Opinion

Aggressive Policing as a Public Health Issue

By

Jim Anderson, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA

PAs, NPs, and other medical providers need to assess the health impact of high-impact policing on their patients and to advocate for change.

New Urgency for Treating Hereditary ATTR Amyloidosis with Polyneuropathy

By

Jeffrey A. Allen, MD

Hereditary transthyretin-related amyloidosis (hATTR) with polyneuropathy is a rare, progressive and fatal disease that has been challenging for neurologists to diagnose and manage, until now. Advances in genetic testing have yielded the development of a new generation of more efficient screenings that make early, accurate, and rapid diagnosis more accessible.

Healthcare Costs Associated With Emergency Department Visits

By

George Marzouka, MD

Dr Marzouka discusses the fact that patients cannot shop around for a better deal when going to the emergency department and are almost never presented with the cost of care prior to receiving it.

Opinion: Does Religion Have a Place in Medicine?

By

Batya Swift Yasgur, MA, LMSW

Benjamin Frush MD, a resident in internal medicine-pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, argues in favor of a role that physicians can play in integrating religion into their clinical practice. Rob Poole MB, FRCPsych, contends that physicians should never incorporate a religious element into clinical practice.

The Open Access Debate: Should Patients Freely Access Research?

By

Erin Connolly

Patients and their families are advocating for their right to access the latest medical research papers to help find potential treatments and understand health conditions.

Thoughts on Brain Death: The Last Time I Felt Like a Healer

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Finding the balance of empathy and professionalism is a skill that not enough of us recognize as essential, and even fewer seek to teach.

Brain Death: The Art of Explaining Ambiguity

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Attempting to engage on an intellectual level about the heady concept of brain death while in the throes of bereavement can often lead to mistrust and confusion.

Brain Health in Contact Sports: Putting It All on the Line

By

Pierre Manzo

For adolescents, contact sports increase the risk of brain health complications.

Expert Analysis: Tenecteplase Yet to Prove Itself vs Alteplase

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Despite disappointing results, tenecteplase’s story in stroke treatment might not be over.

Patient Advocacy Groups and Conflict of Interest: Should You Be Wary?

By

Stan Grossman

A survey showed 67.3% of patient advocacy organizations received industry funding, while 11.9% received more than half of their funding from industry.

Beyond Solanezumab: Q&A With Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD

By

Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC

Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD, discusses the implications of Eli Lilly’s failed solanezumab trial on the future of Alzheimer’s disease research.

Opting Out of Medicare: A Physician’s Perspective

By

Stan Grossman

Katherine A. Roberts, MD, FACE, ECNU, discusses her choice to opt out of Medicare and offers advice to physicians considering doing the same.

Pushing the Limits of Endovascular Therapy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Recent research found benefits in outcome outweighed any increase in hemorrhagic complications in patients with large infarcts.

Glyburide Promising for Treatment of Acute Ischemic Stroke

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Although the study did not demonstrate efficacy of glyburide, differences were seen in the amount midline shift at 3-4 days.

Is It Time to Reconsider Therapeutic Coma for Refractory SE?

By

Tori Rodriguez, MA, LPC

Key opinion leaders weigh in given recent findings that increased use of therapeutic coma in status epilepticus may not be linked with improved outcomes.

Decompressive Craniectomy in Traumatic Brain Injury: Weighing the Risks and Benefits

By

Namir Khandker, MD

The greatest hurdle in developing effective treatments for TBI lies in the varied and dynamic pathophysiology and incomplete understanding of factors leading to poor outcome.

HIPAA Compliance: Should You Encrypt Patient Health Information?

By

Tammy Worth

HIPAA doesn’t require providers to encrypt devices or electronic information, but one could say it is strongly encouraged.

Guideline Update: Management of Recurrent Stroke With Patent Foramen Ovale

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Despite 3 large randomized trials and updated guidelines, the question of PFO closure remains a complex entity.

Highlights From the 2016 American Headache Society Annual Meeting

By

Huma U. Sheikh, MD

Huma Sheikh, MD, discusses some of her top picks from presentations made at the 2016 AHS annual meeting.

