Neurology Commons^™

Support For Family Members Who Are Caregivers To Relatives With Acquired Brain Injury, Janet Walker, Lourens Schlebusch, Bernhard Gaede

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Objectives. Family members caring for a patient with acquired brain injury (ABI) are coping with inordinate levels of stress partially due to their lack of understanding of the neuropsychological effects of acquired brain injury in the patient. The objective of this research is to show that as the caregivers’ stress levels increase, there is an increase in suicidal ideation. This highlights the causal relationship between unhealthy stress and reduced psychological well-being in these caregivers. In addition, qualitative research evidence regarding the caregivers’ views of their main sources of stress are presented. Methods. The participants were a random sample of 80 …

Method Of Intra-Arterial Drug Administration In A Rat: Sex Based Optimization Of Infusion Rate, Sarah J. Messmer, Justin F. Fraser, Keith R. Pennypacker, Jill M. Roberts

Center for Advanced Translational Stroke Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Endovascular thrombectomy is the process of removing a blood clot and re-establishing blood flow in patients with emergent large vessel occlusion. The technique provides an opportunity to deliver therapeutics directly to the site of injury. The intra-arterial (IA) route of drug administration in the mouse was developed to bridge the gap between animal stroke treatments and clinical stroke therapy. Here, we adapted the IA method for use in rats, by investigating various flow rates to optimize the IA injection through the internal carotid artery (ICA).

METHODS: Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (∼4 months of age) were subjected to placement …

Management Of Paediatric Intracranial Ependymoma, Syeda Kubra Kishwar Jafri, Saqib Kamran Bakhshi, Muhammad Shahzad Shamim

Section of Neurosurgery

Intracranial ependymoma are relatively common paediatric brain tumours, but their eloquent location and high recurrence rate pose a significant challenge. Gross total resection or maximum safe resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy are currently the standard recommended treatment, although there is still nearly 50% recurrence risk at 5 years. Chemotherapy has shown some promising results after recent advances in molecular understanding of ependymomas, but needs further evaluation before it could be added to the treatment regime.

Tranexamic Acid To Reduce Head Injury Death In People With Traumatic Brain Injury: The Crash-3 International Rct, Ian Roberts, Haleema Shakur-Still, Amy Aeron-Thoma, Danielle Beaumont, Antonio Belli, Amy Brenner, Madeleine Cargill, Rizwana Chaudhri, Nicolas Douglas, Rashid Jooma

Section of Neurosurgery

Background: Tranexamic acid safely reduces mortality in traumatic extracranial bleeding. Intracranial bleeding is common after traumatic brain injury and can cause brain herniation and death. We assessed the effects of tranexamic acid in traumatic brain injury patients.
Objective: To assess the effects of tranexamic acid on death, disability and vascular occlusive events in traumatic brain injury patients. We also assessed cost-effectiveness.
Design: Randomised trial and economic evaluation. Patients were assigned by selecting a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients, caregivers and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. …

Improving Handover Process For Stroke Patients Transferring From Emergency Department To Interventional Radiology: A Quality Improvement Project, Megan Buchman

Doctoral Projects

Background: A standardized handover process is needed for stroke patients transferring from the Emergency Department to Interventional Radiology.

Local Problem: Emergency Department and Interventional Radiology had different handover processes.

Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted in a large Magnet® designated midwestern health system. Participants included emergency department and interventional radiology nurses and stroke patients. Pre/post-quality and post implementation measures were obtained.

Interventions: The interventions included utilizing a standardized handover tool between departments, calling report prior to patient transfer, and turning in handover tool following stroke case to ensure compliance. Two cycles of the Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle were completed.

Results: No …

Collaboration Therapy: Telehealth Principles And Case Studies, Elliot Cole, Phd, Larry M. Starr, Phd

School of Continuing and Professional Studies Faculty Papers

While conventional in-clinic Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) rehabilitation serves the needs of the vast majority of patients many of whom go on to resume their lives a significant percentage of patients continue to have enduring cognitive disabilities despite long-term and skilled therapy. However, these patients can rapidly achieve gains which typically continue to increase toward substantial self-sufficiency when engaged in Collaboration Therapy (CT). CT is directed toward patient populations appropriate for a telehealth service who meet the following criteria: 1) patients have plateaued in conventional in-clinic therapy; 2) in-patients are too distant from an appropriate outpatient facility; and 3) individuals …

Achieving Value In Spine Surgery: 10 Major Cost Contributors., Lucas R. Philipp, Adam Leibold, Aria Mahtabfar, Thiago Montenegro, Glenn Gonzalez, James Harrop

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

STUDY DESIGN: Narrative Review.

