William Alexander

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles published this August. Highlights include review articles examining evoked potentials used for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease, medical care received by veterans with epilepsy, optimal stroke treatment for patients with cerebral venous thrombosis, and other topics. increase. For a summary of articles written or co-written by members of our department this month, read the paragraphs below to find links to the original articles themselves.
Epilepsy, sleep, and clinical neurophysiology
- Aatif Husain, M.D., Ph.D., was the lead author of a new study examining the association between care utilization and mortality in US veterans with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Compared with the DRE general population, DRE veterans had a higher mortality rate. The team also found that comprehensive epilepsy care, diagnostic services, and better access to medication were each associated with lower mortality.read the full text at JAMA Neurology.
- A new narrative review examines the current evidence on whether obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with postoperative delirium and postoperative cognitive impairment and explores the possibility that OSA predisposes to these disorders. Examine the mechanism with Andrew Spector, MD contributed to this article. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.
Multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology
- Senior author Chris Eckstein (MD) and medical students James Giarraputo (MD) and Mega Gupta (MD) contributed articles to the Journal Club. neurology Neurofilament light chain levels in anti-NMDAR encephalitis and primary psychosis are discussed. Read that article here.
Neurodegeneration and neurotherapy
- Despite large investments and a large public health need, Parkinson’s disease prevention trials have yet to achieve great success. Dr. Andrew West contributed an essay outlining one of his potentially useful avenues: a cohort of individuals genetically at risk for Parkinson’s disease.read that essay Neurology.
neurocritical care
- Michael “Luke” James, MD was the lead author of a new study outlining techniques for in vivo single microglial cell isolation after intracerebral hemorrhage in mice. This method will allow us to better understand the cellular mechanisms underlying brain injury and repair, and translate future potential treatments for intracerebral hemorrhages into effective treatments.Jay Lusk, medical student contributed to the article. neuroscience letters.
memory impairment
- A new study links features of the aging brain to the emergence of pathologies associated with Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that amylacea may act as a compensatory factor that is depleted with progressive tau load.John Ervin and Shih -Hsiu Jerry Wang, MD, PhD contributed to this research. Acta Neuropathologica Communications.
neuromuscular disease
- Richard Bedlack, MD, PhD, is senior author of the 66th article in the ALSUntangled series, reviewing alternative and off-label treatments for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A recent article identified the possibility of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis as a potential cause of several types of his ALS and the possibility of anti-mycobacterial antibiotics as a potential treatment. Checking it up.read the article at amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal degeneration.
- Neurofilament heavy (NEFH) is a key protein required for the formation of the neuronal cytoskeleton. Polymorphisms in this protein may also cause sporadic ALS (sALS). Richard Bedlack, MD, PhD was also part of a study investigating this hypothesis. The team found that the 9 and 10 motif lengths of the candidate tetranucleotide (TTTA) repeats in NEFH could potentially have a protective advantage in lowering her risk of sALS and delaying the age of disease onset. Did. Read the full article here.
Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders
- Kyle Mitchell, MD contributed a review article investigating the general features, mechanisms, technical recording factors, and clinical applications of brain-evoked potentials produced by deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease.read the article in the latest issue of brain stimulation.
Stroke and Vascular Neurology
- Brian Mac Grory, MB BCh, MRCP was senior author of a new systematic review and meta-analysis highlighting the most effective stroke treatments for patients with cerebral venous thrombosis. Mac Grory and colleagues investigated the existing literature on the efficacy and safety of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and vitamin K antagonists in these patients. Their review suggests that DOACs and warfarin may have comparable efficacy and safety in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis, while highlighting the need for additional research. doing.read the article at stroke.
translational brain science
- Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP) Hydrogels are Porous 3D Scaffolds Produced by Linking Randomly Filled Microgels that May Help Repair Tissue Damage After Stroke and Other Conditions am. Tatiana Segura, PhD, is senior author of an article demonstrating a new method to reproducibly control the amount of empty ‘voids’ within these hydrogels, discussing the mechanical properties, diffusion of macromolecules, and cellular responses to these hydrogels. enabled a deeper insight intoRead the full article at Acta Biomaterialia.
- Dr. Simon Gregory contributed a new article that advances our understanding of the processes that regulate mitochondrial DNA mutations. The team investigated the effects of two known nuclear genomic mutagens, cadmium and aflatoxin B.1for germline mtDNA mutagenesis Caenorhabditis elegans. Their findings suggest that mitochondria possess additional, previously uncharacterized mechanisms that regulate the mtDNA mutation process across generations.Read the full article at Nucleic acid research.