News

As a medical student, Shalu Bansal, MD, was drawn to family medicine, a specialty that provided opportunities to treat a variety of conditions while also getting to know her patients. While providing primary care, Bansal saw the deleterious effects sleep disorders had on her patients, and decided to pursue our sleep medicine fellowship. For this week’s Spotlight interview, Bansal talks to us about how treating sleep disorders makes a difference in the lives of her patients.

This October, members of the Duke Neurology Department advanced the fields of clinical and translational neuroscience, contributing to 14 new peer-reviewed studies and one book chapter. Highlights from our recent research include validation of new automated measures that evaluate handwriting for dystonia symptoms, a discussion of the effects of blood pressure on head and facial pain, and a discussion of presentations of a neuroimmune disorder known as MOGAD.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles published this September. Among other findings, this research answered important questions about the use of telehealth to manage chronic neurological conditions, investigated an alternative therapy’s potential benefit for fighting ALS, and synthesized the latest research findings about the role of the immune system and infection in the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Even the most non-invasive surgeries pose potential strains and challenges for the central nervous system, making careful, real-time monitoring of the brain and spinal cord a requirement for a safe procedure. As one of Duke’s intraoperative neuromonitoring technologists, Holly Johnson, MS, CNIM, performs this monitoring for patients undergoing surgeries at Duke University Hospital.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles published this August. Highlights include a review article examining evoked potentials used for deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s, the healthcare received by veterans with epilepsy, the optimal stroke treatments for patients with cerebral venous thrombosis, and other topics.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to eight articles and two correspondence letters published in peer-reviewed journals this July.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Duke University Hospital as the top hospital in North Carolina and the 23rd best across the nation for neurology and neurosurgery in its 2022-2023 hospital rankings. The annual rankings, which assessed more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide, analyze and integrate dozens of medical and surgical services.

This June, members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles as well as two new book chapters. Among other findings these studies uncovered retinal differences that may one day act as early biomarkers for cognitive impairment, population-based studies that will improve treatment for stroke and other conditions, and investigations of hydrogel scaffolds as potential therapies.

As an undergraduate student, Alan Salgado, MD, knew he wanted to pursue neuroscience, but vacillated between pursuing medical or graduate school. Perhaps influenced by his father, a fellow neurologist, he chose a medical degree and a career in neurology. Now, in his final months as a neuromuscular medicine fellow at Duke, Salgado talks to us about the stroke research he performed as a resident, his future plans as a faculty member within the University of Michigan, and enjoying breweries, staying active and major league baseball when he’s not at Duke.

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) returned to an in-person meeting this week, bringing together neurologists from around the country and world to Seattle to learn about the latest research and clinical advances in neurology. Members of the Duke Neurology Department are playing a critical role in these proceedings this year, leading lectures and group talks, leading specialist groups, and presenting a dozen posters and scientific abstracts. Our Department’s contributions to AAN this year include the following honors, sessions, presentations, and awards.