News

Fellow Spotlight: Daniel Guillen, MD

Neurology has fascinated Daniel Guillen, MD, since he took his first neuroscience class as a teenager. Now, as one of our neuromuscular medicine fellows, the pediatric neurologist is helping provide electromyography (EMG) exams, treating patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), adults and children with muscular dystrophy, and learning from the complex, difficult decision-making of his peers and mentors.

A Bold Approach to Caring for ALS Patients

Rick Bedlack, MD, PhD, is easy to spot from a distance. Instead of a white coat, the Duke neurologist wears distinct outfits when seeing patients at the Morreene Road Neurology Clinic in Durham, NC. A black leather jacket with mirrored studs and matching tie, burgundy crushed velvet suit and bow tie, a Hawaiian shirt festooned with Chinese dragons, or a pink, yellow, and green sweater vest with a Donald Duck pattern across his midsection are some of the dozens of entries in his growing wardrobe.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, January 2021

The final month of 2020 saw fifteen new publications written or co-written by members of the Duke Department of Neurology. Sneha Mantri, MD, MS, was a lead author of a new study examining factors contributing to burnout and moral injury among health-care workers at Duke. Our Neuromuscular Disease faculty wrote multiple studies advancing our understanding of myasthenia gravis, including how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with this condition. Other articles answered questions about stroke, Parkinson’s, and other diseases.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, December 2020

This November, research from members of the Duke Department of Neurology examined how different types of seizures feel to the person experiencing them, discovered genes associated with longevity and health cognition, analyzed how the COVID-19 outbreak impacted stroke care, and more. Our faculty, trainees, and staff contributed to 15 studies published in the past 30 days. Read about each of them, and find links to the original articles below. 

 

Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology

Fellow Spotlight: Yohei Harada, MD

Yohei Harada, MD, first became interested in neurology as a medical student, when he was involved in a research project investigating possible therapeutic avenues for multiple sclerosis. The ability to localize and identify diseases through a patient’s history and physical exam drew him to clinical neurology and neuromuscular disease in particular. Now, as one of our fellows in this subspecialty, he’s performing electrophysiological studies and rotating in our neuromuscular clinics.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, November 2020

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 14 new peer-reviewed studies this October, advancing our understanding of or ability to treat Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, stroke, and other conditions. Laurie Sanders, PhD, and Claudia Gonzalez Hunt, PhD, advanced our understanding of the links between mitochondrial DNA damage and Parkinson’s disease, providing a potential avenue for future therapies.

LVH ALS Foundation Raises $300,000 for ALS Research

The Larry Vance Hughes ALS Foundation (LVH ALS Foundation) has donated $300,000 to the Duke ALS Clinic to support its research into therapies associated with “ALS reversals,” documented instances where the symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) unexpectedly diminish and motor function returns.

Proceeds for the donation were raised through the LVH Benefit Concert for ALS Research, featuring country music artists Mark Wills and Taylor Hicks, held last October at the Millennium Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, September 2020

With 18 new peer-reviewed articles from members of our faculty, August 2020 was a record-breaking month for the Duke Neurology Department. Clinical research highlights published in the past 31 days include an analysis of patients presenting with vertigo in Emergency Departments, an essay on the human cost of COVID-19 and how we can help people connect during difficult times, and a study finding new benefits for therapies for myasthenia gravis.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, August 2020

Members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to 14 new peer-reviewed articles published this July, improving our understanding of neuroscience, charting a course for research in a post-COVID-19 world, and offering opportunities for advancing patient care. Simon Gregory, PhD, and Yong Chen, PhD, respectively co-authored articles offering new therapeutic avenues for muscle repair and chronic pain treatment. Wuwei “Wayne” Feng, MD, MS, was part of a consortium examining the impact of COVID-19 on the NIH’s StrokeNet and offering a vision for resuming clinical trials.

Did Lou Gehrig experience a temporary ALS reversal in August 1938?

Nineteen thirty-eight was the last full season played by baseball slugger Lou Gehrig before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) forced him to retire. He struggled to hit and field well for much of the season, and his final statistics—a .295 batting average, 29 home runs, 114 runs batted in—were unusually low for him. But in mid-season, Gehrig enjoyed a streak in which he seemed to regain his previous power.