Mount Sinai Experts to Present Research at American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting

Newswise — Researchers from the Department of Neurology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine will present several studies at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. The meeting will take place April 25-May 2 in Seattle, WA.

Key Findings: Long-Term Outcome Predictors of Pallidal DBS in Patients with Primary Dystonia: The Role of Age and Disease DurationBackground:Dystonia is a severe neurological disease that is frequently intractable with medication, but can be treated with Pallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS). Pallidal DBS involves the implantation of a series of electrodes into specific targets within the brain. The electrodes are then connected to pacemakers that are placed beneath the skin of the chest wall. The pacemakers send electrical impulses to the brain that help control the symptoms of dystonia and other neurological disorders.Results:A new study analyzing three years of results in 42 DBS dystonia patients followed in four international centers coordinated by the DBS Program at The Mount Sinai Medical Center found that age and duration of disease seem to be powerful predictors of outcome. In particular:-Patients with shorter duration of dystonia had better outcome from Pallidal DBS.- Patients with short disease duration but older than 26 years of age at DBS surgery may require more than one year to have maximum outcome.-Younger patients improve faster than adults.-In summary, disease duration could predict how much clinical improvement may be expected after Pallidal DBS, while age at surgery could predict how long it may take to achieve maximum improvement.*Embargoed until Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 4pm

The CombiRx Cohort at Baseline with Clinical and MRI Differences by Diagnostic Criteria;Study Fully Enrolled with 1,008 Participants RandomizedBackground:Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, disabling disease of the central nervous system. The disease causes inflammation, destruction, and scarring of the sheath that covers nerve fibers, called myelin, in the brain and spinal cord. As a result, electrical signals from the brain are slowed or blocked from reaching the eyes, muscles, and other parts of the body. MS is the most prevalent disabling disorder of young adults (18- to 40 years of age) in the United States and affects more than 400,000 people. The cause of MS is unknown and there is no known cure.Results:The CombiRx clinical trial is a three year, double blind, multi-center randomized trial studying relapsing remitting MS. It is the largest NIH-sponsored trial of therapeutics in MS. Reported findings will prove "proof of principle" in CombiRx therapy:- It will provide clinical, MRI, and biomarker profiles for prognosis and response to therapy.- It will provide unique comparative efficacy data.-This study is now fully enrolled. -More than 1,000 newly-diagnosed patients involving 68 MS centers across the country are enrolled in the study which pairs two 'standard' disease-modifying drugs in combination and against each other, to learn if both drugs combined perform better than each drug alone.*Embargoed until Wednesday, April 29, 2009 3PM About The Mount Sinai Medical CenterThe Mount Sinai Medical Center encompasses The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally acclaimed for excellence in clinical care. Last year, nearly 50,000 people were treated at Mount Sinai as inpatients, and there were nearly 450,000 outpatient visits to the Medical Center. Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized as a leader in groundbreaking clinical and basic science research, as well as having an innovative approach to medical education. With a faculty of more than 3,400 in 38 clinical and basic science departments and centers, Mount Sinai ranks among the top 20 medical schools in receipt of National Institute of Health (NIH) grants.