Located in Charlotte, NC, The Neurological Institute works to increase our understanding of neurological diseases while improving treatment modalities through a range of medical studies. The Neurological Institute also provides a number of treatment options for people in and around Charlotte, NC, who have neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease. This disease affects the basal ganglia and leads to a deficiency in the neurotransmitter dopamine.The US Food and Drug Administration recently made history by approving amantadine extended-release capsules for treatment in patients with Parkinson’s who receive levodopa-based therapy. This new drug treats dyskinesia, the involuntary movements that result from the disease. Amantadine is the first drug proven to reduce dyskinesia in controlled trials.JAMA Neurology published the results of a phase 3 placebo-controlled trial of the drug. In the study, patients took the drug at night, so that plasma concentration would peak by morning and be sustained throughout the day. Trials found that the drug results in a statistically significant decrease in dyskinesia when compared to a placebo. Patients tended to increase their daily functional time by three and a half to four hours.
A Charlotte, NC-based medical and research facility focusing on neurological disorders, The Neurological Institute has helped patients for more than 30 years. During this time, The Neurological Institute has offered numerous services and maintained the Memory Institute for patients dealing with dementia. Although there are several staging systems that can be used in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) is the most widely used system. The five stages of Alzheimer’s according to the CDR system are:1. CDR-0. This score is granted to individuals who are normal and show no sign of dementia.2. CDR-0.5. Individuals with this score have very mild dementia. Their memory problems are consistent, despite being very minor, and individuals may have some trouble with problem solving and time. These issues have a slight effect on daily life.3. CDR-1. When memory loss is moderate and individuals struggle with problem solving, they may be diagnosed with mild dementia, or CDR-1. Individuals in this stage of dementia struggle with hobbies, and their memory loss makes daily activities difficult.4. CDR-2. The CDR-2 stage features more profound memory loss. Individuals within this stage can only retain highly learned material and are frequently disorientated by time and location. They also only have a few interests and cannot function independently at home.5. CDR-3. Severe dementia, or CDR-3, is the final stage, and it is characterized by severe memory loss and a complete lack of judgement and problem-solving capabilities. In addition to this, individuals in this stage need help with all daily care and living activities.
A research and treatment center based in Charlotte, NC, The Neurological Institute and its staff of neurologists, physician assistants, and research coordinators provide care to patients experiencing a variety of neurological disorders. The Neurological Institute also completes research studies on such disorders as multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that damages the central nervous system.A study entitled Breastfeeding, Ovulatory Years, and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis recently appeared in the journal Neurology. According to the study, which was carried out by a group of researchers from Kaiser Permanente and the University of Bochum, women may have a reduced risk of developing MS when they breastfeed their children for 15 months or more.To complete their study, researchers looked at the data of 397 mothers who were diagnosed with MS and 433 mothers of a similar age, income, education, and smoking history who were not diagnosed with MS. Breastfeeding duration was measured for both of these groups.Women who breastfed for at least 15 months were 53 percent less likely to develop MS when compared to women who breastfed for zero to four months. The reason for this is not clear, but scientists believe it may be connected to women’s changing sex hormone levels during breastfeeding and pregnancy. They also believed that a lack of ovulation may play a role, but this was unsupported after an evaluation of ovulation duration, age, and number of pregnancies.Not specifically designed to measure the effect of extended breastfeeding on MS risk, the study had other limitations, such as a lack of data for why women didn’t breastfeed or stopped breastfeeding early. However, researchers still believe that it opens up avenues for further research into the effect of breastfeeding on MS and other autoimmune disease prevalence.
