Neurology

Fighting for life: inside an emergency room during a medical crisis

Conditions

April 16, 2023

The emergency room was bustling with activity as the medical staff worked to stabilize the patient, who was lying unconscious on a hospital bed. His wife sat anxiously by his side, tears streaming down her face.

It wasn’t the first time 70-year-old Mr. Smith had been to the emergency room. His past medical history included high blood pressure and cholesterol, but his non-compliant attitude towards medication had put him at risk. …

Uncovering the hidden causes of Alzheimer’s disease [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

April 5, 2023

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Join us on this episode as we welcome Arnold Eiser, an internal medicine physician, as he shares his insights on Alzheimer’s disease. Arnold believes that Alzheimer’s may be largely preventable, despite conventional wisdom suggesting otherwise. He argues …

Overcoming Parkinson’s: a journey of laughter and resilience

Cynthia Poire Mathews, FNP

Conditions

March 28, 2023

In 2017 at the age of 62, I retired from my position as a family nurse practitioner when the small, independently owned private practice where I had been employed for 20 years was sold to the local hospital. I had been having some odd motor symptoms that were diagnosed as akinetic-rigid Parkinson’s disease in 2015.

The stiffness and reduced fine motor coordination on my dominant left side made many common tasks, …

What causes fainting and how to prevent it during needle procedures

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Conditions

March 18, 2023

Fainting, or syncope is a temporary loss of consciousness when the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen. Many things, including dehydration, low blood sugar, or anxiety, can cause it. As all doctors know, a common trigger for fainting is seeing blood or a needle.

Emotional fainting is very common in humans, especially in younger people, but it is extremely rare in non-human vertebrates. Fainting may be a response that Homo sapiens …

The unpredictable wave: a physician’s journey through seizures

Lisa Menard-Manlove, MD

Conditions

March 1, 2023

The first seizure I remember was like a wave in the ocean. Over my head, sudden dizziness, ready to go over the crest, then down into the dark. The dark was just not there. Or anywhere. Coming up was like being thrown out into the flotsam and jetsam, not knowing which way was up—seeing but not. A slow coming to the shore, a slow return. I knew I was there, …

From stroke to strength: one person’s story of overcoming challenges

Mike Campsey, MD

Conditions

February 24, 2023

My story began in the early morning of November 17, 2021, and resulted in a re-birthing of who I am and what I’m becoming. I had a massive stroke that caused paralysis of my right side and left me unable to speak. I was life-flighted to the hospital where I work, and suddenly, I became the patient, not the caregiver. I received thrombolytics, then went to the neuro-interventional suite, where …

Chris Hemsworth and personalized medicine: How genetic testing can impact your health [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 19, 2023

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Today, we’re discussing the news about actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test results. Hemsworth announced that he is taking a break from acting after learning that he has a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Our …

Understanding the memory loss of aging: How to tell normal forgetfulness from brain disorders

Andrew Budson, MD, Elizabeth Kensinger, PhD, and Daniel L. Schacter, PhD

Conditions

February 16, 2023

An excerpt from Why We Forget and How To Remember Better: The Science Behind Memory.

“I’m so worried about my memory,” says the 82-year-old accountant and mother of three. “All of my friends are having memory problems. Many of them have dementia, and some even have Alzheimer’s disease. I think I’m …

A Father’s Day golf game to remember

Richard D. Sontheimer, MD

Physician

February 6, 2023

It started with an early morning drive to the golf course on the day before Father’s Day. It was a beautiful spring day in the Southwest, and the Man had it all to himself. However, the second half of the day would belong to others — his wife, his kids, his house, and his job. He was hoping for a quick 18 requiring no mental gymnastics beyond that of a …

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A Father’s Day golf game to remember

A heartbreaking yet heartwarming story of a pediatric neurology resident’s struggle and empathy

Dr. Sujana Madathil

Physician

February 4, 2023

The pager beeps early on the first day of my inpatient pediatric neurology service week. The pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) would like us to perform a brain death examination on a young boy before potential organ donation. An apparently healthy boy who had an unexpected clinical course that led to his current state.

