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Highlights of the 15th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders

This NeuraPod continues Neura’s coverage of highlighted presentations from the 15th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, held June 5–9, 2011, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This podcast summarizes recent findings on bradykinesia, variance in Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms by monotherapy use, and the effect of vibration therapy on PD patients. Research into spiral drawing impairment and the effects of dark chocolate on motor scores is also discussed.

Highlights of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology — Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of the NeuraPod coverage of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu, Hawaii, begins with a discussion of research on binding and neutralizing antibodies to interferon-beta in patients with multiple sclerosis and features an interview with Edward J. Fox, MD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas, Round Rock and Austin, Texas. The podcast continues with summaries of several presentations related to Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Highlights of the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology—Part 1 of 2

This NeuraPod includes a roundup of some of the compelling research presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held April 9–16, 2011, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Part 1 of our coverage focuses on emerging data from the pivotal trials of laquinimod and teriflunomide, two investigational oral disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), and research on reproductive and breastfeeding issues in MS. The podcast features an interview with Patricia K. Coyle, MD, Professor and Acting Chair of Neurology and Director of the Stony Brook MS Comprehensive Care Center at the Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook, New York.

Conversations on Parkinson’s Disease Part 4: Distinguishing Between MAO-B Inhibitors

This NeuraPod is the fourth and final podcast in a series on Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring conversations with clinicians and researchers in the field. In this podcast, Jack Chen, PharmD, an Associate Professor of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science at the Loma Linda University and the Faculty Clinical Neuropharmacist at the Loma Linda University Movement Disorder Center in Loma Linda, CA, discusses the clinical impact of monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B) therapies as a treatment for PD. Dr. Chen distinguishes between MAO-B inhibitor therapies, such as selegiline and rasagiline, and discusses the clinical considerations involved in prescribing MAO-B inhibitors. Dr. Chen also compares MAO-B inhibitors to other first-line therapies for PD.

Highlights of the 2010 European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Meeting

This NeuraPod features some highlights from the compelling research presented at the 2010 ECTRIMS Meeting, held this year from October 13–16 in Gothenburg, Sweden. This podcast summarizes findings in the fields of adherence, clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), the connection between gender and MS, and updates on oral teriflunomide. David Uffelman also interviews Anthony Traboulsee, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Medical Director of the MS Clinic, Director of the MS Clinical Trials Research Group, and Assistant Director of the MS Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Group at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada about his research in both adherence and MRI lesion activity as an indicator of disease progress in secondary progressive MS, as well as his thoughts on CCSVI.

Conversations on Parkinson’s Disease Part 3: Managing Early PD

This NeuraPod is the third in a series on Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring conversations with clinicians and researchers in the field. In this podcast, a companion piece to the earlier “Identifying Early PD,” Dr. Paul S. Fishman, a Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, discusses the management of early PD. Dr. Fishman discusses the early initiation of drug therapy, particularly levodopa, as a key step in disease management. Potential issues that can impact adherence to therapy throughout the course of the disease, including symptoms that can affect patients’ ability to tolerate medication, the changing role of dopaminergic therapy over the disease’s course, and caregiver support concerns, are also discussed.

Highlights of the 14th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders

This NeuraPod features a recap of some of the noteworthy research presented at the Movement Disorder Society's 14th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, held June 13-17, 2010, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Presentations focusing on Tango therapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD), treatment of early PD, and impulse control disorders in PD are among those summarized in this podcast.

Conversations on Parkinson’s Disease Part 2: Identifying Early PD

This NeuraPod is the second in a series on Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring conversations with clinicians and researchers in the field. In this podcast, Dr. Paul S. Fishman, a Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Alzheimer’s Center at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, discusses the clinical identification of PD in its early stages. The early identification of PD can be challenging, as non-motor symptoms, such as anosmia and depression, frequently precede the disorder’s canonical motor symptoms. Diagnosis can also be confounded by atypical parkinsonisms, whose symptoms can mimic PD in the early stages. Nonetheless, novel imaging methods have shown promise in detecting PD in its pre-motor or pre-clinical stages. This podcast is the first of two to address the identification and management of early PD.

Highlights of the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology

This NeuraPod focuses on some of the notable research presented at the 62nd AAN Annual Meeting, held April 10-17, 2010, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The podcast features a conversation with Corey Ford, MD, Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Specialty Clinic at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, who discusses select multiple sclerosis (MS) presentations and addresses the controversial relationship between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and MS. A roundup of compelling research related to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease is also included.

