Faculty | Article |
![]() | Variant Cases Now Make Up More Than Half of New Colorado Covid-19 Cases “The important part of tracking variants is to understand what variants are circulating, which ones are taking over. We know that this happens, all these viruses do this. Eventually, a variant takes over, it’s called a ‘replacement strain,’” said Dr. David Beckham, infectious disease physician, virologist and associate professor of medicine and neurology at CU School of Medicine.9News, Apr. 14, 2021 |
![]() | To Defeat a Foe Like Parkinson’s, We Must Expose Its Secrets This was a wake-up call to yet another possible nefarious side-effect of the virus. In a commentary examining the findings, Van Andel Institute’s Dr. Patrik Brundin, along with Dr. Avindra Nath of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Dr. J. David Beckham of University of Colorado, said the cases suggest that COVID-19 may be part of a “perfect storm” for Parkinson’s disease.Grand Rapids Business Journal, Apr. 2, 2021 |
![]() | Cognition Help for Alzheimer’s Patients CU Anschutz Today, Mar. 25, 2021 |
![]() | Time to Rethink Prognosis After Prolonged Unconsciousness? “The results of our study, we think, show that caution is warranted in making decisions to withdraw or hold care in patients with these serious brain injuries,” according to lead author Dr. Robert G. Kowalski, Department of Neurology. “A meaningful recovery is possible, even when loss of consciousness occurs after the brain injury." Medscape, March 4, 2021 |
![]() | Loss of Smell Lingers Post COVID Also commenting for Medscape Medical News, Dr. Kenneth Tyler, Professor of Neurology and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, said the study was relatively large and the results “interesting.” Although it “provides more evidence there’s a subset of patients with symptoms even well past the acute phase” of COVID, the results are “mostly confirmatory” and include “nothing super surprising,” said Tyler. Medscape, Feb. 23, 2021 |
![]() | Writing Styles Linked to Alzheimer’s Development Later in Life “Certain words that we use every day in speech, like: ‘a’, ‘and’ – short little words began to fade away, drop out, as speech became more simple over time in writing,” said Dr. Peter Pressman, Assistant Professor of Neurology. Fox31, Feb. 11, 2021 |
![]() | Coronavirus May Infect Key Brain Cells, Causing Neurons To Die Given the stark differences between each arm of the study, “I think it is difficult to compare the mild disease portion of the study to the severe disease cohort,” said Dr. Maria Nagel, Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. MSN, Feb. 10, 2021 |
![]() | CU Anschutz Experts Break COVID-19 Effects Down by Body Part From foggy mind to ‘COVID toe,’ observations abound, but causal evidence still lags. Dr. Kenneth Tyler addresses impacts to the Central Nervous System. CU Anschutz Today, Jan. 27, 2021 |
![]() | What You Need to Know About CBD Side Effects CBD that you buy at the drugstore and CBD you get at a medical marijuana dispensary are not the same either, which means the side effects could be different, points out Dr. Maureen Leehey, Director of the Movement Disorders Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. HealthCentral, Jan. 25, 2021 |
![]() | Pasadena Library’s STEAM Program Illustrates the Strength of Soap Against Viruses Dr. Daniel Pastula, neuro-infectious disease expert at UCHealth, the University of Colorado’s non-profit health care system, says soap – even the cheap generic kind – actually works better than hand sanitizer to remove the coronavirus. Pasadena Now, Jan. 16, 2021 |
![]() | How Long After a COVID Diagnosis Should I Get Vaccinated? Neurovirologists Address This and Other Uncharted Scenarios on the COVID Vaccine |
Faculty | Article |
![]() | CU Anschutz Experts Break COVID-19 Effects Down by Body Part From foggy mind to ‘COVID toe,’ observations abound, but causal evidence still lags. Dr. Kenneth Tyler addresses impacts to the Central Nervous System. CU Anschutz Today, Jan. 27, 2021 |
![]() | What You Need to Know About CBD Side Effects CBD that you buy at the drugstore and CBD you get at a medical marijuana dispensary are not the same either, which means the side effects could be different, points out Dr. Maureen Leehey, Director of the Movement Disorders Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. HealthCentral, Jan. 25, 2021 |
![]() | Pasadena Library’s STEAM Program Illustrates the Strength of Soap Against Viruses Dr. Daniel Pastula, neuro-infectious disease expert at UCHealth, the University of Colorado’s non-profit health care system, says soap – even the cheap generic kind – actually works better than hand sanitizer to remove the coronavirus. Pasadena Now, Jan. 16, 2021 |
