A patient walks into the doctor’s office and says: I hate feeling this way. Yes, I know it’s not cancer and it won’t kill me, but this shaking has made me a different person. I can’t sign my name. I drop and spill things all the time. I’m afraid …
Category: Neurology
Beware the claims of stem cell clinics
Earlier in June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) won a major legal victory by getting an injunction to prevent Florida-based US Stem Cell Clinic from offering its treatments. The company claimed to create stem cells from patients’ body fat …
The ethics behind the world’s most expensive medication
With the recent FDA approval, Zolgensma became the world’s most expensive medication. Priced at $2.125 million per patient, the one-dose gene therapy is a potential life-saver for children with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Now, the treatment is at th…
To struggling medical students: Meet the physician who conquered the “no’s”
I know what kinds of things I’m supposed to tell you. I know that your other would be advisors will usually stick to the same basic messages: “Keep reaching for your dreams” or “your hard work is all worth it in the end” o…
When should you be tested for vitamin B12?
Two recent patient experiences prompted this post. In the Wall Street Journal, Dana Hawkins-Simons described several years of being seen by specialist after specialist for her complaints of tiredness, dizziness, ringing in the ears, palpitations, short…
How a neurosurgeon recommends approaching concussions
When I served as president of the New Jersey Neurosurgical Society, I met a lot of people from around our great state. One question that I heard from many parents and coaches was, “After a concussion, when is it safe to let a student-athlete return to…
How a neurosurgeon recommends approaching concussions
When I served as president of the New Jersey Neurosurgical Society, I met a lot of people from around our great state. One question that I heard from many parents and coaches was, “After a concussion, when is it safe to let a student-athlete return to…
How a disability changed this medical student
As a college freshman in 2012, my life seemed perfect. I was attending Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, with the dream of becoming a pediatric oncologist. To that end, I was serving as a volunteer, researcher, and clinical intern at the world-renowned St…
How to help your children manage migraines
Stress! It is a fact of life for all human beings. Stress is a normal reaction — psychologic and physiologic — to the everyday demands of life. When your brain perceives a threat, the body reacts with a fight-or-flight response, releasing hormones, inc…
A medical student’s biggest fear
It was the last week of my EMS elective. I was incredibly lucky to ride with one of the EMS captains who was eager to take me to any call that sounded interesting. We were called to a possible stroke. An 82-year-old woman with sudden-onset unilateral w…
