Fall 2019 UH Neurological Institute Update

Earning recognition from our peers

Neurology & Neurosurgery Innovations | Fall 2019

This summer, University Hospitals Department of Neurology Chair Cathy Sila, MD, also the Gilbert W. Humphrey Professor of Neurology and Vice Chair for Clinical Activities and Quality at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, appeared on the cover of Cleveland magazine’s August issue.

The issue includes the annual “Best Doctors” directory of 1,331 top local physicians in 92 specialties. The peer-rated list also features several University Hospitals neurology and neurosurgery physicians. “We’re honored our peers in medicine recognize the quality of neuroscience care our physicians provide,” says Nicholas C. Bambakidis, MD, FAHA, FAANS, Director and Vice President, University Hospitals Neurological Institute, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Professor of Neurological Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

CNS Courses In Cleveland

Neurosurgeons from around the world visited Cleveland in late August to attend a pair of two-day courses at UH Cleveland Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University. “Surgical Treatment of the Craniocervical Junction” gave fifth- and sixth-year neurosurgery residents in-depth, hands-on neurosurgical training. Likewise, the “Skull Base Fellows Course” provided skull base fellows and early-career neurosurgeons a comprehensive look at skull base surgery.

 CNS Course participants.

CNS "Skull Base Fellows Course" held at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

Dr. Bambakidis served as course director. Faculty included UH physicians Cliff A. Megerian, MD; Yin Hu, MD; Alia Hdeib, MD; Manish Kasliwal, MD; and Sarah E. Mowry, MD. The courses were supported by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). “That CNS chose UH to host these courses speaks to our institute’s reputation in performing complex neurosurgical procedures,” says Dr. Bambakidis. “We had physicians from London, Bolivia, Mexico, Jamaica as well as from around the U.S. visit us in Cleveland to learn these techniques.”

Committee Appointments

Also speaking to UH Neurological Institute’s credentials, Dr. Kasliwal, Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at the School of Medicine and Director of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at UH Cleveland Medical Center, received three committee appointments this year:

• North American Spine Society (NASS) Evidence Based Guideline Development Committee, 2019 – 2022
• NASS Coding Committee, 2019 – 2022
• Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) Morbidity and Mortality Committee, 2019 – 2020

Research Participation

In between patient care, continuing education and professional organization involvement, UH Neurological Institute maintains a busy research department. The institute is actively recruiting for several studies, including clinical trials for stroke, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and multiple sclerosis, among others.

UH Neurological Institute is one of more than 80 sites involved in a study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of IPX203 in Parkinson’s disease patients with motor fluctuations. The Phase III clinical trial will compare the safety and efficacy of IPX203 extended release capsules with that of an immediate-release drug. The institute is currently recruiting for this study.

Another neurology study that has received much attention this year investigates whether the drug clazosentan, when combined with routine medical care, can reduce the risk of developing complications related to cerebral vasospasm and permanent brain damage compared with normal routine medical care alone.

UH is currently the highest enroller in the world for this study for three reasons:

• UH has a large patient population with ruptured saccular aneurysm, or berry aneurysm. The vasospasm researched in the study is a complication that occurs five to 10 days after the aneurysm
• UH has an experienced research team with residents, fellows, nurses and other staff available to carry out a challenging, resource-intensive study.
• Led by the site primary investigator Dr. Bambakidis and co-investigator Abhishek Ray, MD, UH Neurological Institute has established itself as a leader in quality and outcomes in aneurysm treatment.

“This trial is resource intensive and challenging to run properly,” says Dr. Bambakidis. “Our ability to pull together an experienced research team is unique and a reflection of the value we put on clinical evidence research and its applications in neurology and neurosurgery.”

To refer a patient for a consultation to UH Neurological Institute, call 216-553-1778.