News Express

Patient Safety: Safety of DOACs in Needle EMG

June 28, 2021

Limited data is available regarding the risk of bleeding with EMG in patients taking DOACs. One small retrospective study looked at the risk of bleeding after EMG in this patient population and in those taking warfarin, using ultrasound of studied muscles. Nine patients out of the 58 included had hemorrhagic complications, six of which were classified as clinically relevant non-major bleeding and three as asymptomatic bleeding, with a higher incidence of hemorrhage in the DOAC group as compared to the warfarin group. No cases of major bleeding were found.
 

Science News: Value of Systematic Genetic Screening of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

June 23, 2021

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease comprising injury and cell death of upper and lower motor neurons in the brainstem, spinal cord and cortex. The authors sought to determine the value added by screening ALS patients for genetic factors.

Science News: Relation of Exercise and Pain in Patients With Idiopathic Distal Axonal Polyneuropathies

June 23, 2021

This cross-sectional study looked at relation between self-reported exercise and severity of neuropathy in IPN.

Science News: Sensory Neuronopathies: A Case Series and Literature Review

June 14, 2021

In the first article, Drs. Amato and Ropper provide an elegant review of sensory neuronopathies. The article is limited to the acquired sensory ganglionopathies and not the rare hereditary ganglionopathies.

Science News: Amyloid Typing by Mass Spectrometry in Clinical Practice: a Comprehensive Review of 16,175 Samples

June 14, 2021

This is a very extensive summary of the experience of the Mayo Clinic over ten years – from 2008 to 2018 with analyzing the congo red positive biopsy samples from throughout the country from a variety of tissues (heart, fat pad, GI, kidney, liver, muscle, nerve, tendons, breast, lymph nodes, bone marrow, etc.) in a way that is able to report even rare amyloid types usually not detected by the standard amyloid immunohistochemistry panels.

Science News: Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Patisiran for Hereditary Transthyretin-Mediated Amyloidosis With Polyneuropathy: 12-Month Results of an Open-Label Extension Study

May 31, 2021

This article summarizes the world wide experience of treating patients with HTTR with Patisiran in terms of safety and efficacy.

Science News: An Appraisal of Electrodiagnostic Studies in Stiff Person Syndrome

May 16, 2021

This is a review of electrodiagnostic (EDX) findings for diagnosis of stiff person syndrome (SPS). The authors performed a literature review of EDX findings in SPS as well as an online survey on the use of EDX testing for the evaluation of SPS among EDX laboratory test results accredited by the EDX Laboratory Accreditation Committee of the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM).

Science News: Peripheral Nerve Compression Syndromes in Children

April 21, 2021

Non-traumatic neuropathies of the upper limb are rare in children. Diagnostic and treatment parameters are lacking high quality evidence and guidelines.

Science News: Monitoring Clinical Course and Treatment Response in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy During Routine Care

April 12, 2021

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is without a disease activity biomarker and has broad clinical heterogeneity. This review article summarizes clinical and diagnostic tools which can be used in clinical practice to help the clinician to just the outcome of the patient and determine if the treatment is effective or not.

Patient Safety: EMG/NCS and Risk of Bleeding

March 30, 2021

Electrodiagnostic testing (needle electromyography) in patients with bleeding diathesis is associated with greater risk of bleeding when compared to general population. It is recommended that caution should be used when deciding on electrodiagnostic testing in patients with platelet counts less than 50,000 and INR greater than 1.5-2.0.

Science News: Comparison Between Rituximab Treatment for New-Onset Generalized Myasthenia Gravis and Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis

March 29, 2021

This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in a university hospital in Sweden to compare efficacy between rituximab and conventional immunosuppressants in the refractory and newly diagnosed generalized myasthenia gravis.

Sandra Hearn, MD, Receives 2021 Surinderjit Singh Young Lectureship Award

March 21, 2021

The AANEM is excited to announce that Sandra Hearn, MD, is the 2021 winner of the Surinderjit Singh Young Lectureship Award. Dr. Hearn was chosen by AANEM President Bonnie Weigert, MD. As part of the award, Dr. Hearn will be a plenary speaker at the 2021 AANEM Annual Meeting in Aurora, Colorado, which will take place October 13-16. Her plenary is called, “Pushing the Boundary of Normal in Electrodiagnostic Interpretation.”

 

Science News: Which Ultrasound Parameter is More Accurate in the Diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

March 17, 2021

Ultrasound (US) can be useful to diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Most US CTS studies have looked at median nerve cross sectional area (CSA). Others use resistive index (RI) or strain ratio (SR) as the criteria. This study compared CSA with RI and SR in CTS.

Science News: Serum Neurofilament Light Chain Predicts Long-Term Prognosis in Guillain-Barré Syndrome Patients

February 16, 2021

The neurofilament light (NfL) chain is an increasingly studied biomarker for axonal injury, previously studied in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). This study evaluates it as a prognostic maker in GBS.

Science News: Retrospective Analysis of Eculizumab in Patients with Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody-Negative Myasthenia Gravis: A Case Series

February 02, 2021

Eculizumab has been approved and used for AChR antibody positive myasthenia gravis but little is known about its efficacy for AChR seronegative cases. In this small retrospective study (N=6), treatment outcome with eculizumab for AChR negative patients was assessed.

President Biden’s Initial Health Care Priorities

January 25, 2021

On Wednesday, January 20, President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. In typical presidential fashion, shortly after being sworn in, President Biden issued several executive orders, many of which related directly to health care and, more specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, as is customary, members of President Trump’s administration, including the heads of HHS and CMS, resigned their positions prior to Biden’s swearing-in.

Science News: Placebo Effect in Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy: The PATH Study and a Systematic Review

January 19, 2021

Placebos (pharmacologically inert preparations) are used in treatment trials to assess the true effect of trial medication. Placebo responses have been noted in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) trials including the most recent PATH trial investigating subcutaneous IVIG as maintenance therapy.

COVID-19 Vaccine: AANEM Publishes Guidance for Patients with NMDs

January 14, 2021

At the end of 2020, with announcement of the impending approval of not one but two vaccines against COVID-19, AANEM staff faced a sudden influx of phone calls and emails from members, nonmember physicians, and even some NM patients inquiring about the safety of such vaccines for NM patients. The AANEM Quality & Patient Safety Committee quickly took up the task of researching the data available on the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as looking at the safety and efficacy of vaccines in general in this patient population.