JNNP Podcast

Nitrous Oxide Abuse

With the UK government announcing plans to make recreational use of nitrous oxide illegal, JNNP podcast host Dr. Saima Chaudhry (1) is joined by London-based neurologist Dr. Alastair Noyce (2)(3) to examine the findings of his group's recently published research paper, "Nitrous oxide-induced myeloneuropathy: a case series". Read the paper here: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/94/9/681
Related links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nitrous-oxide-to-be-illegal-by-end-of-the-year(1) Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA(2) Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK(3) Preventive Neurology Unit, Centre for Prevention, Diagnosis and Detection, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, London, UK
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Brain Fog Demystified

Social media platforms and clinical patient encounters are abundant in references to brain fog, but how much is it really understood? In this episode, JNNP's podcast host, Dr. Saima Chaudhry (1), speaks with Dr. Laura McWhirter (2) about her recently published article, "What is Brain Fog?"and how further understanding of this can help to better treat patients. 
You can read the paper at the following link: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/94/4/321 
(1) Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA
(2) Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
 
Please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or find it on your platform of choice. Your feedback and reviews are very appreciated.
Follow JNNP on twitter: @JNNP_BMJ

A roadmap to ALS prevention: strategies and priorities

In this episode, JNNP's new podcast host Dr. Saima Chaudhry (1) speaks with Dr. Michael Benatar (2) about his recently published article, "A roadmap to ALS prevention: strategies and priorities". This explores a new approach to Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with an emphasis on earlier treatment before significant damage has occurred. This is important due to the limited capacity of the central nervous system to repair itself. The researchers involved sought to understand contributing factors for ALS risk, and to identify high-risk groups for further study.
Note: The genetic therapy referred to as Tofersen, under review at the time of recording, has been approved by the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approves-treatment-amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-associated-mutation-sod1-gene 
You can read the paper at the following link: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/94/5/399 
(1) Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA
(2) Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
 
Please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or find it on your platform of choice. Your feedback and reviews are very appreciated.
Follow JNNP on twitter: @JNNP_BMJ

MOGAD: Definition, diagnosis and treatment

In this episode, JNNP's new podcast host Dr. Saima Chaudhry (1) speaks with Dr. Matteo Gastaldi (2) about Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease, or MOGAD for short. A multi-centre retrospective study, "Prognostic relevance of quantitative and longitudinal MOG antibody testing in patients with MOGAD", was recently published in JNNP, and Dr. Gastaldi is its first author. Listen to this podcast to learn what MOGAD is, its differential diagnosis and the potential pathogenesis. Plus some discussion of the use of MOG titres in predicting relapse of the disease. You can read the paper at the following link: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/94/3/201 (1) Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA (2) Neuroimmunology Research Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy Please subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or find it on your platform of choice. Your feedback and reviews are very appreciated.
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CGRP in migraine: current therapeutics, future implications and potential off-target effects

In this podcast, JNNP's Podcast Editor, Colin Mahoney, interviews Dr Jason Ray (Neurology, Alfred Health, and Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne). Dr Ray discusses the role of calcitonin gene related peptide in migraine and the growing body of evidence for the role of therapies directed against this protein in migraine and beyond. He also highlights emerging off-target side effects to monitor for.
Related article: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/12/1325

Alemtuzumab’s impact on functional and structural integrity of the visual system in MS

Prof Michael Barnett, Director Sydney Neuroimaging Analysis Centre and Professor of Neurology, University of Sydney, joins JNNP's Podcast Editor, Colin Mahoney, to discuss how the use of Alemtuzumab may have longer-term impacts on improving one of the most commonly involved neurological pathways, the visual system, in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Prof Barnett discusses his team's results after following up patients with highly active MS for 24 months, using multifocal visual evoked potentials and advanced neuroimaging. He also talks about what this means for future remyelination strategies.
Related paper: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/12/1319

Guidelines for the management of functional speech and communication disorders

A/Prof Jan Baker, Speech Pathologist, Flinders University and UTS. Dr Laura McWhirter, University of Edinburgh joins editor Colin Mahoney to discuss the first comprehensive guidelines developed to assist speech and language professionals in the management of functional communication, voice, swallow and cough disorders. As part of a global team they have developed a set of clinically focused guidelines in the recognition and management of theses disorders and discuss the highlights on the Podcast. https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/10/1112

The impact of traumatic brain injury on neurocognitive outcomes in children

Mark Goh and Shu-Ling Chong, Duke-NUS Medical School and KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore joins editor Colin Mahoney to discuss their systematic review and meta-analysis spanning 6000 articles dealing with neurocognitive outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. They highlight how dose of TBI impacts executive function and memory with potentially long term impacts. https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/8/847

Cerebral Microbleeds: from depiction to interpretation

Cerebral Microbleeds are increasingly recognised due to increased availability of neuroimaging and are known to be associated with increased risk of stroke, in particular intracerebral haemorrhage. In this podcast Dr Laurent Puy joins editor Colin Mahoney to discuss their histopathology, epidemiology and impact on clinical decision making in a state-of-the-art review published in June's JNNP.
https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/6/598

Motor functional neurological disease, a decade of progress

Over the last ten years, huge progress has been made in the common but often poorly understood condition of motor Functional Neurological Disorder (mFND). In this podcast, Dr W. Curt La France, Jr., Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry, Brown University, USA, joins editor Colin Mahoney to discuss diagnosis, insights on disease mechanisms, and emerging therapeutic approaches. They also highlight the stigma associated with mFND and ways to improve outcomes for patients.
Read the paper on the JNNP website and the journal's June issue: https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/92/6/668