effective taken every two months, rather than monthly as called for by FDA guidelines. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) COMPREHENSIVE CARE CENTER Offering New Hope for a Debilitating Disease Utilizing this new protocol, the NYU Langone team has achieved excellent therapeutic results with zero PML cases to date. MS Center clinicians spearheaded efforts to collect data on nearly 700 MS patients treated with alternative natalizumab dosing across the country and presented their results at a recent international MS conference in fall 2014. The center is also working on a global registry of patients using natalizumab at different frequencies, aiming to eliminate this side effect to a point where the drug is appropriate for a majority of patients. They’ve also pioneered a less frequent and safer regimen for mitoxantrone, a chemotherapy agent that slows difficult-to-treat secondary progressive MS. Besides modified drug protocols, the center’s interdisciplinary team—including four neurologists, a urologist, a psychiatrist, occupational and physical therapists, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, and specialized nursing staff—provides comprehensive symptom management and a range of support and socialization programs. 2014 Highlights — • Developed novel physician- and patient-administered MS disease severity measures • Conducted breakthrough clinical research on the effectiveness of reduced-dose Tysabri® (natalizumab) • Received IRB approval for the establishment of a new MS biotissue repository One of the largest MS centers in the U.S., treating 2,500 patients annually — 50+ active research studies including several trials of promising new medications Utilizing this new protocol [for Tysabri], the NYU Langone team has achieved excellent therapeutic results with zero PML cases to date. — PAGE 24 NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER / NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY / 2014 The center is crafting new assessment tools as well, in order to chart patient responses to treatment and better understand MS pathology. They recently developed two simple, highly accurate tools for tracking MS severity—one meant to be given by a physician, another self-administered by patients. Using the novel patient-reported measure, MS Center researchers reported that disease severity in the patients attending the centers is significantly lower than in the largest national registry of MS patients. The researchers are now refining a more in-depth composite measure that will be used to evaluate several neurological domains affected by MS, including upper and lower limb function, vision, and cognition. Most recently, the MS Center has launched an initiative to collect, analyze, and store various tissue samples from every patient, with the ultimate goal of finding a biomarker for MS. Joseph Herbert, MD, professor of neurology and director of NYU Langone’s MS Comprehensive Care Center, passed away in January 2015. Guiding the MS Center brilliantly for the past two decades as a model for others to follow, Dr. Herbert’s empathy and humanity are treasured by thousands of patients as well as his colleagues. His creative and relentless pursuit of every therapeutic option, boundless intellectual curiosity, and love of teaching are an inspiration to all who are fortunate to be a part of Dr. Herbert’s legacy. A TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH HERBERT, MD NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER / NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY / 2014 PAGE 25 CLINICAL CARE With no curative treatments yet available for Parkinson’s disease, the gold standard for care calls for managing the condition through an array of therapies. NYU Langone’s Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center has honed this approach, coordinating an interdisciplinary treatment strategy that includes skilled use of symptom-relieving medications; collaboration with NYU Langone’s world-class Rusk Rehabilitation team to provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy as needed, and psychiatric and psychosocial interventions for depression and other mental symptoms. The center also features one of the most comprehensive social services programs in the country for patients and their families, with on-site psychotherapy, a social worker, support groups, and scheduled social events; and a unique wellness program with exercise classes tailored specifically to Parkinson’s patients, which data suggest may slow disease progression. The center also collaborates clinically with other NYU Langone divisions where appropriate, referring Parkinson’s patients to the Center for Neuromodulation for deep brain stimulation and to the Medical Center’s neuro-ophthalmologists for diagnosis based on visual tracking. A HUMAN APPROACH TO PARKINSON’S The dedication of staff to their patients is one of the center’s defining attributes. “We realize these individuals have life-altering diseases,” explains Alessandro Di Rocco, MD, the Founders Professor of Neurology and the center director. “So we take a very humanistic, personalized approach, maintaining a strong connection with each patient throughout the trajectory of their illness.” In 2014, the center enhanced its patient-centered focus even further by instituting one of the nation’s first interdisciplinary home-care Parkinson’s programs. When patients with advanced Parkinson’s can no longer travel to appointments, a physician-led