Newsline — Wednesday, April 25, 2012 11:27
Highlights from the 80th AANS Annual Meeting in Miami
AANS Hosts National Neurosurgery Awareness Week in Miami
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 16:00
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) commemorated National Neurosurgery Awareness Week (NNAW) April 15-21, 2012, in conjunction with its 80th Annual Scientific Meeting in Miami, held April 14-18, 2012. National Neurosurgery Awareness Week efforts focused on the prevalence and prevention of concussions, urging athletes, coaches and the public to make concussion awareness part of their playbooks. A concussion is an injury to the brain that results in temporary loss of normal brain function. This clinical syndrome is characterized by immediate and transient alteration of mental status and level of consciousness, resulting from mechanical force or trauma, typically by a blow to the head. “We feel a responsibility to educate the community about the effects of concussion, especially since its risks can come with everyday activities like sports, bike riding or working around the home,” says Thomas A. Marshall, Executive Director of the AANS. While more than 300,000 sports-related concussions occur annually in the U.S., concussions also are commonly caused by automobile and biking accidents as well as by falls around the home, especially among…
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A. Leland Albright, MD, Receives AANS Humanitarian Award
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 14:00
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) presented A. Leland Albright, MD, with the 2012 Humanitarian Award on April 18, 2012, during its 80th Annual Scientific Meeting in Miami. Dr. Albright is being recognized for his international missions, having taught and performed neurosurgical procedures in such locales as Korea, Nigeria and Kenya. In 1991, Dr. Albright travelled to Kijabe, Kenya, to treat children with hydrocephalus and spina bifida. This trek began a yearly visit to the east African nation, where Dr. Albright also taught surgical management. There were no pediatric neurosurgeons in Kenya, Tanzania or Ethiopia, and it became apparent that short-term medical visits were not the answer. In September 2010, Dr. Albright and his wife, Susan, a pediatric neurosurgery practitioner, moved to Kijabe, Kenya where he established a pediatric neurosurgical fellowship at Kijabe Hospital. Kijabe Hospital’s pediatric neurosurgical fellowship is accredited by the University of Nairobi. Its two neurosurgical training programs expose residents to surgical and post-operative management techniques that cannot be found anywhere else in the region. In 2011, 1,328 neurosurgical operations were completed,…
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Donald O. Quest, MD, FAANS, Named 2012 AANS Cushing Medalist
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 12:00
Donald O. Quest, MD, FAANS, was presented with the 2012 Cushing Medal, the highest honor granted by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), on April 17, 2012, during the association’s 80th Annual Scientific Meeting in Miami. He is being honored for his many years of outstanding leadership, dedication and contributions to the field of neurosurgery. Dr. Quest joined the Department of Neurological Surgery at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1978, and rose to become professor of clinical neurosurgery in 1989. He served as Vice Chairman of the Department from 1991 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2008; he also served as Acting Chairman twice, 1993-1994 and 1996-1997. Dr. Quest has served as Assistant Dean of Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons since 2003. Dr. Quest graduated from the University of Illinois with honors in mathematics in 1961, followed by active-duty service as a U.S Navy aviator aboard the U.S.S. Kittyhawk in the Vietnam conflict from 1961 to 1966. He was awarded his MD from Columbia in 1970. Following a surgical…
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James R. Bean, MD, FAANS, Receives AANS Distinguished Service Award
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 10:49
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) presented James Bean, MD, FAANS, with the 2012 Distinguished Service Award on April 16, 2012, during its 80th Annual Scientific Meeting in Miami. The Distinguished Service Award is one of the highest honors bestowed by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, recognizing exemplary service to the AANS and the field of neurosurgery. The award pays tribute to the contributions of remarkable people within their profession. James R. Bean, MD, FAANS, received his medical school degree from Tulane University’s School of Medicine in 1973, and then moved on to receive his neurosurgery training from the University of Kentucky (1974-1980). In 1982, following two years as an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Kentucky, he joined Neurosurgical Associates in Lexington, Ky., where he continues to practice neurosurgery while serving as an advocate for the specialty in a wide range of forums, committees, groups and associations. Dr. Bean became an appointed delegate to the JCSNS in 1990; was appointed Medical Practices Committee chair in 1992; and was elected Southeast…
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Impairments Are Common in Long-term ALI Survivors
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 8:00
Cognitive and psychiatric impairments are common in long-term survivors of acute lung injury (ALI), according to a new study, and these impairments can be assessed using a telephone-based test battery. “Neuropsychological impairment is increasingly being recognized as an important outcome among survivors of critical illness, but neuropsychological function in long-term ALI survivors has not been assessed in a multi-center trial, and evidence on the etiology of these impairments in ALI survivors is limited,” says lead author Mark E. Mikkelsen, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “To overcome the constraints of in-person assessment, we developed a telephone battery of standardized neuropsychological tests that could be administered by a non-expert and used it to assess a subset of 122 ALI survivors from the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Clinical Trials Network Fluid and Catheter Treatment Trial.” For more information, click here to read the full release.
New Neurological Research Supports Adam Smith’s Theories of Morality
Monday, April 16, 2012 8:00
The part of the brain used to engage in egalitarian behavior also might be linked to a larger sense of morality, researchers say. Their conclusions — which offer scientific support for Adam Smith’s theories of morality — are based on experimental research that appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study comes seven months after the start of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, which has been aimed at addressing income inequality. It was conducted by researchers from New York University’s Wilf Family Department of Politics; the University of Toronto; the University of California, San Diego; the University of California, Davis; and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. For more information, click here for the full release.
New Drug Harnesses Potential Positive Effects of Natural Virus on Cancer Patients
Thursday, April 12, 2012 8:00
A naturally-occurring, harmless human virus may have the power to boost the effects of two standard chemotherapy drugs in some cancer patients, according to early stage trial data published by Clinical Cancer Research. A new drug called RT3D (trade name Reolysin) — developed by Oncolytics Biotech Inc., with preclinical and clinical studies conducted at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden Hospital — is based on the virus (reovirus type 3 Dearing) that is found in almost every adult’s respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts without causing any symptoms. For more information, click here to read the full release.
Researchers Comparing ADHD Drug Vs. Parent Training for Autism
Wednesday, April 11, 2012 10:45
Researchers at The Ohio State University’s Nisonger Center are conducting a study to determine whether training parents or taking medication is more effective for helping children on the autism spectrum. They are examining whether a particular non-stimulant typically used to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can help children with autism. At the same time, researchers are analyzing the benefits of a training intervention for parents of children with autism to help curb attention problems, hyperactivity and noncompliance. For more information, click here to read the full article.
Institute of Medicine Releases Report about Epilepsies
Friday, April 6, 2012 8:00
On March 30. the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a new report about the public health dimensions of the epilepsies — the first authoritative independent appraisal of epilepsy and its management in the U.S. The report, “Epilepsy across the Spectrum: Promoting Health and Understanding,” asserts that the U.S. health system is deficient in providing consistently high-quality care for a very large national patient population, conservatively estimated at more than two million adults and children who suffer from epilepsy and associated health problems. It states that gaps in the country’s ability to handle epilepsy and its consequences prevail in so many spheres that vigorous action is needed to affect change and create a system that will provide accessible, comprehensive, high-quality optimal care for every person who has the condition. For more information, click here to read the full release