OBJECTIVES: The increasing cost of healthcare overall and for spine surgery, coupled with the growing burden of spine-related disease and rising demand have necessitated a shift in practice standards with a new emphasis on value-based care. Despite multiple attempts to reconcile the discrepancy between national recommendations for appropriate use and the patterns of use employed in clinical practice, resources continue to be overused-often in the absence of any demonstrable clinical benefit. The following discussion illustrates 10 areas for further research and quality improvement.

METHODS: We present a narrative review of the literature regarding 10 features in …

Bundled Payment Models In Spine Surgery., Kevin Hines, Nikolaos Mouchtouris, Charles Getz, Glenn Gonzalez, Thiago Montenegro, Adam Leibold, James Harrop

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

STUDY DESIGN: The following is a narrative discussion of bundled payments in spine surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The cost of healthcare in the United States has continued to increase. To lower the cost of healthcare, reimbursement models are being investigated as potential cost saving interventions by driving incentives and quality improvement in fields such a spine surgery.

METHODS: Narrative overview of literature pertaining to bundled payments in spine surgery synthesizing findings from computerized databases and authoritative texts.

RESULTS: Spine surgery is challenging to define payment modes because of high cost variability and surgical decision-making nuances. While implementing bundled care payments in spine …

Value Of Emergent Neurovascular Imaging For "Seat Belt Injury": A Multi-Institutional Study, F G Sherbaf, B Chen, T Pomeranz, M Shahriari, M E Adin, S Mirbagheri, E Beheshtian, R Jalilianhasanpour, J Pakpoor, J W Lazor, A Kamali, D M Yousem

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Screening for blunt cerebrovascular injury in patients after motor vehicle collision (MVC) solely based on the presence of cervical seat belt sign has been debated in the literature without consensus. Our aim was to assess the value of emergent neurovascular imaging in patients after an MVC who present with a seat belt sign through a large-scale multi-institutional study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The electronic medical records of patients admitted to the emergency department with CTA/MRAs performed with an indication of seat belt injury of the neck were retrospectively reviewed at 5 participating institutions. Logistic regression analysis was used …

Serotonergic Therapy In Epilepsy, Frank Gilliam, Hrvoje Hećimović, Matthew S. Gentry

School of Medicine Publications

Purpose of review

The serotonergic system is implicated in multiple aspects of epilepsy, including seizure susceptibility, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and comorbid depression. Despite the complexity of serotonin’s effects on various neuronal networks, ongoing research provides considerable insight into the role of serotonin in human epilepsy. This review explores the potential roles of serotonergic therapies to improve clinical outcomes in epilepsy.

Recent findings

In recent decades research has markedly increased our knowledge of the diverse effects of serotonin on brain function. Animal models of epilepsy have identified the influence of serotonin on seizure threshold in specific brain regions, …

Autism: A Deep Insight, Hemaila Tariq, Muhammad Yusuf Hafiz

Medical College Documents

No abstract provided.

Improving Caregivers’ Perceived Involvement In Care Through Facilitating Communication With Hospital Providers, Heather Manolas

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: Involvement of family in care-planning for prevention of delirium in acute care settings is crucial, yet remains underutilized in those who are cognitively impaired. Despite the incidence of delirium in acute care worsening during COVID-19, many factors have led to it being placed on the back burner.