As a pediatric neurology resident, I often have difficult conversations with our patients and families, but the …

Challenging conventional wisdom: How to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Arnold R. Eiser, MD

Conditions

January 29, 2023

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating illness without effective treatment. Yet it may, in fact, be largely preventable. The first shocking fact to absorb is that the pathogenesis is largely extracranial, though assuredly not entirely so. That clearly defies the conventional pharmacologic wisdom, which has obsessed with amyloid-beta as the offending agent and has approached it by crafting and evaluating antibodies against it. The FDA has even bought into that theory …

A couple’s journey with a rare neurodegenerative disorder

Bruce Rosky

Conditions

January 17, 2023

It was in 2012 that I started to realize that my wife Jennifer’s memory lapses were a significant sign to be taken seriously. That insight set us on a four-year journey, during which we engaged four neurologists in our quest for an answer. At last, Dr. Brent Fogel at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA diagnosed Jennifer with adult polyglucosan body disease (APBD), an ultra-rare, neurodegenerative disorder characterized …

Timely treatment decisions: the promise of surrogate markers

Layla Parast, PhD

Meds

January 4, 2023

Driving around, searching for children’s Tylenol and a pharmacy that had the antibiotics my son needed, was not how I wanted to spend the holidays. I am not alone – shelves are bare, and antibiotics are in short supply as we head into the new year in the midst of a triple threat of COVID-19, flu, and RSV.

While this drug shortage is incredibly frustrating, at least there is …

In light of Chris Hemsworth’s APOE news: Don’t panic

Ani Rostomyan, PharmD

Conditions

December 6, 2022

Recent news on actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test has been widely covered in the media. The actor said he is taking a break from acting after learning he has a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

I learned this from my teenage son, who read in the news that the Thor star discovered this after undergoing tests as part of his Disney+ documentary series Limitless.

Hemsworth learned that he has …

Managing key risk factors may lower your dementia risk

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions

November 23, 2022

Close to 6 million adults in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia, according to CDC data. And that number will grow as the U.S. population ages. The number of people with Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia is projected to increase to approximately 14 million over the next 38 years.

Dementia impacts not only the people who develop this condition but also …

Dementia peels back the layers of our lives

Karen Hendrickson

Conditions

November 11, 2022

When you begin to pay close attention, you notice how what used to be so easy becomes complicated. When you step back and watch things unfold in front of you, you realize that what once was enough is simply too much. Dementia peels back the layers of our lives, and you begin to understand that less becomes more in the world of dementia.

The signs were there for a long time. …

It’s not brain surgery: People with Parkinson’s need better care in the hospital

Rebecca Miller, PhD

Conditions

October 24, 2022

One year ago, I had brain surgery. The surgery was a success, and the hospital stay almost killed me.

I am one in a million; one of the 1 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative neurological disorder that currently has no cure. It is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world, with the prevalence Read more…

It’s not brain surgery: People with Parkinson’s need better care in the hospital

Take steps (literally) to prevent dementia

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Conditions

October 12, 2022

A recent study out of England found that walking just under 10,000 steps a day reduces a person’s risk of developing dementia by 50 percent. Pick up the pace to a “brisk” walk (over 40 steps per minute), and that risk goes down even further. Perhaps most strikingly, the authors found that even a low number of daily steps was associated with a reduced risk of dementia.

The walking study …

Who are the neurodiverse people in your life?

Krystal Sodaitis, MD

Conditions

September 24, 2022

As physicians, we equate terms like “disorder” and “syndrome” with pathology. If a diagnosis is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV, it’s considered a “problem.” In the case of neurodevelopmental diagnoses, I am becoming increasingly aware that this may not be the case. As a neurodiverse individual with many neurodiverse family members and friends, I believe there is nothing “wrong” with our brains. Different …

How a medical-legal consultant helped refute a possible pre-existing medical condition argument

Armin Feldman, MD

Physician

September 5, 2022

Doing medical-legal consulting is a great way to use your medical training in a non-clinical field that really helps people. One of the many things we can do is help attorneys refute the question of a pre-existing medical condition. Often opposing counsel will try to lay off accident injuries as not related to the accident or injury in question.

As you may know, medical-legal consulting is a new non-clinical field in …