Neurologic Subspecialties Research Articles

Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: A Career as a Clinical Trialist in Neurology.

The recent therapeutic advances in the field of neurology highlight the importance of ongoing clinical trials. However, while clinical research in neurology has remained relatively stable over the past 10 years, there has been an interval decrease in neuroscience applicants for NIH funding, which has raised concerns about the pipeline and future of clinical research in neurology. Those interested in such a career can begin by identifying a preclinical neuroscience advance that has yet to be translated into clinical trial work or a clinical area of need based on conversations with patients and families. Once such an area of interest is identified, seeking mentors either at one's own local institution or through networking at conferences is important in developing the necessary skills pertaining to clinical trial conduct and design and in gaining access to the relevant professional networks. There is also a myriad of training opportunities, such as the NINDS Clinical Trials Methodology Course, Masters of Science in Clinical Research, and certificate programs that offer formal training. Additional considerations for advancing in this career include exploring the potential for secondary publications using data available from previous clinical trials or serving as a subinvestigator. Challenges in pursuing such a career include the relatively low rate of positive outcomes compared with other fields and consistent salary support throughout one's career. Overall, a career as a clinical trialist in neurology is rewarding because one is able to participate in advancing the field and offer potentially new treatments to their patients.

Effects of sex, race, and ethnicity on primary and subspecialty healthcare use by autistic children in Florida: A longitudinal retrospective cohort study (2012–2018)

BackgroundAutistic children and youth have high rates of co-occurring conditions,but little is known about how autism subgroups (girls, non-White children) access healthcare to treat them. The purpose of this longitudinal retrospective cohort study was to investigate differences by sex, race, and ethnicity in non-acute (primary and subspecialty) healthcare use by autistic children and youth. MethodWe used the OneFlorida Data Trust to measure healthcare use for 82,566 autistic children ages 1–21 (2012–2018). We investigated (1) the odds of using any healthcare and (2) annual healthcare usage rates. We adopted a logistic regression and multiple linear regression for each of the dependent variables (total non-acute, primary care, gastroenterology (GI), developmental-behavioral pediatrics (DBP), psychiatry/psychology, neurology, and total subspecialty visits), adjusting for potential confounders (sex, race, ethnicity, age at visit, insurance type, urbanicity, and co-occurring conditions). ResultsAutistic boys had significantly higher odds of any neurology and psychiatry/psychology visits, but lower annual rates of primary care, GI, and neurology visits. Black/African American autistic children had significantly higher odds of any primary care, DBP, and neurology visits, but lower odds of any GI visits, and lower annual rates of primary care, GI, DBP, and neurology visits. Hispanic/Latinx autistic children had significantly higher odds of any primary care, DBP, and neurology visits, but lower odds of psychiatry/psychology visits; and higher annual rates of neurology visits, but lower annual rates of GI, DBP, and psychiatry/psychology visits. ConclusionsWe found significant differences by sex, race, and ethnicity in non-acute healthcare use by autistic children.

The Evolution of Sports Concussion as a Subspecialty in Neurology

The Evolution of Sports Concussion as a Subspecialty in Neurology

The neuromuscular fellowship portal and match.

For many years, Neuromuscular Medicine programs lacked a standardized means of handling fellowship applications and offering positions. Programs interviewed applicants and made offers as early as the first half of Post Graduate Year 3 (PGY3), a suboptimal timeline for applicants who may have had little prior exposure to neuromuscular or electrodiagnostic medicine. In 2021, the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) developed the Neuromuscular Fellowship Portal to standardize a later timeline and establish a process for fellowship applications and offers. In its first year, the Neuromuscular Fellowship Portal used a unique one‐way match, in which the portal released serial offers to applicants based on rank order lists submitted by programs. Fifty‐two Neuromuscular Medicine programs and seven electromyography (EMG)‐focused Clinical Neurophysiology programs participated. Sixty‐eight positions were filled, a similar number to previous years. A survey of fellowship directors and applicants following this process showed overwhelming support for the standardized timeline and application portal, but all program directors and most applicants favored moving to a traditional match. To maintain the existing application timeline and minimize costs for all parties, the AANEM Neuromuscular Fellowship Portal will host a two‐way match, based on existing commercial match algorithms, in 2022. A match will afford a fair and efficient process for all involved. Both Neuromuscular Medicine and EMG‐focused Clinical Neurophysiology programs will be encouraged to participate. The process undertaken by the AANEM can stand as an example for other neurologic subspecialties who are interested in standardizing their application timeline.

Essential components of care in a multidisciplinary headache center: Perspectives from headache neurology specialists.

