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Neurology

News, opinions and meeting coverage in neurology.

War Wounds: Hearing Loss Tracks Gulf War Vets

Battlefield wounds are often both life-threatening and life-changing, but when hearing is the casualty, the wound is too often undiagnosed or untreated, but a new initiative is underway to change tackle the silent wounds of war.

Medtronic's Infuse Moves From Operating Room to Courtroom

An investigative series by 番茄社区/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been tracking the spinal fusion device called Infuse in a 4-year-long series and now reports how a flawed FDA system for device approval may have led to a long string of adverse events culminating in thousands of liability suits.

FDA Slashes Starting Dose for Lunesta

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Patients starting on the sleep drug eszopiclone (Lunesta) should take no more than 1 mg at bedtime -- one-third the current label-recommended dose -- because of the risk of next-day impairment, the FDA said Thursday.

Shingle Risk High in Lupus, RA, COPD

Patients with autoimmune diseases and certain other chronic conditions are at increased risk for herpes zoster, a U.K. case-control study found.

Murder: Another Ambien Side Effect?

NEW YORK CITY -- Forensic psychiatrists are facing new challenges with murders committed by people under the influence of the sleep drug zolpidem (Ambien) -- not least to persuade the criminal justice system to take their conclusions seriously.

Patients鈥� Eye Color a Clue to Pain Tolerance

TAMPA -- Caucasian women with light-colored eyes -- blue or green -- appear to tolerate pain better than Causcasian women with brown or hazel eyes, researchers reported here.

Humans Beat Stroke Scales for ICH Prognosis

PHILADELPHIA -- Physicians and nurses in stroke units more accurately predicted outcomes in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) compared with common prognostic scales, a researcher reported here.

'Sensory Tricks' in Dystonia Examined

PHILADELPHIA -- The mystery of how "sensory tricks" adopted by patients to relieve symptoms of dystonia work is beginning to be unraveled, research presented here suggested.

APA Meeting Highlights Mental Health Biology

NEW YORK CITY -- The biological basis for normal and abnormal mental function is emerging as a dominant theme in psychiatry research, and the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting that starts here Saturday won't be an exception.

Forget Glucometers, Use Voodoo Dolls Instead: That's Improbable!

A weekly report from our friends at Improbable Research.

10 Ways to Safely Push Ketamine in the ED

A doctor recently took me on a Special K trip, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Environmental Factors Tied to Autism Clusters

An analysis of an insurance claims database of 100 million patients has found clustering of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability in counties across the U.S.

FDA Approves Headband Device for Migraine

A headband delivering electrical nerve stimulation can prevent onset of migraine headaches and can be marketed for that purpose in the U.S., the FDA said Tuesday.

Stroke Rounds: Early Surgery Looks Safe After tPA

Performing carotid endarterectomy or stenting in patients who were recently treated with thrombolytic therapy for an acute stroke appeared to be safe, an observational study showed.

Medtronic Sued by 1,000 Infuse Patients

Medtronic said about 1,000 people have sued the company over its bone morphogenetic protein-2 product, Infuse, and that many more lawsuits may be coming.

Killing Pain: Xanax Tops Charts

Alprazolam, more popularly known by its brand name -- Xanax--is America's favorite tranquilizer and one that is often used in combination with an opioid.

Killing Pain: Benzo 'Boost' Can Be Deadly

Adding a benzodiazepine to an opioid painkiller can increase the effect of the opioid, or in the language of addiction, benzos can boost the high -- but the combo can be deadly, according to this Killing Pain report from 番茄社区 and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

FDA OKs Northera for Hypotension

The FDA has approved droxidopa (Northera) for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, a rare disease that results in a drop in blood pressure when patients try to stand up.

Lyrica Edges Mirapex for Restless Legs

Patients with restless legs syndrome treated with pregabalin (Lyrica) had as much symptom improvement as those receiving pramipexole (Mirapex) in a large year-long trial, with fewer showing "augmentation."

Ob/Gyns Uneasy With AHA's Take on Stroke in Pregnancy

NEW ORLEANS -- Recent guidelines from the American Heart Association on the management of stroke risk in pregnant women differ significantly from those issued by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists said here.

