Category Archives: Neurology

Newswise DALLAS Sept. 13, 2012 UT Southwestern Medical Centers expertise in neurology has earned it a place in an innovative national clinical trials network that will make it easier to test promising treatments for patients with brain, muscle and nerve disorders.

UT Southwestern, one of 25 sites selected for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS) new Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials, is the only participating medical center in Texas and its bordering states.

The network, known as NeuroNEXT, represents a unique model of clinical trials for brain diseases. By creating a shared infrastructure and institutional review board, institute officials said they expect to minimize the time and expense of studies while making new treatments available to patients more quickly.

We want to bring the fruits of discovery in the laboratory as quickly as we can to the patients who need them, said Dr. Mark Goldberg, chairman of neurology and neurotherapeutics at UT Southwestern and a co-principal investigator for the project. It is more efficient to have a well-organized team in place, allowing us to test one therapy after the next.

UT Southwestern is expected to receive $1.4 million in NINDS support over the next seven years for its role in the network.

Dr. Petra Kaufmann, the NINDS associate director for clinical research, said UT Southwestern was an excellent candidate for NeuroNEXT because of the medical centers breadth of multidisciplinary expertise across the subspecialties of neurology, neurological surgery and neuroradiology for pediatrics and adults. She also cited the medical centers clinical research experience and access to a large patient population.

An important piece was the strength in the coordination and collaboration of the investigators, Dr. Kaufmann said. UT Southwestern also is built on solid basic science enterprise and has translational research capacity. This really was a very good fit.

NeuroNEXTs first clinical trial is designed to identify biomarkers for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a motor-neuron disease that causes progressive weakness and respiratory disease. It is the most common genetic cause of death in infants, and those with the most aggressive form of the disease often die before they are 2 years old. There currently is no effective treatment or cure.

UT Southwesterns participation in the trial includes Dr. Susan Iannaccone, a NeuroNEXT co-principal investigator who treats one of the nations largest populations of spinal muscular atrophy patients. In 2000, she set up one of the diseases first national clinical trial groups, which was expanded from five sites to 15 through two rounds of funding from the National Institutes of Health.

Although successful, that earlier network required expensive and time-consuming planning and execution, said Dr. Iannaccone, professor of pediatrics and of neurology and neurotherapeutics at UT Southwestern. Centralizing those efforts through NeuroNEXT, she said, will allow investigators to focus on research and treatment.

Go here to see the original:
New Clinical Trials Network for Neurological Disorders Helps UT Southwestern Evaluate Cutting-Edge Treatments

Public release date: 11-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Leslie Capo lcapo@lsuhsc.edu 504-568-4806 Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

New Orleans, LA A research study conducted by Dr. Jesus Lovera, Assistant Professor of Neurology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and colleagues has found that the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive function in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS.) Cognitive impairment affects 40-60% of people with MS, most commonly affecting their processing speed, memory, and executive skills. The research findings were published online ahead of print in Neurology on September 5, 2012.

This study followed up on a promising earlier small study by Dr. Lovera and his colleagues that had shown improvement in cognitive function with Ginkgo biloba in people with MS. Some studies have also shown improvement after treatment with Ginkgo biloba in people with Alzheimer's disease.

"Ginkgo biloba supplements are frequently used by people with MS. Ginkgo appeared beneficial in a prior small pilot study we had done," said Dr. Jesus Lovera, a neurologist at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans who specializes in MS.

The researchers wanted to conduct a larger more robust study to determine the validity of the preliminary results. One hundred twenty people with MS were randomized to either the group treated with 120 mg of Ginkgo biloba twice a day, or to the group taking matching placebo tablets. Participants were treated for 12 weeks and then underwent a battery of cognitive tests. Participants and their families also answered standardized questionnaires about their cognitive function and social integration. The tests found that there were no statistically significant improvements in cognitive function between the two groups.

"Unfortunately we did not see any improvement with Ginkgo in this new study," notes Dr. Lovera. "Several drugs such as Namenda and Aricept that work for people with Alzheimer's have been tested without success in people with MS. Unfortunately now Ginkgo is added to the list of therapies thought to be effective in Alzheimer's disease that failed to improve cognitive performance in MS."

While the study provides solid evidence, the researchers noted several limitations. Participants were treated for only 12 weeks and perhaps that was not long enough to modify the disease. The median duration of MS was 20 years, and it is possible that Ginkgo may improve cognitive function earlier in the MS disease process. It is also possible that there could have been a positive effect in participants with more severe impairments than those in this study. Additional functional assessments that measure performance in real-life situations may also have detected an effect that was missed by limiting the outcome measures to cognitive tests and questionnaires.

According to the National Institutes of Health, Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, that can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted. Many investigators believe MS to be an autoimmune disease -- one in which the body, through its immune system, launches a defensive attack against its own tissues. In the case of MS, it is the nerve-insulating myelin that comes under assault. Such assaults may be linked to an unknown environmental trigger, perhaps a virus.

According to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, MS is the most common neurological disorder diagnosed in young adults.

Read more:
LSUHSC research finds ginkgo biloba doesnt improve cognitive function in MS

Public release date: 10-Sep-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Rachel Seroka rseroka@aan.com 612-928-6129 American Academy of Neurology

MINNEAPOLIS A new study shows that people who have three or more alcoholic drinks per day may be at higher risk for experiencing a stroke almost a decade and a half earlier in life than those who do not drink heavily. The research is published in the September 11, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Heavy drinking has been consistently identified as a risk factor for this type of stroke, which is caused by bleeding in the brain rather than a blood clot," said study author Charlotte Cordonnier, MD, PhD, with the University of Lille Nord de France in Lille, France. "Our study focuses on the effects of heavy alcohol use on the timeline of stroke and the long-term outcome for those people."

