News

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, June 2020

In May 2020, members of the Duke Neurology Department contributed to nine new peer-reviewed journal articles. At the clinical level, a new study protocol will test the safety of a promising drug for reducing the consequences neural inflammation, while another shares more than a decade of knowledge about improving patient engagement in ALS research. Other studies, meanwhile, answered questions about how our brains and minds function, such as a NeuroImage study that found older and younger adults used different regions of the brain when performing the same task.

Celebrating Wayne Massey, Virtually

Current and former members of the Duke Neurology Department celebrated the career of E. Wayne Massey, MD, virtually this year, to mark the neurologist’s contributions to patient care, training, and research. 

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, May 2020

Members of the Duke Neurology Department continued to advance the fields of clinical and translational neuroscience this April. Our faculty contributed to the first major systematic review of self-management programs for epilepsy, helping to answer questions about what makes these programs more or less effective. Another article discussed the benefits of CN-105, a therapeutic agent that may help reduce the harmful neuro-inflammatory response associated with stroke, traumatic brain injury, and other conditions.

Bedlack talks with ABC11 about past, present, and future of telehealth

In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, DukeHealth has accelerated its services to treat patients remotely via video and audio calls. Before the epidemic, DukeHealth providers performed just 100 video calls and 50 audio calls per month; now our providers are giving 400 video calls and 300 audio calls per day.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, April 2020

What do a genetic analysis of the intersecting pathways between Alzheimer’s disease and depression, a national prize-winning essay examining the ethics of unionization for physicians, and a systematic review of the literature surrounding a new potential form of therapy for stroke recovery have in common? They’re all subjects of peer-reviewed journal articles written or co-written by members of the Neurology Department published this March.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, March 2020

This February, members of the Duke Department of Neurology contributed to 10 new research articles in peer-reviewed journals. At the microscopic level, new studies examined how ion channels in endothelial cells may contribute to hypertension associated with obesity, and reviewed how DNA damage contributes to neuronal death in Parkinson’s disease. And at the system-wide level, our Stroke team discussed the massive IMPROVE Stroke Care project, which includes a network of nearly 100 hospitals, and hundreds of other agencies and communities.

Fellow Spotlight: Benjamin Barnes, MD

Benjamin Barnes, MD, was first drawn to neurology as a medical student, after he became fascinated by the details of a condition he saw in one of his patients. Now he’s halfway through his neuromuscular fellowship at the Duke Department of Neurology. In this week’s “spotlight” interview, Barnes talks to us about the research he performed as a resident to learn more about comorbid conditions for patients with ALS, his future plans at the Medical College of Georgia, and enjoying tea and participating in strongman conditions when he’s not at Duke.

Duke Neurology Research Round Up, January 2020

Members of the Duke Department of Neurology contributed to nine studies in peer-reviewed journals published in December 2019. In the fields of neurodegeneration and neuromuscular disease, our faculty found potential new avenues for therapies for spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) and myasthenia gravis. Other studies by our faculty and housestaff answered important questions about how reductions in blood pressure affect outcomes for thrombectomy, outcomes for deep brain stimulation for patients with Parkinson’s, and other areas.