NeurologyLive Staff

Welcome to this special edition of Neurology News Network. I’m Marco Meglio. Please excuse our appearance this week as a majority of the US workforce, including the 

team, moves to working remote as we come together to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. This week, we take a look at a few presentations from the MDS Virtual Congress.

exploratory post-hoc analysis of the BIPARK I and II trials

 suggest that 50-mg opicapone is a viable option as a first-line adjunctive treatment for patients with Parkinson disease treated with levodopa who experience motor fluctuations. The assessment included 68 patients given the once-daily, oral, selective COMT inhibitor and 59 administered placebo, all of whom were only treated with levodopa. In total, the changes from baseline in absolute OFF and ON time were significantly greater for the opicapone group. “Levodopa still remains the most effective symptomatic treatment for Parkinson’s disease,” poster presenter Joaquim Ferreira and colleagues wrote, noting that post oral administration of levodopa, the drug is extensively metabolized in the periphery by dopa decarboxylase and COMT, opening a window for opicapone to fill that need.

, from the PROGRESS study revealed that 90.6% of patients with 

Parkinson disease had a wider therapeutic window

 when undergoing treatment with directional deep brain stimulation compared with omnidirectional DBS. The study included 234 patients who received subthalamic nucleus DBS programed with omnidirectional stimulation for 3 months followed by directional stimulation for 3 months. A blinded, off-medication evaluation of TW for directional vs conventional stimulation at 3 months, the primary end point of the study, was met with superiority for directional DBS. Additionally, patients showed a mean increase in TW of 41% compared with 2.11 for omnidirectional DBS. Scores on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale part III motor score (on medication) were improved in both groups at both timepoints.

Preliminary results presented at the 2020 

, demonstrated that bilateral magnetic resonance-guided 

focused ultrasound thalamotomy is safe and effective

 for the treatment of essential tremor. In efforts to prove whether MRgFUS bilateral thalamic ablation can be tolerated, investigators assessed 5 patients who underwent a second thalamotomy on the contralateral hemisphere for non-treated tremor after receiving unilateral MRgFUS thalamotomy at least 1 year prior. Led by Raul Martinez-Fernandez, MD, PhD, all patients had achieved tremor control in the treated hand and did not show any permanent adverse effects from the first thalamotomy. Investigators then observed the safety of the second lesion based on an evaluation of observed and/or reported treatment-related adverse effects.

For more direct access to expert insight and coverage of the 2020 MDS Virtual Congress, head to NeurologyLive.com. This has been Neurology News Network. Thanks for watching.

Articles

Neurology News Network for the week ending September 19, 2020. 

Opicapone Treats Motor Fluctuations, Directional DBS Favored in PD, MRgFUS is Effective as Hand Tremor Treatment

's Friday 5! Every week, the staff compiles 5 highlights of 

's widespread coverage in neurology, ranging from newsworthy study findings and FDA action to expert interviews and peer-to-peer panel discussions.

 Neurology Residency Training During a Pandemic

Leah Croll, MD, a neurology resident on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, describes how her resident program experience was impacted by the pandemic.

 Addressing Loneliness and Social Isolation in Patients With Parkinson Disease

Indu Subramanian, MD, director of the VA Southwest Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Centers offered background the inspiration for the study and why loneliness should be addressed in these patients.

 Optimizing Care Transition for Adolescents With Epilepsy

Sucheta M. Joshi, MD, MS, and Nicholas Beimer, MD, discuss their experience with EpiTRAQ and the role it can play in optimizing the epilepsy care transition.

 Rapid Readout: Expert Perspectives on MS – Data from the 8th Joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS Meeting 2020

Experts in multiple sclerosis review top data presented at the 8th joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS meeting.

 The Metamorphosis of Migraine: Evidence and Epidemiology

The ongoing fight to add to the epidemiologic understanding of migraine is explored in part 2 of this special 3-part multimedia series on the evolution of migraine care.

Take 5 minutes to catch up on NeurologyLive's highlights from the week ending September 18, 2020.

