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Neurology

News, opinions and meeting coverage in neurology.

'Generic' Colchicine to Hit Market

May provide some price relief for gout patients.

Separating Spondyloarthritis From Back Pain Still Problematic

Spinal MRI criteria don't help differentiate SpA from nonspecific pain.

Cannabis for Child Seizures: Popular, But Is It Effective?

Thus far, only parent reports and open-label trials for support.

Opioid Linked to Low Blood Sugar

Tramadol was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization for hypoglycemia.

Drugmaker: Aptiom Monotherapy Cuts Seizures

Study supports FDA filing for expanded indication.

Benefits Pile Up for Epilepsy Surgery

When surgery is an option, studies suggest it's usually the best one.

RSNA: Pituitary May Link Brain Injury and PTSD

Hormone treatment might be useful.

Mild Stenosis Linked to Death in Diabetes

Long-term registry shows impact similar to single-vessel obstruction.

Atherosclerosis a Signal for Brain Drain?

Plaque burden was linked to cognitive impairment in a population-based study.

FDA Panel Wants Safer Epidural Steroid Shots

Majority votes to end epidural injections with "particulate" steroids.

FDA Advisers Tackle Epidural Steroid Shots

Focus on adverse neurologic effects.

Gout May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease

Study showed AD incidence higher over 5 years for patients without gout.

That's Not Chronic Lyme, It's Cancer

Three case reports demonstrate the risks of "assuming that patients have chronic Lyme disease."

Sexsomnia: A Case Study of a New DSM-5 Diagnosis

Initiating sex while asleep is not only a drug side effect.

FDA Panel Torn on Watchman Device

Calls the device safe, but splits on its efficacy.

Excerpt From 'Being Mortal ... '

Ivan Ilyich isn't as foreign to today's medicine as we imagine.

Portenoy Opioid Talk Sparks Controversy

Opioid advocate Russell Portenoy's invitation to an upcoming NIH workshop is under fire.

Skull Size Tied to Disability Risk in MS

BOSTON -- Multiple sclerosis patients with larger intracranial volumes -- a measure of their lifetime maximal brain size -- scored better on cognition and physical function tests than those with smaller skull sizes.

TCT: PFO No Panacea for Migraine

WASHINGTON -- Percutaneous patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure did not significantly reduce the number of monthly migraine days compared with medical treatment, researchers reported here.

Multiple Sclerosis Risk Tied to Some OCs

BOSTON -- Women using combined oral contraceptives containing norethindrone or levonorgestrel were substantially more likely to develop multiple sclerosis than those not on "The Pill."

Generic Copaxone for MS Passes Clinical Test

BOSTON -- A copycat version of the multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, known generically as glatiramer acetate, performed similarly to the original product in a head-to-head trial, paving the way for it to win regulatory approval as a generic drug.

Novel Drug Beats Avonex for MS Efficacy; Safety Still a Worry

BOSTON -- Daclizumab HYP cut relapse rates and disability progression in multiple sclerosis patients more effectively than interferon beta-1a (Avonex) in a phase III trial, but liver toxicity with the IL-2 inhibitor reared its head again.

ESC: Xarelto Safe for Cardioverting Afib

BARCELONA -- Switching atrial fibrillation patients awaiting elective cardioversion to rivaroxaban (Xarelto) was as safe as warfarin in that setting.

'Sleep Drunkenness' Common, But Rarely Unexplained

So-called confusional arousals were reported in the past year by some 15% of respondents in a population-based survey, with nearly all episodes associated with mental disorders or drugs with known sleep effects.

Wait, What? Medium Was Accurate, Says Peer-Reviewed Study

Sometimes, blog posts write themselves. Others are written by dead doctors with the help of a medium.

Dementia Tied to More ICD Placements

Dementia patients get more implantable cardioverter-defibrillators than expected, and even cognitively normal individuals may not understand their options about cardiac device replacement.

HIV Drug Cleared of Cognition Hit

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Although it has well-known psychiatric side effects, the HIV drug efavirenz (Sustiva) does not affect cognition, a researcher said here.

Anti-Amyloid Drug Has Mixed Results

COPENHAGEN -- The amyloid plaque-busting drug crenezumab for Alzheimer's disease slowed cognitive decline in patients with mild baseline impairment but missed its primary endpoint in a phase II trial.

Are Your Patients Using Fake Names?

A case study in the American Journal of Medicine poses a vexing question many healthcare professionals have faced: What should you do when your patients use fraudulent names?

HTN May Halt Dementia in Very Elderly

COPENHAGEN -- Among individuals who developed hypertension at age 90 or later, their risk of also developing dementia was dramatically lower than other very elderly people whose blood pressure remained normal.

Now What? DEA Tosses Tramadol in Schedule IV

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) scheduled tramadol as a Schedule IV substance -- whats the big fuss about tramadol that led to this decision by the DEA?

Codpieces a Cover for Syphilis? That's Improbable!

A weekly report from our friends at Improbable Research.

AMA Highlights: VA, Cheerleaders, and Guns

CHICAGO -- Wrapping up a full agenda, the AMA agrees cheerleading is a sport, doctors outside the VA need to pitch in to help care for veterans, and e-cigarettes need to be regulated.

AMA Clamps Down on MOC, But Punts on Gun Regs

CHICAGO -- The AMA鈥檚 House of Delegates drew the line on this year's hot button topic -- maintenance of certification (MOC), saying it should not be mandatory, nor should it be a condition of licensure.

Dalfampridine: Not Just a Walking Aid

DALLAS -- Extended-release dalfampridine (Ampyra) is approved for boosting walking speed in multiple sclerosis patients, but its benefits extend to other aspects of physical function, according to a small study reported here.

CCSVI Practices Suboptimal but Patients Don't Mind

DALLAS -- Canadian multiple sclerosis patients who left the country to undergo the controversial procedure called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) often received poor pre- and postoperative care, but most were still relatively satisfied overall, a researcher reported here.

Gastro Effects Dog Oral MS Drug Tecfidera

DALLAS -- Large proportions of patients starting on dimethyl fumarate (Tecfidera) for multiple sclerosis need additional medications to manage the drug's GI and other side effects, and a substantial minority ultimately find the drug intolerable.

MS Bladder Problems Show Up Early and Often

Nearly 80% of multiple sclerosis patients in a large registry reported overactive bladder symptoms, and one-third of a separate cohort of newly diagnosed patients also showed urinary dysfunction, researchers reported here.

More Brain Bleeds With Stroke Drug in 'Real World鈥�

BOSTON -- Intracerebral hemorrhage was more common among patients receiving tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in the real world compared with those in a clinical trial, a small, single-center study showed.

How To Tell Fake Neck Pain From Real: The Pain Medicine News Report

A regular update on what鈥檚 new in surgery from our friends at Pain Medicine News.

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