![]() | How Long After a COVID Diagnosis Should I Get Vaccinated? Neurovirologists Address This and Other Uncharted Scenarios on the COVID Vaccine |
![]() | DBS for Parkinson’s: Nothing Short of a ‘Miracle’ for Young Rocket Scientist At 35, he had a wife, three young children – and Parkinson’s. Under the care of Dr. Drew Kern and team, Deep Brain Stimulation helped this young rocket scientist overcome a perpetual "fog." Now, he is laughing and playing with his children again. UCHealth Today, Dec. 23, 2020 |
![]() | COVID-19 Neurologic Fallout Not Limited to the Severely Ill Commenting on the findings, Dr. Kenneth Tyler, Chair of Neurology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, noted that this is one of the larger series published to date of the neurologic complications associated with COVID-19, and the first to come from a U.S. safety-net hospital in a large metropolitan area. Medscape, Dec. 14, 2020 |
![]() | Washington Ski Resorts Opening with Covid Rules Dr. Daniel Pastula said the outdoor element of ski trips is generally safe during a pandemic, but the virus could spread if people congregate in places such as lift lines, lodges, restaurants and bathrooms. MyNorthwest, Nov. 26, 2020 |
![]() | Coloradans Turning to Air Purifiers as Covid Fighting Tool “Air purifiers with a HEPA filter we think are probably helpful in a lot of situations,” said Dr. Daniel Pastula, Neuroinfectious Disease Physician with UCHealth. Fox31, Nov. 26, 2020 |
![]() | Incidence of Stroke, But Not MI, Increasing in Young People “It has been a mystery why the number of strokes in young adults has been growing,” Dr. Michelle Leppert, Assistant Professor of Neurology, told Medscape Medical News. “This is a trend seen worldwide.” Medscape, Nov. 26, 2020 |
![]() | The Jury Is Still Out on COVID-19 Risk for Patients With MS Patients with multiple sclerosis may not have an increased risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019, but their risks and outcomes are the targets of ongoing investigation, explained Dr. John Corboy, Professor of Neurology and co-director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center at Anschutz Medical Campus. AJMC, Nov. 23, 2020 |
![]() | Free from epileptic seizures after 33 years Clay Phillips, a patient of epileptologist Dr. Mark Spitz, suffered for more than three decades. Then, thanks to medical advances and a breakthrough cure, he is living and driving again. UCHealth Today, Nov. 18, 2020 |
![]() | CU Joins Trial Network Taking Aim at Rare Disease The University of Colorado is one of four sites recently named to join a research consortium dedicated to finding treatments for a rare, debilitating neuromuscular disease called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD. Dr. Matthew Wicklund, director of the Neuromuscular Section of the UCHealth Neurosciences Center, says FSHD patients in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region will benefit from CU joining the Clinical Trial Research Network. |
![]() | More Coloradans Are Dying From Alzheimer’s Disease During Pandemic As Social Isolation Takes Its Toll Alzheimer’s and dementia often progress slowly over a period of years, but if a person’s brain is stressed, they can experience “dips” and will have a harder time bouncing back than someone without a cognitive disorder, said Dr. Samantha Holden, Medical Director of the CU School of Medicine’s Neurobehavior and Memory Disorders Clinic. Denver Post, Nov. 1, 2020 |
![]() | Delayed Diagnosis of Focal Nonmotor Seizures Represents ‘Significant Treatment Gap’ “This research was prompted by a clinical observation that many patients with focal epilepsy experience delays to diagnosis,” Dr. Jacob Pellinen, Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told Healio Neurology. Healio, Oct. 29, 2020 |
![]() | Car Accidents Common with Undetected Epilepsy Among 246 focal epilepsy patients with subtle, non-motor seizures, median time to diagnosis from their first reported seizure was 616 days, reported Dr. Jacob Pellinen of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and co-authors. Subtle seizures may include brief hallucinations or déjà vu. MedPage Today, Oct. 20, 2020 |