NeurologyLive Friday 5 — September 18, 2020

This content was courtest of the Dravet Syndrome Foundation. To view the original post, click 

Each fall, the Dravet community looks forward to DSF’s 

 program, DSF usually hosts five workshops each fall across the U.S. to bring our community together in person to learn about the latest in Dravet syndrome, connect with one another, and be a part of a DSF’s shared vision for a better options and outcomes for affected individuals and their families. 

 will be reimagined as a one-day virtual event on Saturday, October 17th. Families across the U.S. can register, then sign on to learn the latest on research and treatments, as well as connect with local Dravet families through regional break-out groups. There will even be a fun breakout session for our Super Siblings and opportunities to win DSF swag!

Every year, attendees tell us that one of their favorite parts of the event is the opportunity to meet industry representatives and ask questions. While we won’t be able to meet in person this year, we will have a virtual exhibit hall. As a registered attendee, you will be able to “stop by” our event sponsors exhibit booths online and ask questions. We know it’s not the same as meeting and asking questions in person, but we think you’ll find the information just as valuable.

Special thanks to our Title Sponsor, Greenwich Biosciences, as well as our other event sponsors: Zogenix, Biocodex, Encoded Therapeutics, Stoke Therapeutics, and Ovid Therapeutics. Because of the generous support of our sponsors, there is no cost to register, and the first 400 registered families in the U.S. will receive an event tote bag filled with useful materials, which will be shipped out prior to the event.

The agenda and registration can be found at 

Day of Dravet, a 1-day virtual event on Saturday, October 17th will give attendees an opportunity to meet industry representatives and ask questions. 

Dravet Syndrome Foundation to Host Virtual Workshop

This content is courtesy of Cleveland Clinic. To view the original post, 

The National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a grant expected to total $3.3 million to the 

Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

 to establish the Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (NVeADRC).

The 3-year award, which is the first of its kind to be presented as part of the NIH’s 

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers Program

, will help build the infrastructure and initiate state-wide collaborative activities needed to establish an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center focused on reducing disparities faced by individuals with dementia in rural settings.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers Program is a national network of researchers and clinicians at major medical institutions. Researchers at these centers are working to translate research advances into improved diagnosis and care for people with Alzheimer disease and related dementias, as well as finding a way to treat and possibly prevent the diseases. 

, director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas and Elko, will serve as director of the Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, which is among the first cohort of centers nationally to receive this new award, and marks the first and only exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Nevada.

“As a state with historically low federal funding, the Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center marks an important milestone for Nevada, allowing us to elevate the science we contribute to the NIH and effectively expand our research footprint,” Sabbagh said. “Alzheimer’s disease is a looming public health crisis and this grant will play an important role in advancing the science of this disease by contributing critical data from a massively understudied, underserved and under-supported rural population.”

The grant establishing the Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center builds upon a successful collaboration since 2015 between the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who share a 5-year NIH 

Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant

 – the first to be awarded in southern Nevada. The Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is the next step in establishing an Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and is the latest collaborative effort between the 2 institutions that will specifically address rural disparities in dementia populations throughout Nevada.

Health disparities in rural areas have long been recognized; Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementias offer no exception. Those living with dementia in rural communities often go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed due to lack of access to dementia specialists. In addition, data in rural areas is scarce and usually confined to a small number of individuals with limited sets of biomedical data.

The Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will leverage its status as a Frontier State to develop novel methodologies and technology to enroll research volunteers into a rural Nevada cohort. Data collected will provide resources that can be used by the broader scientific community and will contribute to the overall mission of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers network to improve diagnosis and care for people with Alzheimer disease.

The Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is funded by NIH Grant P20AG068053.

For more information about the Nevada exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, call 702-701-7944.

The new center is part of the first cohort of centers nationally to receive this new NIH funding and is the first and only in Nevada.

Author | NeurologyLive Staff

Articles

Opicapone Treats Motor Fluctuations, Directional DBS Favored in PD, MRgFUS is Effective as Hand Tremor Treatment

NeurologyLive Friday 5 — September 18, 2020

Dravet Syndrome Foundation to Host Virtual Workshop

NIH Awards Grant to Cleveland Clinic to Establish Alzheimer Disease Research Center