Comprehensive headache care involves numerous specialties and components that have not been well documented or standardized. This study aimed to elicit best practices and characterize important elements of care to be provided in multidisciplinary headache centers. Qualitative, semi-structured telephone interviews with a purposive sample of headache neurology specialists from across the US, using open-ended questions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Coded data were further analyzed using immersion/crystallization techniques for final interpretation. Mean years providing headache care was 17.7 (SD=10.6). Twelve of the 13 participants held United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties headache certification. Six described their practice site as providing multidisciplinary headache care. Participants explained most of their patients had seen multiple doctors over many years, and had tried numerous unsuccessful treatments. They noted patients with chronic headache frequently present with comorbidities and become stigmatized. All participants asserted successful care depends on taking time to talk with and listen to patients, gain understanding, and earn trust. All participants believed multidisciplinary care is essential within a comprehensive headache center, along with staffing enough headache specialists, implementing detailed headache intake and follow-up protocols, and providing the newest medications, neuromodulation devices, botulinum toxin injections, monoclonal antibodies, nerve blocks and infusions, and treatment from a health psychologist. Other essential services for a headache center are other behavioral health practitioners providing cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, biofeedback and pain management; and autonomic neurology, neuropsychology, vestibular audiology, sleep medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, exercise physiology, speech therapy, nutrition, complementary integrative health modalities, and highly trained support staff. While headache neurology specialists form the backbone of headache care, experts interviewed for this study maintained their specialty is just one of many types of care needed to adequately treat patients with chronic headache, and this is best provided in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary center.

Trends in Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Vascular Neurology Fellowships From 2006 to 2018: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Workforce diversity in vascular neurology is a crucial component of reducing disparities in stroke care and outcomes. The objective of this study is to describe trends in the racial and ethnic diversity of neurology residents pursuing vascular neurology fellowship and propose an actionable plan for improvement. This was a cross-sectional study of race/ethnicity of neurology residents and vascular neurology fellows using published Graduate Medical Education census reports from 2006, when race/ethnicity data were first included, to 2018. Percentage of trainees underrepresented in medicine are reported for 3-year epochs and were analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage test (χ2 test for trend). Across the study period, underrepresented in medicine representation has not changed significantly among all neurology residents and subspecialty fellows (11.9% in 2006-2009; 12.5% in 2015-2018, P=0.82) nor among neurology residents alone (12.0% in 2006-2009; 12.6% in 2015-2018, P=0.81). Among vascular neurology fellows, however, there was a significant downtrend of underrepresented in medicine representation from 16.9% in 2006 to 2009 to 9.3% in 2015 to 2018 (P=0.013). Racial/ethnic underrepresentation among all neurology residents as well as those pursuing vascular neurology fellowship has persisted across the study period. Concerted efforts should be pursued to increase diversity in neurology residents and vascular neurology fellowship training.

Abstract WP47: An Investigation On First Author Gender Disparities In Stroke-related Randomized Controlled Trials

Introduction: While the number of women in medicine and neurology is increasing, there remains a significant gender gap in academic neurology, especially, in the subspecialty of vascular neurology. This study aims to quantify gender differences and examine trends in primary authorship of stroke randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published over the last decade as a proxy for academic leadership. Methods: The PubMed database was searched using pre-defined keywords relevant to ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke filtered by title and article type RCT from 2011 to 2020. EasyPubMed package in R was used for the search. The gender of first authors was determined using the gender package in R, which identifies gender using historical data. Only predictions with an accuracy of ≥ 0.8 for the associated gender were considered, remaining genders were determined by manual search. Results: The query identified 657 RCTs published from 2011 to 2020. Amongst these, we were able to identify the gender of primary authors of 587 (89%) RCTs. Of the 587 RCTs, 205 (35%) had females as primary authors of which 184 (90%) had unique first names. Amongst the 382 male authors, 330 (86%) had unique first names. The mean (SD) percentage of female and male first authors was 31.05 (5.91) and 58.05 (7.21), respectively. Figure 1 demonstrates the annual proportions of both genders over the past decade. The Cox and Stuart trend test did not show any trend in the percentage of female or male authors over the course of 10 years [p values (2-tailed) = 0.36, 0.85, respectively]. Conclusions: Our results highlight the persistence of the gender gap in primary authorship of Stroke RCTs. Despite increased calls for greater representation of women in leadership roles, our data shows a lack of favorable trend towards gender parity in primary authorship. This emphasizes the need for further scrutiny of barriers contributing to this disparity and efforts to promote women as leaders in academic neurology.

Teleneurology: Closing the Gap for Transformative and Inclusive Neurologic Care.

