Latest Conference Articles

Fred Grossman, DO, FAPA, who serves as the head of Global Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, discusses recent study results that indicated Aptiom (eslicarbazepine acetate), already approved as adjunct therapy for partial-onset seizures, may be effective as a monotherapy for patients with epilepsy.

As if there aren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a study has revealed smoking also increases the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.

A new study has found evidence that a specific genetic mutation may cause afflicted patients to feel more intense neuropathic pain.

Patients at high risk of carotid stenosis are candidates for carotid artery stenting. Researchers looked at results when patients had the procedure when they were 80 years old.

In a case reported in a poster session, a team describes a patient whose infection with E. cloacae caused a stroke.

To better define the neuropathology of people over age 95 with and without dementia, a Mayo Clinic team in Jacksonville, FL and Rochester, MN examined results of autopsies of 137 patients.

The American ALS Research Group created ALSUntangled to scientifically review alternative or off-label treatments and allow patients with ALS to make more informed decisions about whether to try these remedies

The causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remain a mystery but a Danish study offers one clue: serving in the military seems to increase ALS risk.

Children who develop progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis Type II (PFIC-II) may get better-at least for a while-without getting a liver transplant. But children borne with the condition do not, a team from Belgium found. Bile salt export pump plays a key role.

As healthy adults age their motor response inhibition may become impaired, according to Ali Shoraka, MD, a Researcher Coordinator at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. The study is due to be presented in a poster session on Apr. 20 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

While abnormal eating behaviors are recognized in behavioral frontotemportal dementia (bvFTD) patients, not much has been reported has been found on the effects on their metabolic health until recently, according to lead author Rebekah Ahmed, MD. The study is due to be presented in a poster session on Apr. 20 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

Age and the level of the brain's executive capacity (EC) are connected to the attention that adults give to novel auditory stimuli, according to Kirk Daffner, MD, chief of the division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology and director of the Center for Brain/Mind Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. The findings are set to be presented in a poster session on Apr. 20 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

Diagnosing Anti-N-methyl D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody encephalitis in adults differs from doing so in young children. Gait disturbance is a reliable sign, a Johns Hopkins team reports.

Autoimmune encephalitis is often fatal, but with prompt diagnosis and appropriate ICU care, many patients survive.

Contrary to common belief, a team of researchers in Secunderabad, India, has found that dengue fever can be neurotropic.

Since physicians are unlikely to see many opsoclonus myoclonus syndrome patients, a team of researchers from Boston, MA, set out to offer clinical features, diagnostic findings, and recommended treatments for this rare condition that is often a sign of cancer.

Human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) is usually not life threatening. But it can be lethal in patients who are immunocompromised. A new testing technique called Digital Droplet PCR appears to work better than the usual procedures.

The American Academy of Neurology's 67th annual meeting starts April 18 in Washington, D.C. and neurologists attending are expecting to hear more about marijuana and seizures, a cheaper MS drug, and whether sleep apnea leads to dementia. A team from MD Magazine will be at the conference with daily news reports and video interviews.

A Quix Test is an accurate way to find selective canal involvement in Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) patients in many cases, according to Kevin Coughlin of Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, FL. The study will be presented in a poster session on Apr. 18 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

Many patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) also suffer from negatively altered motor functions and communication behaviors, according to lead author Lorene Leung. The study will be presented in a poster session on Apr. 18 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

Pathological vertebral artery (VA) abnormalities can be identified in acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) patients with the use of an axial T2 MRI scan, according to Jorge Kattah, MD, a neurologist at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, IL. This study will be presented in a poster session on Apr. 18 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC.

The macular inner retinal layer thickness differs between individuals with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and multiple sclerosis (MS), according to lead author Richard Loeb. The study will be presented in a poster session on Apr. 18 at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Washington, DC. The finding should help physicians distinguish between the ailments.

Pain management is part of the pratice in many medical specialities, but it is also a specialty in itself. Groups like the American Society of Interventional Pain Specialists are seeing membership growth--partly because of the need to become more effective advocates.

Drugs have not been shown effective in relieving the debilitating headaches that can follow mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Researchers report that transcranial magnetic stimulation appears to do better.

Pain physicians and surgeons have concerns about performing back surgery on patients already taking opioids to control pain. A report from Massachusetts General Hospital researchers shows those concerns appear to be mostly unfounded.

Surgery appears to work better than conventional medical management to treat discogenic lumbar back pain, team reported at the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians meeting in Orlando, FL.

Targeted radiofrequency ablation (t-RFA) can be safely used to alleviate pain from spinal metastatic cancer, a Kansas team found.

Chronic low back pain can make patients miserable. Much of that pain is in the sacroiliac region. Reporting at the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, a University of Kentucky department of physical medicine and rehabilitation said Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation (CRFA) is a viable treatment option.

Gabapentin is used to treat neuropathic pain from several causes, including diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, and central neuropathic pain. In a study presented at the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians in Orlando, FL, April 11, Tobore Onojighofia, MD, MPH and colleagues found genetics plays a role in which patients do well on the drug.

Interventional pain management physicians are looking at bringing back an old therapy: destroying pain-causing nerves with cryo-ablation.