Blood Pressure Management Is Only Part of the Story in Intracerebral Hemorrhage

By

Namir Khandker, MD

A joint medical and surgical approach may ensure the best outcome.

Should Stroke Patients of Asian Descent Get Less tPA?

By

Namir Khandker, MD

The idea of low-dose tPA will likely not be abandoned despite recent findings.

More Choices of Antiplatelet Agents for the Secondary Prevention of Stroke

By

Namir Khandker, MD

Ticagrelor may have an opportunity to shine in patients already on aspirin or clopidogrel.

Is It Possible to Make Football Safer?

By

Vernon B. Williams, MD

Changing the stigma around and frequency of injury in football requires a collaborative, educational effort involving all stakeholders.

Hot Topics in Stroke With Advisory Board Member Albert Favate, MD

By

Alicia Ciccone

Dr Albert Favate addresses some of the hottest topics concerning stroke care and patient management.

What Neurologists Should Know About Concussion, the Film

By

Francis X. Conidi, MD

Dr Conidi discusses some of the major points addressed in the blockbuster film that could impact clinical practice.

What to Expect at the 2015 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting

By

Ruben Kuzniecky, MD

Ruben Kuzniecky, MD, outlines what to expect at this year’s American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting.

Developments in Interventional Stroke Treatment

By

Albert S. Favate, MD

Interventional stroke treatment continues to rapidly evolve as health care providers implement new protocols to ensure more rapid, successful treatment.

Rethinking Concussion Assessment: Advances in Brain Network Activation

By

Jeffrey S. Kutcher, MD

Technology called Brain Network Activation allows health care professionals to evaluate brain network function after traumatic brain injury and during recovery.

Time is Brain: Variations in Acute Stroke Care are Harmful

By

Albert S. Favate, MD

New recommendations for the treatment of acute stroke put emergency physicians and neurology stroke specialists at odds.

Advancements in Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson’s

By

Jerrold Vitek, MD, PhD

The ongoing INTREPID clinical trial is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Vercise™ DBS System.

The Argument Against ICD-10 Implementation

By

Steven M. Croft, MD

Steven Croft, MD, lays down his reasons why ICD-10 will do more bad than good for physician and patient communities.

Highlights from AHS 2015: cGRP, Neuroimaging Pique Interest

By

Huma U. Sheikh, MD

The meeting was abuzz with excitement about a new potential treatment targeted directly at migraines.

What to Look Forward to at the American Headache Society Scientific Meeting

By

Huma U. Sheikh, MD

Huma U. Sheikh, MD, shares her thoughts on sessions of interest from the upcoming AHS Annual Scientific Meeting.

Altering Time for Alzheimer’s: The Hebrew Home’s RiverSpring at Night Program

By

Zachary Palace, MD

The RiverSpring at Night program accommodates the altered sleep cycles of Alzheimer’s dementia patients with a drug-free approach to nighttime activities and comprehensive care.

Autism Awareness: Perspectives from a Researcher and Parent

By

Michael Ronemus, PhD

Michael Ronemus, PhD, was forced to step out from behind the microscope when his own son was diagnosed with autism.

Report on Opioids During Pregnancy Harms Pain Community

By

Lynn Webster, MD

Lynn Webster, MD, calls out media reports on a new study that claims opioid use during pregnancy may be harmful to infants.

Providing Epilepsy Care to Patients in Need: Project ECHO

By

Jeannie Boyle, MSN, RN

Glen Fenton, MD

Mark Pedrotty, PhD

A multidisciplinary team of providers come together to address epilepsy cases of patients with limited access to care.

Concussion Detection: The Most Serious Decision in Sports?

By

Harry G. Kerasidis, MD

All too often, physicians, coaches, and athletes are swayed into making a quick conclusion about concussion risk after a hard hit.

Can People Be Predisposed to Insomnia?

By

Sharon M. O'Brien, MPAS, PA-C

Results of a twin study showed that insomnia was moderately heritable, but in childhood, it was thought to be a result of behavior.

Building the Imaging Dataset for the Human Connectome Project

By

Alicia Ciccone

Kamil Ugurbil, PhD, is leading the monumental 5-year Human Connectome brain imaging project that’s making use of 7T MRI technology.