PICOT: In caregivers of cognitively impaired individuals, can implementation of an evidence-based, best practice tool that advocates for evidence-based delirium prevention strategies tailored to their loved-one and facilitates family involvement in care planning for these strategies during a healthcare experience as compared to no other intervention improve confidence in, and …

Gad Antibody-Spectrum Disorders: Progress In Clinical Phenotypes, Immunopathogenesis And Therapeutic Interventions., Popianna Tsiortou, Harry Alexopoulos, Marinos Dalakas

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD), originally linked to stiff person syndrome (SPS), now denote the “GAD antibody-spectrum disorders” (GAD-SD) that also include autoimmune epilepsy, limbic encephalitis, cerebellar ataxia and nystagmus with overlapping symptomatology highlighting autoimmune neuronal excitability disorders. The reasons for the clinical heterogeneity among GAD-antibody associated syndromes remain still unsettled, implicating variable susceptibility of GABAergic neurons to anti-GAD or other still unidentified autoantibodies. Although anti-GAD antibody titers do not correlate with clinical severity, very high serum titers, often associated with intrathecal synthesis of anti-GAD-specific IgG, point to in-situ effects of GAD or related autoantibodies within the central nervous …

Space-Occupying Brain Lesions, Trauma-Related Tau Astrogliopathy, And Artag: A Report Of Two Cases And A Literature Review, Adam D. Bachstetter, Filip G. Garrett, Gregory A. Jicha, Peter T. Nelson

Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center Faculty Publications

Astrocytes with intracellular accumulations of misfolded phosphorylated tau protein have been observed in advanced-stage chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and in other neurodegenerative conditions. There is a growing awareness that astrocytic tau inclusions are also relatively common in the brains of persons over 70 years of age-affecting approximately one-third of autopsied individuals. The pathologic hallmarks of aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG) include phosphorylated tau protein within thorn-shaped astrocytes (TSA) in subpial, subependymal, perivascular, and white matter regions, whereas granular-fuzzy astrocytes are often seen in gray matter. CTE and ARTAG share molecular and histopathologic characteristics, suggesting that trauma-related mechanism(s) may predispose to the …

Cooper Neurological Institute, Kayla Cupano

Department of Occupational Therapy Entry-Level Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Intradural Extramedullary Capillary Hemangioma Of The Cauda Equina: Case Report Of A Rare Spinal Tumor., Liam P Hughes, Garrett Largoza, Thiago S Montenegro, Caio M Matias, Anthony Stefanelli, Mark T Curtis, James S Harrop

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Intradural extramedullary capillary hemangiomas of the cauda equina are exceedingly rare, with only 20 previous cases reported. In the adult population, these tumors are rare and can arise in the central and peripheral nervous systems from the dura or spinal nerve roots. Intradural capillary hemangiomas of the cauda equina can yield symptoms such as lower extremity weakness, pain, and bladder and bowel dysfunction. The clinical symptomology and surgical management of this rare spinal lesion are reviewed in this case report.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old male presented with progressive bilateral lower extremity weakness for 2 years, with recent bladder and …

Downbeat Nystagmus In A 7-Year-Old Girl With Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Meningitis And Cerebellitis, Cameron A. Wade, David Neil Toupin, Kyle Darpel, Kimberly S. Jones, Donita D. Lightner

Neurology Faculty Publications

Downbeat nystagmus is a type of jerk nystagmus that may be seen in patients with lesions affecting the vestibulocerebellum. This is a case of a 7-year-old girl presenting with a history of fever, headache, and episodic vertigo with downbeat nystagmus. The diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus meningitis with acute cerebellitis was made by contrast magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and serum Epstein-Barr virus titers. Contrast magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated enhancement of the meninges and inferior cerebellar folia, correlating with the neuroophthalmological symptom of downbeat nystagmus.

Crispr-Mediated Rapid Generation Of Neural Cell-Specific Knockout Mice Facilitates Research In Neurophysiology And Pathology., Dan Xiao, Weifeng Zhang, Qing Wang, Xing Li, Yuan Zhang, Javad Rasouli, Giacomo Casella, Bogoljub Ciric, Mark Curtis, A M Rostami, Guang-Xian Zhang

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

Inducible conditional knockout mice are important tools for studying gene function and disease therapy, but their generation is costly and time-consuming. We introduced clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and Cre into an LSL-Cas9 transgene-carrying mouse line by using adeno-associated virus (AAV)-PHP.eB to rapidly knockout gene(s) specifically in central nervous system (CNS) cells of adult mice. NeuN in neurons and GFAP in astrocytes were knocked out 2 weeks after an intravenous injection of vector, with an efficiency comparable to that of inducible Cre-loxP conditional knockout. For functional testing, we generated astrocyte-specific Act1 knockout mice, which exhibited a phenotype …

