregivers,” says Justin Jordan, MD, MPH Clinical Director for Neuro-Oncology at Massachusetts General…

We are just days away from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), being held in Philadelphia this year. But we are already weeks into the buzz about it on Twitter. The hashtag for the conference, #AANAM, started showing up in early April in tweets from organizers, speakers, and future attendees. Here…

So much of the practice of neurology happens under the shadow of unanswered questions. One such unanswered question is how tightly to regulate blood glucose in the hours and days following acute ischemic stroke. We know that diabetes is associated with poorer outcomes after stroke, but how strict must we be with glucose control? A…

The Zika news was good news—the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization in early 2016 came to an end in November of that year. After a consistent rise in cases, the spread of the virus was finally leveling off and with it the rise in cases of neonatal microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome…

One of the big questions in the world of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is how concussions (and sub-concussive events) evolve over time. Current thinking is that a new baseline is reached somewhere around one year post-injury. However, new longitudinal research in military personnel who suffered blast and non-blast injuries gives us more information on changes…

At the 2018 meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), President Eric Sorensen, MD opened the first plenary session with a look at advances in precision medicine and the hurdles neurologists face in helping patients get the latest and most promising therapies. In his talk, titled “The Arrival of Precision Medicine…

“I would have thought more people would tell their doctors,” says Dr. Nina Sanford on her findings that 29 percent of cancer patients using alternative medicine during treatment don’t disclose its use. Dr. Sanford is an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and she is lead author of…

Is there a universal seizure odor? Karen Shirk, Executive Director of 4 Paws for Ability, is counting on it, and so are the kids and families her seizure-alert dogs match with. “We train our dogs with scent so they know the difference between what a person smells like that is going to have a seizure…

If there is one area of neurology that has the general public paying attention, it’s concern over dementia. With recent headlines reading “Blood Pressure May Hike Dementia Risk,” and “High Blood Pressure ‘Linked to Dementia,’” the public has a fresh target for that attention. But as we know, headlines often blow the real story out…

When faced with diagnosing neuropathies, choosing which genetic test to use—or whether to order one at all—is complicated by a number of factors. This was the focus of a session at the 2017 meeting of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. Chris Klein, MD, Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic, addressed the…

Laurence Kinsella, MD, is the most overqualified spin class instructor in St. Louis, Missouri… and perhaps the world. A former marathon runner, he is also board certified in neurology, neuromuscular medicine, and internal medicine. So, when he tells you to exercise, you should listen. Even when you know how important it is, as most physicians…

Neurologist Vanessa Baute, MD, loves food. Her favorite photo (which she graciously shared with us here) is one of her sitting down to her favorite Mexican dish. She says, “It’s literally the happiest I’ve ever been.” When her husband first saw the photo, she laughs, “He said ‘You never look at me that way.’” This…

The introduction of e-cigarettes brought promise for good and bad. We hoped it would be the answer for smokers who really wanted to quit, offering a way to focus on tapering the nicotine addiction while reducing other substances, such as tar, that cause so many health issues. E-cigarettes also offer an outlet for the physical…