NeurologyLive Friday 5 — January 29, 2021
Take 5 minutes to catch up on NeurologyLive's highlights from the week ending January 29, 2021.
FDA Extends Review Period for Aducanumab in Alzheimer Disease
The investigational agent developed by Biogen and Eisai is now expected to receive regulatory review by June 7, 2021.
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.
Preventing While Treating Acute Migraines: Richard B. Lipton, MD
The director of the Montefiore Headache Center discussed his hopes that rimegepant will be approved as a preventive treatment of migraine.
Episode 28: The Multiple Sclerosis Patient Journey
"Mind Moments," a podcast from NeurologyLive, brings you an exclusive conversation between an expert neurologist, psychologist, patient, and care partner on various facets of multiple sclerosis.
A Rational Approach to Assessing SMA Therapies: Julie Parsons, MD
The primary investigator of the phase 4 RESPOND study discussed the role that postmarketing studies can play in assessing treatments for SMA.
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.
Stereotactic Laser Ablation Demonstrates Safety in Pediatric Epilepsy
Specific health-related quality of life measures in physical activities, well-being, cognition, and social activities were improved among those who underwent the laser ablation procedure.
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.
Institutionalizing Change for EEG Education in Residency Programs: Fabio Nascimento, MD
The clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital gives his call to action on how what needs to change to improve EEG education among residency programs.
Inclusion Criteria for Multiple Sclerosis Trials Don’t Reflect Real-World Patients
Relapse, followed by medication history and age, was among the highest exclusion rates for MS trials across different disease-modifying therapies.
IND Submitted for ImmCelz Regenerative Stroke Immunotherapy
Creative Medical Technology’s ImmCelz contrasts other stem cell-based approaches by utilizing stem cells outside of the body to reprogram the patient’s own immune cells.
TDP-43 Mutations Increase R-loop Accumulation in ALS
Researchers hope that R-loop modulation may hold potential in the future treatment of ALS.
Improving Outcomes in Patients With Early Onset NMOSD: Gabrielle Macaron, MD
The neurologist from Cleveland Clinic discussed how her team found that patients with AO ≤21 years old had worse visual outcomes than those >21 years old.
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.
NeuroVoices: James Berry, MD, MPH, on Answer ALS’s Expanded Data Campaign
The director of the Massachusetts General Hospital ALS Care Center sat down to discuss ‘The Data is Here’ campaign from Answer ALS, the world’s largest open-sourced ALS data portal.
Phase 4 RESPOND Trial and the Need for Similar Trials in SMA: Julie Parsons, MD
The primary investigator of RESPOND discussed the trial’s goals and measures, as well as insight into why clinical trials like it are important in spinal muscular atrophy.
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.
Cognitive Risks Correlated With Lack of Sleep: Christian Agudelo, MD
The Evelyn F. McKnight Neurocognitive Scholar at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine provided background on a recently completed study correlating sleep and cognitive decline.
Fumarates for Treatment of RMS
BREN-02 Wins Orphan Drug Designation for ALS
Preclinical studies have shown that the homeoprotein hEN1 is essential for the survival and maintenance of spinal cord alpha motor neurons that innervates muscles throughout the body.
Opportunities for Repurposed Drugs in ALS Clinical Trial Settings
Brian Wainger, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School, discussed the recently published phase 2 trial a repurposed epilepsy drug in patients with ALS.
EVT Alone Demonstrates Noninferiority to Combined Intravenous Alteplase Method
No significant between-group differences were detected in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage or 90-day mortality.
The Clinical Potential of the Vercise Genus DBS System
Rafael Carbunaru, PhD, MSc, vice president, research and development, Neuromodulation, Boston Scientific, discussed the system’s recent FDA approval.
Utilizing Objective Measures to Assess EEG Milestones: Fabio Nascimento, MD
The clinical fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital discussed the idea of standardizing the number of EEG reads residents should be required to do before their training is complete.
Patient’s Journey: Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
FDA Approves Nerivio Migraine Device for Adolescents
After winning FDA approval in October 2020, the new expanded indication includes adolescents aged 12 and older with episodic or chronic migraine.
"Curing the Epilepsies 2021" Recap
Veronica Hood, PhD, writes a recap of research and treatments for epilepsy presented at the meeting.
