Think Neuro

There are few cancers more challenging than glioblastomas. While there is currently no cure for these brain tumors, patients and their caregivers can take steps to maximize their quality of life once they learn their diagnosis. Dr. Akanksha Sharma and TV meteorologist and author Maria Quiban Whitesell both know a lot about doing just that. Dr. Sharma is a neuro-oncologist at PNI, where she treats...

Dr. Amit Kochhar, MD, is double board-certified in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is the director of the Facial Nerve Disorders Program at Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Kochhar specializes in facial nerve disorders, complex reconstruction of th...

Did you know that 40% of our brain is involved with vision? Learn about how Pacific Neuro treats visual problems relating to the brain and nervous system with Dr. Howard R. Krauss, Surgical Neuro-Ophthalmologist and Director of the Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at PNI. For more information please visit: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/

If you’ve never had a migraine headache, you are lucky. Sufferers say the pain alone is wretched, and there are a host of other awful symptoms. A migraine can garble a person’s speech, paralyze parts of the body, cause the sensation of a room spinning, and make any motion feel like moving through molasses. Dr. Dorothy Dada, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Medical Center, a hospital partne...

Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity. Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. Facial synkinesis refers to abnormal regrowth of facial nerve fibers, which may result in involuntary (unwanted) contraction of certain muscles during other intended facial movements. At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions...

Dr. Melita Petrossian, neurologist, and director at Pacific Movement Disorders Center talks about brain neuroplasticity as it relates to Parkinson's disease. For more information or a consultation. Visit pacificmovement.org or contact us at 310-582-7433.

Jean-Philippe Langevin, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a special interest in the surgical treatment of complex spine conditions and movement disorders. Selected as a multiple year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, he has extensive experience using advanced surgical techniques to treat his patients with compassion and care. He practices at PNI-Sou...

You're probably hearing a lot more about the "human microbiome" these days. It's the collection of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that lives alongside us, inside and out. Some of these organisms are beneficial, and some are harmful. There is growing evidence that bad actors in our digestive tract may produce toxins that travel along the vagus nerve to the brain, where they clump and cause Parkinson'...

When Dr. Daniel Kelly and his three colleagues founded the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in 2015, they knew it would be much more than a medical practice. It would be an institute in the true sense of the word, with a mission to heal patients, do research, and educate new doctors. Dr. Kelly and his team didn’t let up on that three-pronged mission during the pandemic. To the contrary, they doubled...

Experienced neurosurgeon Dr. Neil A. Martin talks about Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) in the brain and how they are treated. pacificneuro.org 310-582-7450

Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about the treatment of Facial Paralysis. Facial paralysis is devastating to one’s identity. Patients with facial paralysis experience physical, social, and emotional changes. At PNI, our specialists treat all types of facial paralysis and related conditions. Every face is unique and our team takes a compassionate, patient-centric approach to designing a unique facial paralys...

What is Bell's Palsy? Dr. Amit Kochhar talks about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Bell's Palsy. Bell’s palsy is a paralysis or weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. The facial nerves control muscle activity so when damaged it can cause the face to droop. Fortunately, for the majority of patients, normal to near-normal facial nerve function can be restored within 1-2 months with m...

The Covid-19 virus is a shape-shifter. Two years into the pandemic, we’re still learning about the damage it can cause. One thing for sure: It causes more strokes, says Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian, a neurosurgeon at PNI. The virus invades the blood vessels and pushes certain cells into a “hypercoagulable state,” meaning that they gum up our arteries. Patients that are already prone to strokes are at t...

Dr. Martin’s neurosurgical practice at PNI focuses on patients with facial pain syndromes such as trigeminal neuralgia, skull base tumors, aneurysms, and arteriovenous malformations. At PNI Foundation, he serves as Director of Innovation and Quality and focuses his efforts on programmatic development, particularly in the Pacific Facial Pain, Brain Tumor, Brain Health, and Stroke & Neurovascular Ce...

Howard R. Krauss, MD, is a co-founder of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute. He is an ophthalmologist and a surgical neuro-ophthalmologist at the Pacific Eye, Ear, and Skull Base Center at PNI. He fiercely pursues the best treatments and outcomes for his patients. Dr. Krauss and his PNI colleagues have been innovators; developing, practicing, and teaching dramatic new surgeries, including eye- and...

Essential tremor is the most common movement disorder in humans, and its causes are among the most mysterious. It’s a neurological condition that causes involuntary shaking. It can begin in one’s 20s or 30s, or much later in life. Dr. Natalie Diaz treats essential tremors. Its origins may be unknown, but there are treatments. The first step is to talk to your doctor to rule out other forms of trem...

“I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” That line is the source of countless jokes on late night television, but in real life, it’s anything but funny. One in three people over 65 fall each year. Those falls often lead to broken hips, and a quarter of elderly people who suffer a hip fracture die within a year, says Dr. William Buxton, a neurologist at PNI who specializes in preventing falls in people w...

Dr. Omid B. Mehdizadeh, MD, is an Otolaryngology, and Head & Neck (ENT) surgeon. Working with colleagues in the Pacific Eye, Ear & Skull Base Center at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, his particular expertise is in voice, swallowing and throat conditions (laryngology). Visit Dr. Mehdizadeh's profile https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/people/omid-mehdizadeh/ pacificneuro.org 310-582-7450

Dr. Jason Tarpley, MD, Ph. D. is the Director of the Stroke Center at Providence Saint John's Health Center and directs the Pacific Stroke and Neurovascular Center. His focus is treating patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke and intracranial vascular lesions such as aneurysms or arteriovenous malformations. He is also trained in neuroendovascular therapy to treat these patients. You can re...

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus is one of a few reversible causes of dementia. Dr. Garni Barkhoudarian, director of the Pacific Adult Hydrocephalus Center, briefly describes the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of this condition. pacifichydrocephalus.org 310-582-7450

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that arises when white blood cells make their way into the central nervous system and attack the fatty covering that protects neurons, which disrupts their ability to effectively conduct electrical and chemical signals. Many people with MS report that their symptoms get temporarily worse in the heat. This is because neurons, especially damaged ones, cond...

Dr. Walavan Sivakumar is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon with a focus on skull base and minimally invasive and endoscopic neurosurgery. Selected as a multiple year recipient of the SuperDoctor Rising Stars Edition, Dr. Sivakumar has a particular interest and expertise in brain tumors, skull base tumors, pituitary/parasellar tumors, and intraventricular brain tumors, and he applies the keyhole co...

Dr. Scott Kaiser, a board-certified family physician, and geriatrician is the Director of Geriatric Cognitive Health and provides specialty geriatric medical consultations at the Pacific Brain Health Center. Focused on the needs of older patients, he works with his colleagues to provide an integrated and holistic approach to their cognitive challenges. With this “whole person” approach, Dr. Kaiser...