Conversations on Parkinson's Disease Part 1: Managing Non Motor Symptoms of PD

This NeuraPod is the first of a four-part series on Parkinson’s disease (PD), featuring conversations with clinicians and researchers in the field. In this podcast Dr. Andrew Siderowf, MD, an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, discusses the non-motor symptoms (NMS) of PD. Although PD is characterized by its debilitating motor symptoms, the non-motor symptoms of PD, such as neuropsychiatric effects, autonomic dysfunction, GI distress, and sleep disturbances, can greatly affect patient quality of life. NMS are often overlooked by clinicians as a part of the disease pathology and can go untreated, even though treatments are readily available and effective.

Emerging Oral Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis, Part II

This podcast, a companion piece to an earlier NeuraPod, focuses on cladribine and fingolimod and the findings from the CLARITY (Cladribine Tablets Treating Multiple Sclerosis Orally), FREEDOMS (FTY720 Research Evaluating the Effects of Daily Oral Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis), and TRANSFORMS (Trial Assessing Injectable Interferon versus FTY720 Oral in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis) trials. Edward J. Fox, MD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas, Round Rock and Austin, Texas, reviews the top-line efficacy and safety results from these phase III trials, published in the February 4, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, and discuss the findings in the context of long-term patient management.

Emerging Oral Disease-Modifying Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis

This NeuraPod features a conversation on emerging oral therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) with Edward J. Fox, MD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas, Round Rock and Austin, Texas. The discussion includes updates on a number of oral agents in late-stage clinical development as well as a focus on the potential impact orally administered MS medications may have on clinical care.

Delayed-Start Trials: Their Design and Use in Neurodegenerative Research

This NeuraPod features a conversation about the design of delayed-start trials (DSTs) and the importance of these trials in neurodegenerative research. The podcast features Paul S. Fishman, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Cited in this podcast is an in-depth analysis of DST design published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The MS Adaptive Experience: Adherence to MS Therapy

Many factors influence a patient’s decision to stick with his/her therapy regimen. While multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms, injection-site reactions, and drug side effects certainly play a role, other factors such as a patient’s economic stability and support system can have a great impact on adherence. This NeuraPod features a conversation on patient adherence to MS therapies with Jennifer Smrtka, ANP-BC, MSCN, a nurse practitioner in Delray Beach, Florida.

Clinically Isolated Syndrome

This podcast features a conversation on clinically isolated syndrome (CIS). Corey Ford, MD, Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Specialty Clinic at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, discusses several aspects of CIS, including its diagnosis and treatment.

Highlights of the 13th International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders

This NeuraPod features a roundup of some of the most compelling research presented at the 13th International Congress of the Movement Disorder Society (MDS), which was held June 7 - 11, 2009, in Paris, France. Presentations focusing on Huntington's disease treatment, new therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD), and findings in early and advanced PD are among the research discussed in this podcast. The contents of this NeuraPod have been reviewed by Dr. Andrew Siderowf, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Highlights of the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology

This NeuraPod features conversations with Neura.net editorial board members on select presentations from the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, which was held April 25 to May 2, 2009, in Seattle, Washington. Presentations focusing on Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis are among the research discussed in this podcast.

Research Roundup: Clinical Trials of Disease-Modifying Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis

This NeuraPod podcast, featuring a conversation with Edward J. Fox, MD, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic of Central Texas, Round Rock and Austin, Texas, focuses on the results of a number of important MS clinical trials that were presented at national and international meetings over the past 18 months. Among the research discussed are head-to-head studies, long-term outcomes, and treatment of patients with clinically isolated syndromes with the available MS disease-modifying therapies; mitoxantrone induction therapy; and trials of monoclonal antibodies in MS.

Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis

This NeuraPod podcast, focusing on multiple sclerosis in children and adolescents, features a conversation with Dr. Lauren Krupp, director of the National Pediatric MS Center at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York. The discussion touches on the clinical features, diagnosis, and management of the pediatric patient with MS, as well as directions of ongoing and future research.

Potential Oral Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis

In this NeuraPod podcast, Dr. Bruce A. Cree, Assistant Professor of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco Multiple Sclerosis Center, discusses the potential of oral therapies in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and describes the mechanisms of action as well as the latest findings from clinical trials for a number of oral agents current being studied in MS patients.