Category: Neurology

Will Alzheimer’s disease researchers miss seeing the forest from the trees?

The National Institute of Aging (NIA) just announced $73 million over five years to fund two new research centers. “The Alzheimer Centers for the Discovery of New Medicines are designed to diversify and reinvigorate the Alzheimer’s disease …

Football and concussions: Define the risks first

Awareness about concussions has never been greater among high school athletes and coaches, thanks to the spotlight shone on some former NFL players who’ve experienced problems later in life. But a downside to this heightened awareness is the fear it ha…

Football and concussions: Define the risks first

Awareness about concussions has never been greater among high school athletes and coaches, thanks to the spotlight shone on some former NFL players who’ve experienced problems later in life. But a downside to this heightened awareness is the fear it ha…

Taking away a senior’s smartphone is a complicated issue

At first, Dr. Robert Zorowitz thought his 83-year-old mother was confused. She couldn’t remember passwords to accounts on her computer. She would call and say programs had stopped working. But over time, Zorowitz realized his mother — a highly intellig…

Primary care could hold the key to preventing Alzheimer’s disease

To delay or prevent the onset of memory loss, talk to your doctor. It can really be that simple. Among the diseases that Americans fear most, Alzheimer’s and dementia consistently rank at the top of the list. What people don’t always realize is that ma…

Most of what you learned in medical school is wrong. And that’s OK.

“90 percent of what you will learn over the next four years will be wrong in a couple of decades from now.” Speaking to a lecture hall of 120 first-year medical students, our professor’s prophecy seemed to fall on deaf ears. Looking a…

MKSAP: 49-year-old-man with right arm weakness

Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 49-year-old-man is evaluated 1 day after having an episode of right arm weakness without pain that lasted 5 minutes. He is now asymptomatic…

How a neurosurgeon uses a No Room for Error mentality when making life decisions

As a doctor that specifically deals with brain and spine surgeries, I have adopted a No Room for Error mentality in the operating room. I believe this same mentality can be helpful in making the best possible life decisions. What do I mean by No Room f…

Arm yourself with new dementia information

Everyone knows someone today who’s dealing with dementia. And as a geriatrician — that means a lot of questions come my way. Questions about parents who recently had cognitive testing, about the role of assisted living, about prevention — you nam…

The re-education of a physician into the school of pain

Since childhood, I have suffered from severe stabbing headaches. Then in my first year of medical school in anatomy, as we peeled back the scalp of our cadaver, I saw a nerve poking out of a muscle on the back of the skull. With a flash, I knew that I …