Victoria Johnson, Assistant Editor for GeneTherapyLive, joined the MJH Life Sciences team in October 2020, originally writing for NeurologyLive. Follow her on Twitter @VictoriaJNeuro or email her at vjohnson@genetherapylive.com.
Fewer Lifetime AED Use Decreases Odds of Discontinuing Brivaracetam for Focal Seizures
Data suggest that treatment-emergent adverse events with adjunctive brivaracetam increased in incidence by number of lifetime AEDs.
High Compliance and Good Tolerance in Perampanel Monotherapy for Partial-Onset Seizures
The neurologist from Cleveland Clinic discussed perampanel’s unique mechanism of action.
Synergistic Opportunities Presented for SAH Care With Combination Human-Computer Skills
Jude Savarraj, PhD, discusses the accurate performance of his team’s machine learning models in predicting subarachnoid hemorrhage outcomes.
Income and Education Predict Telehealth Use in Parkinson Disease
The study also found that patients with PD that used telehealth for mental health services were less likely to prefer telehealth over in-office visits.
Cenobamate Responders Achieve High Quality of Life in Epilepsy Scores
The observed increase in QOLIE-31 scores for patients with refractory disease was driven by increases on the energy-fatigue domain.
Combination Therapies Most Effective for Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies
Valproic acid’s efficacy as a monotherapy is complicated by its previously demonstrated unsuitability for pregnant women.
Eliminating the 5-month SSDI Waiting Period for Patients with ALS
Brian Frederick, PhD, discusses how the short life expectancy after diagnosis leads many patients with ALS to lose their lives before receiving disability benefits.
Troriluzole Not Effective for Symptomatic Treatment of Alzheimer Disease
Biohaven executives remain optimistic about the slight but insignificant improvement observed in those with mild AD.
TDP-43 Mutations Increase R-loop Accumulation in ALS
Researchers hope that R-loop modulation may hold potential in the future treatment of ALS.
ADAPT-PD Trial Announced for Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson Disease
If approved, adaptive DBS could be added to Medtronic’s Percept device, which was approved in June 2020.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Accurately Differentiates Dementias
Researchers developed and trained a random forest classifier that resulted in high precision and accuracy as a screening tool for those with mild cognitive impairment.
More Severe Cognitive, Physical Phenotypes Observed in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
Researchers sought to redefine dichotomous classifications of MS and identified meaningful classifications.
Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders at Greater Risk for Later Parkinson Disease
Patients with SCD and schizophrenia specifically had increased risk of developing Parkinson disease later in life.
Olfactory Impairment Can Identify Patients at Risk for Parkinson Disease
Olfactory impairment is indicative of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, a prodromal symptom of Parkinson disease.
New Study Clarifies Gray Matter Atrophy in MS Phenotypes
Source-based morphometry, a novel independent component analysis technique, was found to be useful in characterizing patterns of atrophy development.
Propensity Score Weighting Clarifies Antidepressant Associations With Huntington Disease
The harmful association seen with antidepressants is complicated by their need in patients with HD and mood disturbance. There were also associations identified with alcohol and substance use.
Characteristics of Nemaline Myopathy Clarified by Cross Sectional Study
NM was found to have a stable disease course and the most common classification was typical congenital.
ADDF Calls for Global Partnership to Compile Speech Biomarkers in Early Alzheimer
New technology enables the collection and analysis of speech behaviors, but this requires an extensive database, which the ADDF seeks to help develop.
Praxis Medicines Wins Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Designations for DEEs
Including these agents for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, the relatively young company has 5 programs under development to target rare neurological disorders.
Dietary Vitamin C and E Associated with Lower Risk of Parkinson Disease
Further associations with lowered risk of Parkinson were observed with BMI and coffee intake.
NMOSD Early Age of Onset Predicts Severe Residual Vision Loss
Patients with an early age of onset (AO) were also more likely to receive less effective first-line oral therapy than those with later AOs.
Helius Technologies Submits FDA Response in Pursuit of PoNS De Novo Classification
The FDA previously declined to approve de novo classification in April 2019.
Consumer Sleep Tracking Devices Perform Equally or Better Than Actigraphy
No devices performed better than polysomnography, but the researchers believe they warrant further testing.
Cenobamate’s Efficacy in Seizure Freedom and Decreasing Concomitant Medication Use
William Rosenfeld, MD, discusses the decreases his team observed in concomitant medication use with cenobamate in patients with focal seizures.
EDSS Less Accurate Than Other Outcome Measures for Secondary Progressive MS
The EDSS inaccurately reported improvement rates while paralleling disability progression rates.
MIND Diet Effective in Delaying Parkinson Onset in Women
Men were observed to derive benefit from a Greek Mediterranean diet and women were found to generally adhere more closely to diet interventions than men.
New AASM Guidelines Make Strong Recommendation for Behavioral Therapy in Chronic Insomnia
The new American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines are the first to use the GRADE system of evaluating behavioral insomnia therapies.
Pediatric Version of Disposable EEG NeuroCap Available Early 2021
Brain Scientific’s disposable EEG cap can be applied by any clinical staff member within 5 minutes.
Low Amyloid-β Deposition, Dopaminergic Activity Characterize MCI With Lewy Body Dementia
Researchers found amyloid-β positron emission tomography imaging and dopamine transporter imaging to be useful in characterizing phenotypes of the neurodegenerative conditions.
SB623 Mesenchymal Stem Cell Implantation Efficacious and Well-Tolerated in TBI
There was no statistically significant difference between treatment-related adverse events in the SB623 stem cell and control groups.