![]() | U.S. Resorts Adapt to New Normal of Skiing Amid Pandemic Dr. Daniel Pastula, CU School of Medicine Neuroinfectious Disease physician, said the outdoor element of ski trips is generally safe during a pandemic, but the virus could spread if people congregate in places such as lift lines, lodges, restaurants and bathrooms. “I think you can ski smartly and safely. Again, not completely eliminating the risk, but really reducing it,” he said. Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Oct. 17, 2020 |
![]() | Why Disease-Modifying Therapy Efficacy Varies With Age Immunopathology changes with age, so older individuals with multiple sclerosis need medications that focus on effects inside the nervous system, explained Dr. John Corboy, Professor of Neurology and Co-director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center. American Journal of Managed Care, Oct. 9, 2020 |
![]() | Promising Alzheimer’s Trials, Treatments in Process, and Potential Therapy Link to COVID-19 “We proposed in a paper published in F1000 that GM-CSF Leukine would be a treatment for COVID-19. The idea was based on some preliminary work with Dr. Ken Tyler's lab showing that GM-CSF prevented the death of mice infected with West Nile Virus,” reported Dr. Huntington Potter. “We made a leap to suggest…that this natural protein might be a treatment for COVID-19. And there are now at least two clinical trials being carried out with GM-CSF treatment for COVID-19, one in Belgium and one in Singapore. One would never necessarily have thought that all of our work on Alzheimer's disease would give us an insight into how to treat COVID-19, but it did. That's one of the reasons it's so great to be in a university setting where ideas can be tested by essentially moving to the fifth floor from the fourth floor of our research building.” |
![]() | Young Women May Face Greater Stroke Risk Than Young Men “We have this sense of security that women don’t have as many strokes because estrogen in premenopausal women can be protective for cardiovascular events, but that’s a false assumption,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Michelle Leppert, assistant professor of neurology at University of Colorado School of Medicine. Herald Review (Big Rapids, Mich.), Sept. 18, 2020 |
![]() | The New Coronavirus Can Infect Brain Cells, Study Finds “This study is the first to do an extensive analysis of SARS-CoV-2 [brain] infection using three models,” said Dr. Maria Nagel, professor of neurology and ophthalmology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. LiveScience, Sept. 13, 2020 |
![]() | Research About Stopping Disease-Modifying Therapies for MS Do patients with multiple sclerosis who have been on disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for decades need to keep taking them? Dr. John Corboy, professor of neurology, University of Colorado Denver, School of Medicine, and co-director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center at Anschutz Medical Campus, explains what is known about this area. AJMC, Sept. 12, 2020 |
The Aging Brain: Exploring the Connection Between Neurology and Elevation When it comes to looking at the potential correlation between living at high elevation and the risk for dementia-inducing diseases, Drs. Huntington Potter and Peter Pressman of the Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center said it would take great effort, time and funding to research. Summit Daily News, Sept. 10, 2020 | |
![]() | Long After the Fire of a Covid-19 Infection, Mental and Neurological Effects Can Still Smolder “It’s sort of like you’re trying to put out the fire and then a little bit later, you go look at the nervous system as the embers,” said Dr. Victoria Pelak, Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology. “Because you are so concerned with the raging fire, you haven’t really been able to pay attention to the nervous system as much as you normally would.” STAT, Aug. 12, 2020 |
CU Anschutz Researchers Win NIH Grant to Study COVID-19 Impact on Sense of Smell “The virus often starts in the nose before making its way to the lungs,” said Diego Restrepo, PhD, Professor of cell and developmental biology, who will co-investigate with Maria Nagel, MD, Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology. “We think this may spark an inflammatory response that releases cytokines which in turn silence olfactory sensory neurons in the nose.” CU Anschutz Today, July 21, 2020 | |
![]() | Three Stages to COVID-19 Brain Damage, New Review Suggests Dr. Kenneth Tyler, Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, disagreed that all hospitalized patients with COVID-19 should routinely receive an MRI. “Whenever you are using a piece of equipment on patients who are COVID-19 infected, you risk introducing the infection to uninfected patients." Medscape, June 29, 2020 |
