Neurology

A multidisciplinary group of investigators from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Pennsylvania received a $3.2 million grant to develop novel brain network-based measures to guide surgical decisions and improve outcomes in the field of epilepsy surgery. Read More

Reported June 13 in Neurology, an Alzheimer’s disease risk study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center measures significantly reduced risk associated with healthy lifestyles, including non-smoking, leisure-time exercise, low-to-moderate alcohol consumption, adequate sleep and healthy diet. Read More

A new study published in Neurology reports the drug trofinetide has proven safe and effective in treating core symptoms of Rett syndrome in female children and adolescents. Read More

Analysis of data from a clinical trial conducted at Vanderbilt suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS) administered to patients with very early-stage Parkinson’s disease slowed the progression of rest tremor. The study, published June 29 in Neurology, is significant because it is the first evidence of a treatment that may… Read More

A drug commonly prescribed for Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis is also effective for treating neurosarcoidosis, according to new research led by Vanderbilt neurologists. Read More

Research by a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) scientists suggests that older people whose hearts pump less blood have blood flow reductions in the temporal lobe regions of the brain, where Alzheimer’s pathology first begins. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have established a new measure of resilience to cognitive impairment in people with asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Costantino Iadecola, M.D., an expert in the molecular pathology of ischemic brain injury and neurodegeneration at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, will present the 10th annual Meredith S. and John A. Oates Lectureship in Clinical Pharmacology on Nov. 3. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has launched specialized Physical Therapy (PT) residency programs in Orthopaedics (Sports) and Pediatrics in addition to an existing Neurological program, making Vanderbilt one of a handful of hospital systems in the country to offer three or more physical therapy residencies. Read More

Researchers at Vanderbilt University for the first time have demonstrated in a mouse model that aggregation, the “clumping together” of abnormal proteins, can contribute to a severe form of genetic epilepsy. Read More

A novel mechanism could point to new therapies for a group of inherited diseases that share pathological features. Read More

A genetic predisposition to Parkinson’s disease makes neurons more vulnerable to the toxicity of heavy metals such as copper. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have developed tools to probe the role of the essential metal manganese in neurons, and which offer a started point for developing therapeutic agents for manganese-related neurological disorders. Read More

Vanderbilt engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull. Read More

Defects in the production of certain receptors are linked to the pathogenesis of genetic epilepsies and fever-induced seizures. Read More

A new telemedicine partnership between Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Williamson Medical Center (WMC) is allowing more patients with acute neurological conditions to stay in their community. Eight VUMC neurologists are on call 24 hours a day to provide remote consultations for patients at WMC with urgent neurological conditions,… Read More

Vanderbilt anesthesiologists who recently received board certification as neurointensivists include (from left) Nahel Saied, M.D., Roy Neeley, M.D., and Christopher Hughes, M.D. Not pictured are Nathan Ashby, M.D., John Barwise, M.D., Stuart McGrane, M.D., Tracy McGrane, M.D., and Sheena Weaver, M.D. (Photo by Steve Green) After eight… Read More

A protein in the myelin coating on nerves helps form a “seal” that enables effective nerve conduction; loss of the protein causes inherited neuropathies. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been selected as one of three sites to share a three-year, $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the potential therapeutic properties of manganese, a chemical element and biologically essential trace mineral, in treating Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). Read More

Melissa Darnall could easily look around her family reunions and pick out who had Huntington’s disease (HD). The genetic disorder had affected four of her five aunts and uncles and her father, and the balance problems and shakiness typical of HD were readily apparent in those siblings. Read More