hospitals in the country. NYU Langone’s Hospital for Joint Diseases received its first Magnet recognition in 2012. NYU Langone Medical Center Ranked One of the Top 20 Medical Schools by U.S. News & World Report NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER / NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY / 2014 PAGE 3 NEW & NOTEWORTHY Transformation Through Growth, Innovation, and Collaboration Concussion Center Reaches 1,000 Patient Mark One of the few comprehensive, interdisciplinary centers in the United States devoted to diagnosis and treatment of concussion, NYU Langone’s Concussion Center has treated over 1,000 patients since it was established in the spring of 2013. The center maintains a concussion patient registry, and is currently investigating the use of the King-Devick Test® for eye movement, and other quickly administered cognitive and balance screens for sideline concussion diagnosis. The Center’s research on the King-Devick Test was profiled by the American Academy of Neurology® as one of the highlights of their annual meeting. New Radiosurgery Suite Allows for Increased Gamma Knife® Volume Early in 2014, the Neurosurgery Department opened its new radiosurgery suite, a completely renovated facility housing a Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™. With the new space, the department also saw an impressive 15 percent increase in patient volume, to 459 procedures for the year, making NYU Langone’s Gamma Knife® practice the third-largest in the United States, and the most active in the New York metropolitan area. Model Home Care Program for Immobile Parkinson’s Disease Patients NYU Langone’s Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center (PMDC) has launched a multidisciplinary Parkinson’s disease home care program—the first of its kind. Now, when patients with advanced Parkinson’s can no longer travel to appointments, a physician-led team visits them at home to conduct a full evaluation and regular follow-ups. The PMDC has also joined with the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation, the National Parkinson® Foundation, and Jewish Community Center (JCC) Manhattan to bring this groundbreaking New York City-based program to four other U.S. cities. PAGE 4 NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER / NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY / 2014 Stroke Center Grows to Meet Increased Need In 2014, NYU Langone opened its Ronald O. Perelman Center for Emergency Services, resulting in a 30 percent increase in stroke patients. NYU Langone’s Comprehensive Stroke Care Center responded accordingly, expanding to include three dedicated neurologists specializing in stroke treatment to provide advanced care. The Center also has a full-time attending neuroradiologist, four neurointerventional radiologists, and access to a newly opened, 10-bed Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. Staffed by neurointensivists, neurology and neurosurgery residents, and Magnetrecognized nursing staff, the Neuro ICU cares for the most severely ill stroke, seizure, and other neurological patients. The unit offers the latest in neurological monitoring, including invasive brain monitoring, transcranial Dopplers, and 24/7 EEG monitoring. Advancing Neurosurgery with Novel Device Design Howard A. Riina, MD, professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and director of endovascular surgery, designed and recently patented a bifurcation flow-diverter—a device that steers blood flow away from brain aneurysms located in branching vessels. FDA Approvals on Drugs for Lysosomal Storage Disorders NYU Langone neurologists helped lead clinical trials for Cerdelga™ and Vimizim®, two lysosomal storage disorder drugs that got FDA approval in 2014. Research efforts led by NYU Langone’s Dysautonomia Center also resulted in FDA approval this year of droxidopa for treating neurogenic orthostatic hypotension—the first new hypotension medication in two decades, and only the second ever developed. Smart Pacemaker Approved for Epilepsy Faculty at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, now part of NYU Langone’s Faculty Group Practice, were part of clinical trials resulting in recent FDA approval of responsive neurostimulator (RNS) devices, and performed the nation’s first post-approval RNS implantation. The device uses sensors and electrical stimulation to detect and shut down incipient seizures in the brain before they start. Newly Identified Compounds Could Impact Cognitive Disorders NYU Langone’s Center for Cognitive Neurology (CCN) researchers have identified and patented a compound, 2-PMAP, which reduces brain levels of toxic amyloid proteins—potential contributors to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other cognitive disorders—by more than 50 percent in animal studies. The center also developed a way to stimulate the body’s innate immune response using the Toll-like receptor 9 protein, an approach found in animal studies to reduce all key Alzheimer’s pathologies. CCN researchers have also developed and patented active and passive vaccination approaches that target both Aß and tau pathology concurrently, which are highly effective in multiple animal models of AD. NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER / NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY / 2014 PAGE 5 NEW & NOTEWORTHY New Program Takes on Headache A new headache service under the direction of new faculty member Mia T. Minen, MD, assistant