JNNP Milestones in Neurology List
No.1 – Brain Imaging: The development and application of imaging techniques
Presented by: Professor Nick Ward
Human brain imaging makes it possible to produce detailed images of the living brain and its innate function. Before the advent of brain imaging, neurologists were wholly reliant on a physical neurological examination to infer compromise in the structure and function of the brain, with diagnoses only confirmed after death. Clinicians and scientists now have a series of tools that allow the human brain to be investigated at a range of scales, from macroscopic to mesoscopic, to help begin to understand the working human brain in life.
Further reading …
Impactful articles from JNNP related to the development and application of imaging techniques:
- Brain iron deposition is linked with cognitive severity in Parkinson’s disease
- Brain regions important for recovery after severe post-stroke upper limb paresis
- Applications of positron emission tomography (PET) in neurology
- Advances in neuroimaging to support translational medicine in dementia
- Clinical neurology: why this still matters in the 21st century
No.2 – Stroke: Introduction of thrombolysis and endovascular recanalisation therapy
Presented by: Dr Karen Furie
The acute management of ischemic stroke has been transformed in the last quarter century. The emergence of intravenous (IV) thrombolysis as an evidence-based therapy within 4.5 hours of stroke symptom onset accelerated stroke systems of care and established the “time is brain” paradigm. More recently, endovascular therapy with mechanical thrombectomy for large artery occlusion has dramatically improved outcomes for the most devastating strokes. Brain and cerebrovascular imaging have become integral to acute decision making. Mobile stroke units can begin evaluation and treatment in the field. Advanced imaging techniques enhance understanding of collateral flow and perfusion and facilitate patient selection for treatment. These advances pave the way for future interventions aimed to prevent or treat distal embolization, couple revascularization with neuroprotection, and reduce acute injury.
Further reading …
Impactful articles from JNNP related to the introduction of thrombolysis and endovascular recanalisation therapy
- Novel selection paradigms for endovascular stroke treatment in the extended time window
- Ischaemic stroke on anticoagulation therapy and early recurrence in acute cardioembolic stroke: the IAC study
- Bridging versus direct endovascular therapy in basilar artery occlusion
- Impact of mobile stroke units
- Recanalisation therapies for acute ischaemic stroke in patients on direct oral anticoagulants