Prior Sleep Problems And Adverse Post-Traumatic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae Of Motor Vehicle Collision In The Aurora Study, Thomas C Neylan, Ronald C Kessler, Kerry J Ressler, Gari Clifford, Francesca L Beaudoin, Xinming An, Jennifer S Stevens, Donglin Zeng, Sarah D Linnstaedt, Laura T Germine, Sophia Sheikh, Alan B Storrow, Brittany E Punches, Kamran Mohiuddin, Nina T Gentile, Meghan E Mcgrath, Sanne J H Van Rooij, John P Haran, David A Peak, Robert M Domeier, Claire Pearson, Leon D Sanchez, Niels K Rathlev, William F Peacock, Steven E Bruce, Jutta Joormann, Deanna M Barch, Diego A Pizzagalli, John F Sheridan, Steven E Harte, James M Elliott, Irving Hwang, Maria V Petukhova, Nancy A Sampson, Karestan C Koenen, Samuel A Mclean

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Many patients in Emergency Departments (EDs) after motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive episode (MDE). This report from the AURORA study focuses on associations of pre-MVC sleep problems with these outcomes 8 weeks after MVC mediated through peritraumatic distress and dissociation and 2-week outcomes.

METHODS: A total of 666 AURORA patients completed self-report assessments in the ED and at 2 and 8 weeks after MVC. Peritraumatic distress, peritraumatic dissociation, and pre-MVC sleep characteristics (insomnia, nightmares, daytime sleepiness, and sleep duration in the 30 days before the MVC, trait sleep stress reactivity) were …

Cardiovascular Disease Risk, Awareness, And Treatment In People With Epilepsy, Samuel W Terman, Carole E Aubert, Chloe E Hill, Jeremy Skvarce, James F Burke, Scott Mintzer

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether cardiovascular risk, risk awareness, and guideline concordant treatment differ in individuals with versus without epilepsy.

METHODS: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included participants ≥18 years for 2013-2018. We classified participants as having epilepsy if reporting ≥1 medication treating seizures. We calculated 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk using the revised pooled cohort equation. We compared unadjusted and adjusted risk for participants with versus without epilepsy. We then assessed hypertension and diabetes disease awareness and control, plus statin guideline-concordance. We assessed mediators for both ASCVD risk and …

Neurological Complications Of Covid19 During March 2020 At Lcmc Health University Medical Center: Dataset, David Chachkhiani, Michael Y. Soliman, Delphi Barua, Marine Isakadze, Nicole R. Villemarette-Pittman, Deidre J. Devier, Jesus F. Lovera

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

We reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients hospitalized during the peak of the pandemic, March 1st through March 31st, to document the type and frequency of neurological problems seen in patients with COVID-19 at presentation to the emergency room. Secondary aims were to determine: 1) the frequency of neurological complaints during the hospital stay; 2) whether the presence of any neurological complaint at presentation or any of the individual types of neurological complaints at admission predicted three separate outcomes: death, length of hospital stay, or the need for intubation; and 3) if the presence of any neurological complaint …

Capturing Initial Understanding And Impressions Of Surgical Therapy For Parkinson's Disease, Somnath Das, Caio Matias, Sunihidi Ramesh, Lohit Velagapudi, Julie Barbera, Samantha Katz, Michael Baldassari, Mohammad Rasool, Daniel Kremens, Jeffrey Ratliff, Md, Tsao-Wei Liang, Chengyuan Wu

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Background: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an underutilized surgical therapy for Parkinson's Disease (PD). Both physician and patient hesitancies have been described as potential barriers to DBS, but the specifics of patient perceptions of DBS have not been well-characterized in the general PD population. Objective: To characterize the understanding and impressions of surgical therapy in PD patients prior to formal surgical evaluation. Methods: A 30-question survey assessing impressions of surgical therapy for PD and understanding of DBS for PD was administered to PD patients seen at an urban movement disorders clinic. Results: One hundred and two patients completed the survey. …

Association Of Supine Hypertension In Patients With Parkinson’S Disease, Anam Anis, Iqra Athar, Mazhar Badshah

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease affecting older age populations. There is variable evidence of its relationship with hypertension. To date most of the studies have targeted orthostatic hypotension, however, rare data regarding supine hypertension has been witnessed so far. This study aimed at determining the association of supine hypertension with Parkinson’s disease.

