Think Neuro

Did you know that 40% of our brain is involved with vision?

Learn about how Pacific Neuro treats visual problems relating to the brain and nervous system with Dr. Howard R. Krauss, Surgical Neuro-Ophthalmologist and Director of the Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at PNI.

For more information please visit: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/

If you’ve never had a migraine headache, you are lucky. Sufferers say the pain alone is wretched, and there are a host of other awful symptoms. A migraine can garble a person’s speech, paralyze parts of the body, cause the sensation of a room spinning, and make any motion feel like moving through molasses.

Dr. Dorothy Dada, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Medical Center, a hospital partner of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, specializes in migraines and in helping people get relief from them. Migraines are among the top five causes of disability in women, who are more prone to migraines than men. Their cause remains a mystery. Evidence points to heredity, but not every migraine sufferer appears to have a genetic history.

Fortunately, there are treatments beyond painkillers like ibuprofen. Antidepressants that bolster the neurotransmitter Serotonin help in many cases. Listen to this episode of Think Neuro to learn how experts like Dr. Dorothy Dada are tackling this debilitating—and all too common—ailment.

pacificneuro.org

310-582-7641

Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity.

Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. Facial synkinesis refers to abnormal regrowth of facial nerve fibers, which may result in involuntary (unwanted) contraction of certain muscles during other intended facial movements.

At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions.

For more information please visit our website:

https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/

Dr. Melita Petrossian, neurologist, and director at Pacific Movement Disorders Center talks about brain neuroplasticity as it relates to Parkinson's disease. For more information or a consultation.

Visit pacificmovement.org or contact us at 310-582-7433.

Jean-Philippe Langevin, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a special interest in the surgical treatment of complex spine conditions and movement disorders. Selected as a multiple year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, he has extensive experience using advanced surgical techniques to treat his patients with compassion and care. He practices at PNI-South Bay / Spine Institute at Little Company of Mary in Torrance, California.

You can read more about Dr. Langevin at the link below:

https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/jean-philippe-langevin/

You're probably hearing a lot more about the "human microbiome" these days. It's the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that lives alongside us, inside and out. Some of these organisms are beneficial, and some are harmful. There is growing evidence that bad actors in our digestive tract may produce toxins that travel along the vagus nerve to the brain, where they clump and cause Parkinson's disease. Listen to this PNI Minute to understand this unexpected connection between gut health and the brain.

To learn more visit

pacificneuro.org

310-582-7450

When Dr. Daniel Kelly and his three colleagues founded the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in 2015, they knew it would be much more than a medical practice. It would be an institute in the true sense of the word, with a mission to heal patients, do research, and educate new doctors. Dr. Kelly and his team didn’t let up on that three-pronged mission during the pandemic. To the contrary, they doubled down, publishing 8 big papers in top-flight medical journals, all of them centered on the minimally-invasive brain surgery that PNI specializes in. One paper focused on complication avoidance analyzed the ten-year track record of PNI doctors using endoscopes to go through the nasal cavity and remove non-cancerous tumors called adenomas from the pituitary gland. It’s a tricky operation because the pituitary sits among very delicate structures, including the carotid artery and the optic nerve. The results: Out of 514 patients, only four had permanent complications, and three of those occurred before 2016. In another paper, PNI doctors described what they’d learned about how to get brain surgery patients out of the hospital more quickly to make room for COVID-19 patients. The PNI team used anesthesia with fewer side effects, cut down on narcotics, and did immediate postoperative CT scans. The result: ICU use fell to 29% from 54%, and 41.4 percent of patients went home on day one, up from 12.2 percent before the pandemic. Best of all, there was no change in complications or readmissions. Dr. Kelly quoted Winston Churchill in the paper: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” PNI made the most of the pandemic, for its patients, and for science. Learn more by listening to this episode.

pacificneuro.org

310-582-7641

Experienced neurosurgeon Dr. Neil A. Martin talks about Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) in the brain and how they are treated.

pacificneuro.org

310-582-7450

Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about the treatment of Facial Paralysis. Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity.

Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions. Every face is unique and our team takes a compassionate, patient-centric approach to designing a unique facial paralysis treatment for each individual.

What is Bell's Palsy? Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Bell's Palsy.

Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. The facial nerves control muscle activity so when damaged it can cause the face to droop.

Fortunately, for the majority of patients, normal to near-normal facial nerve function can be restored within 1-2 months with medications alone, especially in those who can still partly move their facial muscles.

Bell’s palsy-related facial paralysis is sudden, often occurring overnight. The diagnosis of Bell’s palsy is typically made after a thorough evaluation of the entire body that may include a laboratory workup and possibly neuroimaging (MRI). As Bell’s palsy is a diagnosis of exclusion, other causes of facial weakness such as stroke, brain tumor, trauma, etc., should be ruled out. When treated within 72 hours of onset, symptoms usually improve within a few weeks.

https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/eye-ent/facial-nerve-disorders/facial-paralysis-conditions/bells-palsy/

https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/eye-ent/people/amit-kochhar/