News

A novel application of zoledronic acid, a bisphosphonate typically prescribed to prevent or treat osteoporosis, is being assessed in a large-scale trial for its potential to prevent fractures in senior patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD).

Treatment for movement disorders goes beyond providing medical care. Adjusting to a life with Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, or other conditions requires requires lifestyle changes, planning for the future, and coping with the stress and waves of emotions associated with a diagnosis. Anne Kosem, LCSW, at our Morreene Road Clinic helps people with movement disorders and their loved ones navigate these and other complex challenges.

Members of the Duke Neurology Department advanced the fields of clinical, translational, and basic neuroscience this April with 14 new peer-reviewed studies. Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD, was the senior author of a new study in Science that  expands our understanding of the integrated stress response in the brain and how it influences learning and memory.

Daniel Gingerich joined the laboratory of Ornit Chiba-Falek, PhD, last year, exactly two days before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a campus-wide shut down, forcing him to learn a new set of technical skills from home. Since then Gingerich has become proficient in single-cell data analysis, and is using those techniques to better understand genetic and epigenetic dysregulation in late onset Alzheimer's disease.

Abbie Suttle, MSc, wants to improve our understanding of pain. In the lab of Yong Chen, PhD, she is currently working on two projects, the first to better understand the  trigeminal ganglion to potentially treat a painful jaw disorder known as TMD, and another to better understand and prevent the sensitization process that makes medications for migraine and headache less effective over the long term. In this week’s Spotlight interview, Suttle talks to us about her involvement in both of these projects.

As our financial services advisor, Matthew Burger works to make sure all neurology patients at our Morreene Road and 1L Clinics have the best and most appropriate financial resources to help meet their needs. For this week’s “Spotlight” interview, Burger talks to us about how he and his colleagues are able to assist patients, his history before coming to Duke, and looking forward to traveling and life without a mask once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. 

This week’s “Spotlight” interview shines on Melanie McBroom, MS, EMT-NC, neurodiagnostic technician within the EMG lab in our 1L clinic. McBroom talks to us about her work helping patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, ALS, and other conditions. She also discusses how her master’s degree and experience as an EMT inform her work, the most difficult and enjoyable parts of her job, and looking forward to not having to wear a mask when the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

A Comprehensive Stroke facility needs to meet more than 400 complex requirements from the Joint Commission. As our Stroke Program Manager, Melissa Freeman, RN, MPH, works to make sure Duke University Hospital meets those requirements on a daily basis. In this week’s “Spotlight” interview, Freeman talks to us about the interdepartmental coordination, patient care, protocols, and education involved in her day-to-day work.

For Eleanor Wood, every day is arm day. As a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technician in the lab of Noreen Bukhari-Parlakturk, MD, PhD, she helps keep 10 pound TMS coils within half a millimeter of their target range. Wood also works in Duke University’s Opti Lab and Brain Stimulation Research Center where she helps conduct other TMS research and engineer new TMS technologies. For this week’s spotlight interview, the recent Duke graduate talks to us about what she enjoys about each of these jobs.

One year after coming to our Morreene Road Clinic, Crystal Ballard still enjoys the challenges and opportunities that come with her work. Each day her job involves supporting our neurology providers, supervising staff assistants, preparing patients for clinic and other tasks. For this week’s “Spotlight” interview, Ballard talks to us about this work, her various positions at Duke over the past 20 years, and embracing and adapting to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.