Gutka Associated Optic Neuropathy, Dureshahwar Kanwar, Mohammad Wasay

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Optic neuropathy may be multi factorial in origin. It’s association with gutka use in South East Asia is most likely under diagnosed and often overlooked, considering it is a diagnosis of exclusion. The Optic nerve toxicity is well known occurring due to medications, metals, organic solvents, methanol, and carbon dioxide.1 Over recent years the effect of smokeless tobacco has been highlighted as one of the common causes of toxic optic neuropathy (TON), as visual impairment is already a colossal global health issue. Nonetheless,as high as 80 percent of the total burden of cases of blindness globally are due to causes …

Declining Intensive Care Unit Mortality Of Covid-19: A Multi-Center Study, Sohaib Roomi, Syed Omar Shah, Waqas Ullah, Shan Abedin, Karyn L. Butler, Chiers, Kelly, Benjamin A. Kohl, Erika J. Yoo, Matthew Vibbert, Jack Jallo

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality has waned significantly over time; however, factors contributing towards this reduction largely remain unidentified. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the trend in mortality at our large tertiary academic health system and factors contributing to this trend. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of intensive care unit (ICU) patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March and August 2020 admitted across 14 hospitals in the Philadelphia area. Collected data included demographics, comorbidities, admission risk of mortality score, laboratory values, medical interventions, survival outcomes, hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS) and discharge disposition. …

Finger Drop Sign In Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Iqra Athar, Neelma Naz Khattak, Haris Majid Rajput, Mazhar Badshah, Zukhruf Zayian, Tashfain Shifa

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a post-infectious, immune-mediated disease that causes a rapidly progressing poly-radiculoneuropathy resulting in weakness and areflexia. It has several variant forms like AIDP, AMAN and AMSAN,

Common Peroneal Neuropathy In Harvesting Farmers, Harwindar Kumar, Syed Muhammad Anwar Shah, Jamita Kor, Sadaf Qazi, Jasvindar Kumar

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

In Pakistan harvesting season occurs from April to May and again from October to December. Thirteen farmers with a history of foot drop were studied in neurophysiology laboratory of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) during the period from March 2019 to December 2019. All the patients had nerve conduction study (NCS) while in some of the patients, electromyography (EMG) was also done to determine the duration of injury and to rule out other differential diagnoses.

A Case Of Acute Psychosis Following Dengue Fever, Waleed Shahzad, Omer Ismail Khalid, Neelam Sarwar, Muhammad Hassan, Tehmina Inayat, Mazhar Badshah

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Dengue fever has been infecting millions of people all around the world specially the rural areas of South East Asia according to World Health Organization. It is caused by an Arbovirus and transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes aegyptii mosquito. Dengue commonly presents with fever and thrombocytopenia; rare presentations include acute pancreatitis, dengue hemorrhagic stroke and encephalopathy. Common psychiatric complications of dengue fever include anxiety, depression, manic episodes and catatonia. We present a rare case of a 51 year old man who presented with an acute episode of psychosis including over talkativeness, irritability, authoritative and disinhibited behavior, …

Intra-Carpal Tunnel Steroid Injections Are Superior To Nsaids In Management Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Saba Zaidi, Shafaq Abbas

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is caused by the compression of median nerve in carpal tunnel. Carpal bones make the floor of the carpal tunnel and the transverse carpal ligament forms the roof. Components include median nerve and the flexor tendons. The pain may be localized to the wrist or may radiate to forearm, arm or rarely shoulder. Effectiveness of treatment by intracarpal corticosteroid injection in comparison with NSAID has never been investigated. The objective of this study was to determine if corticosteroid injections for carpal tunnel syndrome are effective compared to NSAID.

Post Herpes Nmdar Encephalitis In A 8 Month Old Girl, Farida Jan, Shahnaz H Ibrahim

Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences (PJNS)

Patients with Herpes Simplex virus Encephalitis are seen to have a relapse of symptoms namely seizures and choreoathetoid movements along with impairment of consciousness1. Though infective relapse is a possibility requiring extended antiviral therapy2, immune mediated mechanism is most probable.3 Although there is a similarity of symptoms between relapsing HSVE and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody encephalitis, the most likely culprit is the latter.