AANEM Practice News Express

Positive Effects of Bisphosphonates on Bone and Muscle in a Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

    6/29/2016
This study in Neuromuscular Disorders supports a possible beneficial effect of pamidronate on bone and muscle health in the Mdx mouse.

Recognition and Management of Acute Flaccid Myelitis in Children

    6/15/2016
This retrospective study in PediatricNeurology points out the importance of early imaging in pediatric patients who present with acute flaccid myelitis, and confirms the poor prognosis of return to complete function of an affected limb with acute flaccid myelitis. 

The NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Considerations for the Design of Clinical Trials

    5/31/2016
This study in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry and Annals of Neurology helps quantify the motor gains expected of boys with DMD undergoing both early and late glucocorticoid therapy and can serve as a gauge for the standard of care and declines experienced by ambulatory boys with DMD using the NSAA tool. 

Zika Virus: What You Need to Know

    5/23/2016
Faculty experts at LSU Health New Orleans schools of Medicine and Public Health, along with Dr. Rebekah Gee, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, plan to share the latest information about the Zika Virus and what people need to know at an event on Monday, May 23, 2016, at 5:30 p.m. As a service to the Health Sciences Center and medical communities outside of New Orleans, the event will be streamed live online and then posted afterwards.

Neurofilament Levels as Biomarkers for ALS

    5/18/2016

MACRA: What Does It Mean for Small Practices?

    5/18/2016
The proposed rule is just 3 weeks old, and analysts are still trying to determine exactly how the new payment system will affect physicians, but one section in the 962-page MACRA proposal set off alarm bells across the healthcare field: the projected impact on small practices. 

CMS Releases Proposed Rule in Overhaul of Physician Payment Policies

    5/4/2016
On Wednesday, April 27, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its proposed rule implementing key provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the piece of legislation passed by Congress last year replacing the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) physician payment formula. MACRA represents a complete overhaul of the structure of physician payments by Medicare. 

Gender as a Modifying Factor Influencing Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Phenotype Severity and Mortality

    5/4/2016
This study in PLOS ONE is a nationwide, multiple databases cross-sectional observational study of adult Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 patients showed that there are gender differences in the phenotype.

Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Mexiletine for Patients With Skeletal Muscle Channelopathies

    4/20/2016
Neuromuscular physicians often approach mexiletine initiation with trepidation, because the medication may lead to cardiac arrhythmias. This study in JAMA Neurology examined the data.

oVEMP as a Test for Myasthenia Gravis

    4/6/2016
This study in Neurology shows that Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (oVEMP) may be a useful test for evaluation of patients with myasthenia gravis. It offers two potential advantages compared to currently available techniques.