Teleneurology is the delivery of neurologic care through the exchange of healthcare information across distances; it is not a technology, device, or a separate and new branch of neurology. The interest and reach of teleneurology increased exponentially as the COVID-19 pandemic posed an extraordinary challenge to health delivery systems everywhere. While in the past, rural and sparsely populated areas benefitted from telestroke as the vital and life-saving link to appropriate neurology care, currently the benefits (and challenges) of teleneurology span all subspecialties of neurology everywhere. When appropriately indicated and performed, teleneurology care provides a safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable, and patient-centered alternative to clinic- or hospital-based care.

Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: Neuroethics: An Emerging Career Path in Neurology.

Essential to responsible practice and progress in neurology and neuroscience research is robust engagement with associated ethical dimensions and challenges. By virtue of the privileged relationship between personhood and the brain, and the importance of properties of the nervous system to what for most makes life worth living, conditions that affect neurologic function introduce a growing host of novel ethical and philosophical issues. Rather than serving a reactionary role, it is important for neurologists to anticipate such issues and develop familiarity with ethical analysis to inform quality medical practice and to safeguard neuroscience research. The field of neuroethics is an emerging career path devoted to identifying and evaluating such issues with the aim of informing optimal clinical practice and responsible neuroscience research. This article describes the past, present, and future of neuroethics, informed by an interview with one of the field's key founders and luminaries, Dr. James Bernat, with specific focus on training and career opportunities for neurologists in training.

Improving Access to Tertiary Movement Disorders Subspecialty Care: A Team Model Born From the COVID-19 Crisis.

Patient demand continues to outpace growth of the neurology workforce, especially in its subspecialties such as movement disorders. Various strategies have been deployed to address this. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic accentuated the mismatch by propelling telemedicine and access demands to the forefront. Previously, we reported improving general neurology access using a physician-advanced practice provider team model. Here, we share our experiences of piloting a similar model in subspecialty care (movement disorders) between September 1 and December 17, 2020. Before the pilot, the wait time to be seen by movement disorders subspecialists exceeded 4 months. Our data show marked improvement in new patient access (23.8% improvement and 214% increase in the number of new patients seen) with excellent patient acceptance. Our approach and the lessons learned may be useful to address access for other neurology subspecialties.

Setting Up a Teleneurology Clinic during COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from an Academic Practice.

The declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid implementation of telehealth across all neurological subspecialties. Transitioning to telehealth technology can be challenging for physicians and health care facilities with no prior experience. Here, we describe our experience at the Neurology and Sleep Disorders Clinic at the University of Missouri-Columbia of successful transition of all in-person clinic visits to telehealth visits within a span of 2 weeks with a collaborative effort of clinic staff and the leadership. Within a month of launch, 18 clinic providers with no prior telehealth experience conducted 1451 telehealth visits, which was the 2nd highest number of telehealth visits conducted by any department at the University of Missouri-Columbia Health Care system. Lack of connectivity, poor video/audio quality, and unavailability of smart devices among rural populations were the important shortcomings identified during our telehealth experience. Our study highlighted the need for expansion of high-speed internet access across rural Missouri. We hope our experience will help other health care facilities to learn and incorporate telehealth technology at their facilities, overcome the associated challenges, and serve patient needs while limiting the spread of the COVID-19.

Chapter 5 - International models of neuropalliative care

Can equitable Neuropalliative care (NpC) be delivered globally? This chapter surveys existing services and ground realities in different parts of the world. In many countries, universal healthcare (UHC) seems to have been a precondition for the establishment of palliative care (PC). PC has been recognized as a basic human right as a part of UHC. Quality of Death and PC surveys provide an overview of the existing situation. Currently, PC is largely focused on the needs of cancer patients and this is a legacy issue for professionals and systems. Communities however recognize suffering and do not distinguish between medical diagnoses. The development of NpC as a subspecialty of neurology allows neurologists everywhere to become primary palliative care providers for their own patients. It is also necessary to integrate neurology with existing palliative care services. There is much that can be done to improve NpC provision even within the limits that bound every jurisdiction and trial evidence is emerging to inform this practice. This chapter is a survey of the challenges and the potential.

Impact of the Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act.

The goal of this Opinion Editorial is to raise public awareness regarding legislation introduced to Congress, known as the Access to Genetic Counselor Services Act, or HR 2144/S1450. Currently, Medicare policy denies beneficiaries direct access to genetic counselors. This bill aims to rectify this though CMS recognition of genetic counselors. This is of particular importance to Delawareans who rely on genetic counseling service in the sub-specialties of cancer, preconception/prenatal, pediatrics, cardiology, and neurology. In this paper, we aim to underscore the importance of this legislation by outlining how genetic counselors impact patient care.

