'Great strides' in treatment of stroke, headache, epilepsy

The latest advances in treating neurologic disorders such as stroke, headache, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and sleep disorders are detailed in a special issue of the journal Neurologic Clinics.

Guest editor is Dr. Jose Biller, chairman of the Department of Neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

"Great therapeutic strides in the clinical neurosciences have been made in the past decades," Biller wrote in the preface to the November 2010 issue, now available online. "It is likely that subsequent decades will bring even greater advances in neurologically oriented therapies."

Fifteen articles detail the latest advances in the treatment and management of neurological disorders, including neurostimulation for headaches, 12 new antiepileptic drugs for epilepsy patients, controlling arterial blood pressure in stroke patients, current and emerging therapies for motor complications of Parkinson's disease, therapeutic challenges in dystonia, treatment of low-grade cerebral gliomas (brain tumors), management of acute, recurrent and chronic meningitis in adults and treatment options for parasomnias (sleep walking, night terrors and other sleep disorders).

The multidisciplinary list of authors includes specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, psychiatry and neuropathology. Authors are affiliated with multiple institutions, including Loyola, Mayo Clinic, Harvard University, Baylor College of Medicine, Hines VA Hospital, University of Cincinnati, University of Houston and University of Utah.

"I hope that clinicians find this volume useful in the management of their patients," Biller wrote.