For the study, 540 people with an average age of 71 who had a type of stroke called intracerebral hemorrhage were interviewed about their drinking habits. Doctors also interviewed the participants or the caregivers or relatives about the participants' drinking habits. A total of 137 people, or 25 percent, were heavy drinkers, which was defined as having three or more drinks per day, or about 1.6 ounces per day of "pure" alcohol.

Participants also underwent CT brain scans and their medical records were reviewed.

The study found that heavy drinkers experienced a stroke at an average age of 60, 14 years before the average age of their non-heavy drinking counterparts. Among people younger than 60 who had a stroke that occurred in the deep part of the brain, heavy drinkers were more likely to die within two years of the study follow-up than non-heavy drinkers.

"It's important to keep in mind that drinking large amounts of alcohol contributes to a more severe form of stroke at a younger age in people who had no significant past medical history," said Cordonnier.

###

The study was supported by the University of Lille Nord de France and the Association for the Development of Research and Innovation the North Pas de Calais (ADRINORD).

See the original post here:
Heavy drinking may lead to stroke earlier in life

Troy, NY (PRWEB) September 10, 2012

This month began Ellis Medicines sixth service line campaign of 2012 that promotes its neuroscience and neurosurgery care from the perspective of the hospital systems patients. Created by healthcare marketing agency Smith & Jones, the campaign uses patient stories to demonstrate how the care they received at the Neuroscience Center changed their lives.

The campaign features Kevin Keelan, a patient from Charlton, NY who rushed to Ellis Medicine for emergency brain surgery after his wife noticed that his motor skills werent quite right. In a candid interview, Keelan talks about how lucky he was to have a hospital that serves as a national model for the care of brain, spine and nerve disorders so close to home.

I found I was very, very fortunate that Ellis had such a team that was ready to, on extremely short notice, to be able to save my life, said Keelan.

Keelan is the face of the neuroscience campaign, called Head2Toe Conversations, and can be seen throughout the multi-channel advertising campaign in print ads, online display ads, Facebook ads, television commercials, posters, and in a long-form web video on the hospitals website.

Two more patients, Bill Broland and Michael Nasser, also have long-form web videos new to this years Head2Toe campaign. Nasser is a spine and pain care patient from Ballston Spa, and Broland is a stroke survivor from Niskayuna, NY.

They must put the best people up there [in the Neurosciences unit].... theyre like family, said Broland.

To learn more about Ellis Medicines neuroscience services, including a nationally recognized Stroke Center, and to watch the patient videos, please visit http://www.ellismedicine.org.

About Ellis Medicine The Ellis Medicine hospital system provides acute care for Schenectady County and a diverse community of 150,000 people located just west of the state capital in upstate New York. Learn more at http://www.ellismedicine.org.

About Smith & Jones Smith & Jones is an advertising and brand strategy agency based in Troy, NY, that specializes in marketing for hospital systems and large physician practices. Learn more at http://www.smithandjones.com.

Originally posted here:
Ellis Neuroscience Campaign features Conversations from Head2Toe

Thyrotoxicosis is a common disorder, especially in women. Thyroid disease affects 7 times more women than men.

Etiology

There are 3 main causes of thyrotoxicosis: Graves' disease, toxic nodular hyperthyroidism, and thyroiditis.

Here are some more details about them:

- Graves' disease (autoimmune hyperthyroidism) is the most frequent cause of thyrotoxicosis
- toxic nodular hyperthyroidism, due to the presence of one or more autonomously functioning thyroid nodules
- thyroiditis caused by inflammation, which results in release of stored hormones

Treatment

The available treatments for thyrotoxicosis have been unchanged for 60 years.

Antithyroid drugs are the usual initial treatment. Thionamides such as carbimazole or its active metabolite methimazole are the drugs of choice.

A prolonged course leads to remission of Graves' hyperthyroidism in only 30% of cases.

Because of this low remission rate in Graves' disease (only 30%) and the inability to cure toxic nodular hyperthyroidism with antithyroid drugs alone, radioiodine is increasingly used as first line therapy. It is the preferred choice for relapsed Graves' hyperthyroidism.

Surgery with total thyroidectomy is an option in selected cases. .

References:

Thyrotoxicosis. The Lancet, Volume 379, Issue 9821, Pages 1155 - 1166, 24 March 2012.

Thyroid disease—more research needed. The Lancet, Volume 379, Issue 9821, Page 1076, 24 March 2012.

Image source: Wikipedia, public domain.

Source:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CasesBlog

Editor's Choice Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;Alzheimer's / Dementia Article Date: 06 Sep 2012 - 3:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Professional Football Players Have Higher ALS And Alzheimer's Death Risks

The scientists gathered data on 3,439 ex-professional football players, average age 57 years, who had played during at least five seasons from 1959 to 1988 for the National Football League. They searched through all the death certificates, specifically looking out for deaths caused by ALS, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. When the study was ongoing, 10% of the ex-footballers had died.

The team discovered that professional football players:

Everett J. Lehman said:

A brain autopsy is necessary to diagnose CTE and distinguish it from Alzheimer's or ALS. While CTE is a separate diagnosis, the symptoms are often similar to those found in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS, and can occur as the result of multiple concussions."

The authors pointed out one limitation in their study; the small number of deaths they assessed.

Researchers from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC, found that collegiate football players have a much higher risk of sustaining head injuries and concussion than the rest of the population.

A two-year study carried out by scientists from Purdue University indicated that concussions among high school football players are probably caused by several hits over time, rather than one single blow to the head.

Written by Christian Nordqvist Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Read the original post:
Professional Football Players Have Higher ALS And Alzheimer's Death Risks