![]() | Does the Immune System Play a Role in Parkinson's Disease? “It has long been suspected that immune alterations are an important part of the development of PD,” says Dr. Maureen Leehey, Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Health Central, June 8, 2020 |
![]() | What to Know Before Heading to an Open Beach This Summer “It’s really the close contact with people – whether in the water or on land – that’s the concern,” Dr. Daniel Pastula, neuro-infectious disease expert and Associate Professor of Neurology, said in a recent report by UCHealth. Newsweek, May 22, 2020 |
![]() | COVID 19: What Other Respiratory Viruses Can Reveal About Neurologic Symptoms Kenneth L. Tyler, Louise Baum Endowed Professor and Chair of Neurology at University of Colorado School of Medicine, said he tends to think of the potential neurologic impacts of CoV-2 as falling into one of three broad categories. Neurology Today, May 21, 2020 Inflamed brains, toe rashes, strokes: Why COVID-19’s weirdest symptoms are only emerging now “Almost all the [neurological] things we’re seeing now with COVID-19 are things you might have predicted would have happened,” says Kenneth Tyler, chairman of the department of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. National Geographic, May 21, 2020 |
![]() | Neuropalliative Care During COVID-19 – How Clinicians Help Patients and Families Cope with Isolation, Fear, and Life-Limiting Illness “It’s like a modern version of an old-fashioned home visit,” said Christina L. Vaughan, associate professor and chief of the division of neuropalliative care in the department of neurology at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. “This has really sparked a lot of conversation. So much of palliative care is understanding someone’s story and what is important to them.” Neurology Today, May 18, 2020 |
The COVID-19 Life: On Juggling Young Children and Telemedicine Amanda L. Piquet, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said it was after the first day that the five weeks of “stay-at-home” restrictions had been lifted that she realized she really needed a vacation. Dr. Piquet, who has a 4-year-old and an 8-month-old child, is a neurohospitalist and works part-time in the hospital where she has inpatient duties. Samantha K. Holden, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, encountered her first work-family challenge during her first week of full-time telemedicine at home. Dr. Holden had asked an older patient to walk around his room so she could examine his gait—when all of a sudden, a little 4-year-old face appeared behind her on the screen. Neurology Today, May 5, 2020 | |
![]() | Coronavirus in Context: Neurological Effects of COVID-19 Coronavirus in Context Video Series, with WebMD’s Chief Medical Officer, John Whyte, MD, MPH, who discusses neurological effects of COVID-19 with Kenneth Tyler, department chair of neurology at University of Colorado School of Medicine. WebMD, May 5, 2020 |
![]() | The Great Invader: How COVID-19 Attacks Every Organ The brain and nerves may also fall prey to direct attack. Dr. Kenmeth Tyler, Chair of the Department of Neurology, cautions that direct central nervous system (CNS) attack is still being worked out at this time. There are many routes a virus could take to invade the CNS. Medscape, April 23, 2020
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![]() | Do coronavirus symptoms include a ‘fizzing,’ tingling or burning sensation? Other coronaviruses that affect humans can invade the central nervous system, so it makes sense COVID-19 may have neurologic manifestations, Dr. Kenneth Tyler, chair of Neurology at University of Colorado School of Medicine, told Neurology Today, a publication of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology Today, April 13, 2020 |
![]() | An unintended, yet still dangerous, COVID-19 impact: Those with life-threatening illness avoiding ER
“Time is really of the essence,” said Dr. Michelle Leppert, Assistant Professor of Neurology, who treated a stroke patient. “This was true before COVID. And the faster we can get a patient seen and get care to them, the
better the outcome is.” Channel 7, April 14, 2020 |
![]() | Why Do Some People Get Sicker? Infectious disease expert Dr. Daniel Pastula says viral dose could matter — a
lot. “The lower the viral dose that you may get, we do think that there’s a better chance for your immune system to recognize what’s going on and fight it off before it causes problems,” he told CBS4’s
Alan Gionet.