PA- and NP-led Ommaya clinics to manage leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.

Physician assistants (PAs) and NPs are essential to quality care delivery. The need to demonstrate value and optimize PA and NP roles in neurology subspecialty clinics is unmet. We outline the development of a PA- and NP-led neuro-oncology procedural clinic and provide metrics to support the institutional and clinician value added. We designed a PA- and NP-led Geisinger Ommaya Clinic (GOC) to manage leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LMC) with defined clinician roles and the GOC treatment protocol. A retrospective review of 135 patients (2012-2019) compared survival outcomes for patients treated on the protocol compared with those treated off the protocol. Centralized care in the GOCs minimized shared physician encounters and improved PA and NP autonomy and utility. LMC therapy as part of the GOC protocol improved care continuity and survival outcomes. PA- and NP-led procedural clinics optimize use of these clinicians and open physician availability for nonprocedural duties. This research highlights the institutional patient and financial benefit while demonstrating the operational and leadership growth potential for PAs and NPs.

Abstract 11113: Telemedicine Services Are Acceptable to Neurologists for the Delivery of Outpatient Specialty Neurology Care During the Covid-19 Pandemic, but Require Improvement

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telemedicine services for the delivery of outpatient neurological care. To date, teleneurology has been primarily used in the hospital setting related to both billing restrictions and the need for hands-on maneuvers to complete the neurological assessment. We sought to understand perceptions of neurology specialists during rapid proliferation of telemedicine services into their outpatient practices and the acceptance of this technology. Hypothesis: Neurologists may report profound challenges acclimating to the telemedicine platform, completing visits, and making clinical decisions via telemedicine. We also expected that neurology sub-specialties would differ in their attitudes. Methods: Adapted from the Telehealth Usability Questionnaire (TUQ), our 29 item questionnaire evaluated the teleneurology system in three domains: quality of the telemedicine platform, ability to conduct a sufficient neurological examination, and areas for improvement. The survey was distributed to 88 clinical Neurology faculty in the Johns Hopkins Health System. Seven-point Likert scale responses were collapsed into “Favorable”, “Neutral”, and “Unfavorable.” Within each domain, responses to individual questions were analyzed by neurology sub-specialty using descriptive statistics. Results: We received completed surveys from 46/88 (52%) neurology faculty. Of those, most reported comfort with the current platform (98%) and favorably regarded the system’s ease of use (73%) and quality (80%). However, responses indicated only average ability to troubleshoot telemedicine platform issues when they occurred (55%) and to complete a neurological exam (52%). Sub-specialty comparisons revealed differences in diagnostic confidence; only 30% of neuromuscular faculty indicated they could make accurate neurological diagnoses through a tele-exam as opposed to 84% or greater for other specialties. Conclusions: Teleneurology appears to be feasible and acceptable to a majority of academic neurologists, though diagnostic confidence may differ by sub-specialty. Improvements in technological infrastructure and care models are needed to advance telemedicine neurological care delivery.

Current uses, emerging applications, and clinical integration of artificial intelligence in neuroradiology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science with a variety of subfields and techniques, exploited to serve as a deductive tool that performs tasks originally requiring human cognition. AI tools and its subdomains are being incorporated into healthcare delivery for the improvement of medical data interpretation encompassing clinical management, diagnostics, and prognostic outcomes. In the field of neuroradiology, AI manifested through deep machine learning and connected neural networks (CNNs) has demonstrated incredible accuracy in identifying pathology and aiding in diagnosis and prognostication in several areas of neurology and neurosurgery. In this literature review, we survey the available clinical data highlighting the utilization of AI in the field of neuroradiology across multiple neurological and neurosurgical subspecialties. In addition, we discuss the emerging role of AI in neuroradiology, its strengths and limitations, as well as future needs in strengthening its role in clinical practice. Our review evaluated data across several subspecialties of neurology and neurosurgery including vascular neurology, spinal pathology, traumatic brain injury (TBI), neuro-oncology, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy. AI has established a strong presence within the realm of neuroradiology as a successful and largely supportive technology aiding in the interpretation, diagnosis, and even prognostication of various pathologies. More research is warranted to establish its full scientific validity and determine its maximum potential to aid in optimizing and providing the most accurate imaging interpretation.

Gender Gap in Neurology Research Authorship (1946-2020).

