News

The final month of 2022 saw the release of 12 new peer-reviewed journal articles written or co-written by members of the Duke Neurology Department. Highlights of our most recent publications include an evaluation of a training program designed to improve the delivery of epilepsy care in Uganda, a review of recent advances in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, and a discussion of treatment options for the autoimmune condition known as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).

The Duke Neurology Department continued to build on its success in the second half of 2022. The final six months of 2022 saw Duke University Hospital receive national rankings for neurology and neurosurgery, our first endowed professorship dedicated to help treat and understand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and recognition as the country’s second national center of excellence for dystonia among other achievements.

The Duke Neurology Department continued to grow and advance its missions of patient care, research, and training the next generation of neurology providers in 2022. Highlights from the first half of our calendar year include national and Duke-wide awards recognizing our faculty’s contributions to the field of diversity, inclusion, and neurology as a whole. The same period also saw the growth of the new Duke/UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and three of our neurologists don helmets and get in their racing care.

Neuro Intensive Care Units, or Neuro ICUs, are some of the most intense, demanding locations in a hospital. Amber Anderson, MSN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, fell in love with this challenging but rewarding environment as a nurse practitioner, and decided to join our APP Fellowship program so she could spend more time there.

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.

As a child, Sarah Mason, PA-C, loved listening to the stories her grandfathers, both of whom were doctors, told about their work helping patients. Now as the newest physician assistant in our Kernodle Clinic, Mason is treating a new group of patients with memory loss, headaches, seizures, and other conditions.

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.

William Powers, MD, went to medical school with the intention of being the local doctor of a small New England town. The logical reasoning, intellect, and clinical showmanship of the then-Chair of Neurology Fred Plum got him hooked in neurology, however. Powers hasn't been bored in the five decades since. For this week’s Spotlight interview, Powers talks to us about how neurology has grown as a discipline since he was a resident.