Drug Combo Saves Kids' Tonsils in Mild OSA

The anti-inflammatory asthma drug montelukast (Singulair) plus corticosteroids was an effective initial alternative to surgery for mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children, a retrospective study showed.

Is There a Flaw in This Large Vitamin D Trial?

A co-principal investigator of the VITAL trial addresses the possibility that out-of-study testing of vitamin D levels and initiation of high-dose supplementation could be a limitation, but not a serious one.

CardioBuzz: More Money Needed for Heart Research?

The NIH dedicates a lot of money for research into heart disease and stroke, but it still might not be enough, a new study suggested.

Pay and Practice: Are Neurologists Primary Care Docs?

WASHINGTON -- Neurology isn't often mentioned in the same breath as primary care, but the American Academy of Neurology is again lobbying to gain that sobriquet -- this time to take advantage of a recent policy change that benefits primary care providers.

Droxidopa for OH Slammed by FDA Reviewers

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Droxidopa (Northera) is getting a second look by an FDA advisory committee for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension stemming from neurological disorders like Parkinson's disease, but an agency review doesn't look promising for approval.

Killing Pain: Tramadol the 'Safe' Drug of Abuse

Almost 2 decades have passed since the FDA approved tramadol as a 'safe' opioid, but the intervening years provide evidence to question that 'safe' claim, as this latest investigation by John Fauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-番茄社区 revealed.

Neuropathy May Signal Lupus

Peripheral neuropathy is a more common manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus than has been previously appreciated, and often is a small-fiber neuropathy affecting the dorsal root ganglia, a large retrospective study found.

Women on Seizure Meds Need More Folic Acid

WASHINGTON -- About half of epileptic women taking anti-seizure drugs who could have become pregnant said they were not taking the recommended folic acid supplements, results of a survey found.

At-Home Seizure Tests Promising

WASHINGTON -- Technologies to provide instant at-home detection of life-threatening seizures and that could allow epilepsy patients to monitor their own drug levels are almost ready, researchers said here.

Satisfaction With Epilepsy Surgery Lasts Long Term

WASHINGTON -- More than 90% of patients who had surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy said it was worthwhile when interviewed up to 20 years later, even when quality-of-life indicators were not improved, researchers said here.

Laser Epilepsy Surgery Boosts Memory Function

WASHINGTON -- Stereotactic laser ablation of seizure foci in the hippocampus appeared to reverse certain types of memory deficits that commonly occur in this population, researchers said here.

ADHD: Brain Iron May Be Marker

CHICAGO -- Low Fe levels in the brain may signal the presence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), researchers reported here.

Debate: Who Should Prescribe CPAP?

Should primary care physicians and other nonspecialists be able to prescribe sleep apnea treatment after home testing? Experts debated that issue this month in Chest.

Magnet Therapy Cuts Binge-Purge Eating

SAN DIEGO -- A course of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) helped about half of patients with binge/purge eating disorders to cut the frequency of such episodes significantly, a researcher said here.

Brain Stimulation Helps Smokers Quit

SAN DIEGO -- Magnetic brain stimulation with a sensory cue was associated with reduced smoking rates and improved quit rates among heavy smokers unaffected by prior therapy, researchers reported here.

Teens More Apt to Fight Than Flee

SAN DIEGO -- Teens were more likely to actively respond to aggressive cues than were children or adults, researchers reported here.

Exercise May Allay Anxiety, Depression

SAN DIEGO -- Exercise may have modest benefits as a treatment for patients suffering from anxiety or depression, researchers reported here.

Gestational Diabetes Tied to Perinatal Stroke

AUSTIN, Texas -- Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke has many possible risk factors, including gestational diabetes, researchers reported here.

Stem Cells Help ALD Kids Live Longer

AUSTIN, Texas -- Survival in children with cerebral adrenocerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) appeared to be improved with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants compared with untreated patients, a researcher said here.

NICU Survivors May See Higher Autism Rates

AUSTIN, Texas -- Autism spectrum disorder incidence was significantly higher in babies who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit, versus the general population, and was often accompanied by comorbidities, researchers said here.

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