CBS4, April 7, 2020 |
![]() | The Spread of COVID-19: Questions Raised, Some Answered by Neuroinfectious Disease Experts Kenneth L. Tyler, Louis Baum Endowed Professor and Chair of Neurology at University of
Colorado School of Medicine, noted that earlier this year a report from three COVID-19-designated hospitals in Wuhan, China, indicated that more than one-third of coronavirus patients had some type of neurologic symptom, including
altered consciousness, evidence of skeletal muscle damage, and acute cerebrovascular disease.
Neurology Today, April 2, 2020 |
![]() | Why soap and water work better than hand sanitizer to remove the coronavirus. Good, old-fashioned soap, even if it’s the cheap, generic kind, works better than hand sanitizer to remove the coronavirus. It’s all about chemistry, says Dr. Daniel Pastula. UCHealth Today, March 30, 2020 |
![]() | What Neurologists Can Expect from COVID-19 Medscape recently spoke with central nervous system infection specialist and chair of University of Colorado's neurology department, Dr. Kenneth Tyler,
about what implications the new coronavirus could have on patients and practice. Medscape, March 26, 2020 |
![]() | Coronavirus: Why has COVID-19 caused so many deaths worldwide? Your risk revealed Dr. Daniel Pastula, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and CU School of Medicine,
explained how the virus could easily infect the human body, as we have no pre-existing defences against it, adding: “Our bodies don’t immediately recognise it as a dangerous intruder.” Express (London), March 20, 2020 |
![]() | Dementia has no cure, but researchers and caregivers have found ways to improve quality of life “I get about 90-95 percent of my diagnosis from talking to them, getting to know them,” Dr. Samantha Holden,
a behavioral neurologist with University of Colorado Health and Assistant Professor of neurology at CU School of Medicine, said. “Even though we can’t cure these things, we can definitely manage them and make sure we’re
improving people’s quality of life.” Channel 7, March 20, 2020 |
![]() | Colorado governor closes bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms in fight against coronavirus Hospitals in mountain communities, where the virus is spreading more widely, already are running short of protective gear and other resources to care for a higher volume of patients, said Dr. Daniel Pastula,
a University of Colorado School of Medicine infectious disease specialist who visited some of the harder-hit communities. Denver Post, March 16, 2020 |
![]() | 8 Early Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis Women in Their 20s and 30s Should Know Typically, MS follows a classic relapse/remission pattern. “You get this burst of inflammation in a spot in the brain, and the inflammation runs its course,” Dr. Timothy Vollmer,
a neurologist at the University of Colorado who specializes in multiple sclerosis, tells SELF. After this “attack,” you then “recover,” and the symptoms retreat for a time period until the next attack. Self, March 1, 2020 |
![]() | The study “raises the question of whether there is such a thing as HE,” commented Kenneth L. Tyler,
Louise Baum Endowed Professor and Chair of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “There aren't any validated diagnostic criteria, and the breadth of clinical presentations and lab criteria across patients
labeled with it is pretty broad.” Neurology Today, Feb 20, 2020 |
![]() | Outpatient Palliative Care Improves Parkinson Outcomes As reported in the February 10, 2020 issue of JAMA Neurology, Dr. Benzi Kluger and School of Medicine colleagues evaluated whether
outpatient palliative care is associated with improvements in patient-centered outcomes compared with standard care among 210 patients with Parkinson disease and related disorders and 175 caregivers. Physician’s Weekly, Feb 10, 2020 |
![]() | From epilepsy nightmare to 'Neuro Ninja' Kyle Parker convulsed so violently he broke his back in four places. Then he opted for an innovative brain surgery and he’s 100% seizure free. Cornelia Drees, MD,
Associate Professor of Neurology, describes the laser ablation surgery that ended Kyle's unpredictable seizures. UCHealth Today, Jan. 22, 2020 |
![]() | Healthy babies exposed to Zika in the womb may suffer developmental delays Because there was variability between individuals, “looking at a population enables one to see overall trends,” says neurologist Ken Tyler, MD,
Professor and Chair of Neurology of the CU School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. “We need to aggressively follow all children whose mothers were exposed to Zika during pregnancy to understand the nature of
their neurological delays.” Science News, Jan. 6, 2020 |