Gender disparity in the field of neurology impedes scientific advancements and innovations. In 2018, 45.0% of neurology and neurological subspecialty residents were women. Despite a notable rise in the proportion of women neurologists over the past decades, inequalities regarding publication proportions between men and women persist in the field. This cohort study examines authorship trends in articles published in 155 international neurology journals, identified as those listed in the annual Journal Citation Reports' “Clinical Neurology” section. Authors' names, authorship positions and countries of affiliation were extracted from PubMed for indexed articles published from 1946 to 2020. Gender-API (a validated and highly accurate application program interface) assigned binary genders to authors. Author gender proportions were compared across subspecialties, authorship position and years. In 303,385 unique articles, 1,663,036 total authors were identified of which 34.1% were women. Neuroradiology demonstrated the lowest proportion of women authors (21.3%), while neurogenetics displayed the highest (44.5%). In articles with multiple authors, both men and women last authors were more likely to publish with a male first author, though this was significantly more pronounced for men last authors (1.86 vs. 1.08; p < 0.001). From 2002 to 2020, women remained in the minority of last (24.6%), first (36.2%), and middle author positions (35.8%). The authorship gender distribution in neurological journals neither reflects the gender proportion of neurologists in the field overall nor in any subspecialty examined. We also find a tendency for senior and junior authors of the same gender to publish together which perpetuates authorship inequity. Further work is needed to identify underlying causes so that interventions might be developed to improve authorship diversity.

Emerging Subspecialties in Neurology: Becoming an Editor-In-Chief.

An Editor-in-Chief leads the editorial team and supervises the daily tasks required to prepare articles for publication while managing the overall content and style of the journal. To become Editor-in-Chief, one must have dedicated work ethic, close attention to detail, passion for the editorial process, and a keen ability to work with and give feedback to section editors and authors. For this article, we interviewed Dr. Steven L. Lewis, Dr. Joseph E. Safdieh, and Dr. S. Andrew Josephson about their collective experience of becoming Editors-in-Chief of Continuum, Neurology Today, and JAMA Neurology, respectively. We have compiled tips for aspiring medical writers and editors, based on their expert advice, to guide trainees in this potential career path.

Subspecialty training of neurology residents and junior neurologists in the Baltic States.

Neurology is a field of increasing subspecialization. There is no published data regarding the proportion of neurology subspecialists in the Baltic States. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify factors associated with neurology subspecialty choice, to examine possible differences between neurology residents' and junior neurologists' view of subspecialty, and to assess perceived subspecialty acquisition opportunities and subspecialty attractiveness. The research was conducted as an anonymous online survey between December 28, 2020, and January 24, 2021 of neurology residents and neurologists who completed their residency during the last 5years in the Baltic States. In total, 72 residents and 65 neurologists participated. "Cerebrovascular diseases" and "multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases of the nervous system" were rated as the two most attractive subspecialties by residents, whereas "headache" and "clinical neurophysiology" were the most attractive among junior neurologists. "Vertigo and dizziness" and "dementia" were ranked the least attractive among both groups. "Cerebrovascular diseases" were perceived as having the most acquisition opportunities. The two most common determinants of subspecialty choice were "medical content of the subspecialty" and "influence of mentor during undergraduate studies or residency". Two-thirds of junior neurologists subspecialize in at least one subspecialty, and one-third of residents are already determined to pursue subspecialty training. Junior neurologists rated most outpatient-related subspecialties as more attractive than neurology residents. Between the Baltic States' universities, there was a significant difference in the number of residents who were determined to pursue subspecialty training.

2020 Update to Spinal Muscular Atrophy Management in Saudi Arabia.

Novel therapeutic strategies have shown some promise in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). However, the outcomes and acceptance of these new strategies are yet to be explored. We aimed to investigate physicians' opinions and perceptions toward management strategies of SMA across Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional survey using a self-administered, structured questionnaire sent to physicians who care for SMA patients during the Saudi Pediatric Neurology Society annual conference. A total of 72 clinicians of different neurological subspecialties were included. 48.6% prescribed nusinersen to their patients, with 39% of them having patients started on nusinersen. Though, 8.3% prescribed onasemnogene abeparvovec for 1–3 patients, while none of their patients started on the treatment. 64.3% stated that the only treatment available for SMA in their settings is supportive care. Around 69.4% described having a moderate to high knowledge on SMA gene therapy, and 79.2% would recommend it. 48.6% confirmed they would prescribe gene therapy at the age of 6 months, and 78.3% would prescribe it for type-I SMA. Pediatric neurologists are receptive to novel and innovative therapies for SMA in Saudi Arabia. However, the high treatment acquisition cost, strict regulations, logistical issues, and budget constraints delay their adoption and implementation.