ANA Investigates

  In this episode, we will focus on the latest in the research on ALS. ALS remains a devastating disease, but the field is now at an inflection point with a growing pipeline of precision therapies, trial-ready sites, and a new generation of clinician scientists - yet barriers persist. There is disease heterogeneity, limited trial access for patients, and rising development costs. For an update on...

ANA Investigates is the official podcast of the American Neurological Association, featuring conversations that highlight the latest discoveries, controversies, and trends in academic neurology. After the successful release of over 80 podcast episodes, In today's episode, we'll explore the creation and evolution of the ANA Investigates podcast since its launch in September 2019. We have the privil...

The diagnosis and management of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is evolving. However, skepticism about this diagnosis persists among neurologists based upon lack of disease specific pathology, overlap with other neurodegenerative processes, and a lack of uniform diagnostic criteria. Also, prior reports of minimal or transient improvement after treatment with an invasive procedure an...

 Last year, the FDA approved adaptive deep brain stimulation for the treatment of people with Parkinson's disease. This is a major step forward in neurology. It allows personalized therapy by adjusting deep brain stimulation settings in real-time based on an individual's brain signals. Our guest on this episode is Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart, the John E. Cahill Family Professor of Neurology and Direc...

 In this episode, we'll focus on new onset refractory status epilepticus or NORSE, and its closely related presentation, febrile and infection related epilepsy syndrome, known as FIRES. NORSE and FIRES are clinical presentations where the evidence is limited, stakes are high, and treatment often has to begin before the diagnosis is clear. They also raise broader questions about how neurology can r...

In this episode, we'll explore emerging strategies to enhance recovery after stroke. Stroke rehabilitation has long relied on physical, occupational, and speech therapy, but advances in neuroscience are opening new opportunities to directly modulate brain networks, promote plasticity, and hopefully help patients regain function. Dr. Sean Dukelow's work focuses on neurorehabilitation and the mechan...

Today, we'll talk with one of the true giants of stroke neurology - Dr. Louis Caplan, Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Senior Neurologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. For decades, Dr. Caplan has shaped how we think about stroke. He's authored an enormous body of work -- landmark papers, books, and clinical descriptions that have changed how neurologists around the w...

This is episode, we'll look at a national effort to advance clinical research and patient care through artificial intelligence. AI depends on data that are large, diverse, and well-labeled -- in contrast, most clinical data are siloed, inconsistent, and biased toward certain populations. The CHoRUS Network, part of the NIH's Bridge2AI consortium, is standardizing and harmonizing data from many hos...

The American Neurological Association's 150 th Annual Meeting held in Baltimore September 13-16, 2025 was a milestone meeting celebrating 150 years of progress, discovery, advances in science, and the remarkable work of academic neurologists and neuroscientists over the past century and a half. The meeting—ANA2025—featured outstanding plenary sessions, professional development workshops, interacti...

Tune into the latest podcast from the American Neurological Association (ANA), ANA Investigates: 75 Years of NINDS . This year marks the 75th anniversary of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)—an opportunity to reflect on the institute's past achievements and look ahead to the future of neurological research.   This month, ANA Investigates welcomes Dr. Walter Korosh...

Today we'll focus on a major shift in the treatment of myasthenia gravis -- as a wave of new therapies is changing how we treat this disease. Who should be considered for these new treatments? And what else is in the pipeline?   Our guest today is Dr.  Gil Wolfe, a neuromuscular neurologist at the University of Buffalo State University of New York, Jacob School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences....

Climate change is no longer a distant worry—it's showing up in neurology clinics across the US, from Lyme meningitis in the Midwest to worsening migraines during heat waves, climate-linked and vector-borne neurological conditions are entering the differential. Our guests today are two experts on climate change and neurological health: Dr. Beth Malow, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vander...

Restless leg syndrome is a common movement and sleep disorder affecting 2-3% of the population. Certain neurologic disorders are associated with a higher incidence, and neuropsychiatric medications prescribed by neurologists and psychiatrists often exacerbate these symptoms. In January, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine published updated guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of RLS. The...

Look around you right now and think for a minute about all of the things you're exposed to: the coffee you're drinking, the mug holding the coffee you're drinking, the soap that mug was washed in, the sleep you got last night -- or didn't get. All of this is part of what we now call your exposome. And as we're learning, the neural exposome influences our risk of developing a range of neurologic di...

Neurologists bring an important perspective to health policy. But few have formal training in how to advocate for patients at a state or national level. Our guest today, Dr. Kara Stavros, is an associate professor of neurology at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the President of the Rhode Island Medical Society. She's also a self-described advocate, who's found a number of...

Parkinson's Disease has long been a clinical diagnosis. But recently, there have been proposals to redefine the disease based on biomarkers of alpha-synucleinopathy and dopaminergic dysfunction. A similar shift has already occurred in Alzheimer disease, with the "amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration," or ATN, classification system.    Our guest today, Michael Okun, is is Professor of Neurology and...

We all know that atrial fibrillation is associated with increased risk of stroke. But new research suggests that how we define afib -- and the timing and duration of the arrhythmia -- may be important for how we manage it in stroke patients. Luciano Sposato is a Professor of Neurology and Head of the Stroke Program at Western University in Ontario. He'll talk to Christoph Stretz, vascular neurolog...

Dementia is a global issue, with two-thirds of people with dementia living in low- and middle- income countries. Despite this, dementia research continues to focus on patients in high-income countries. Our guest on this episode, Dr. Riadh Gouider, is working to correct this imbalance. Dr. Gouider is the Head of the Department of Neurology and the Alzheimer Center at Razi Hospital in Tunisia and an...

It used to be that surgery for medically refractory epilepsy was big, open and invasive, a treatment of last resort. The landscape has changed in recent decades, with more and more minimally invasive surgical approaches being developed. So what does this mean for the average patient with medically refractory epilepsy? Our guest today is Dr. Jon Willie, Associate Professor, Department of Neurologic...

Until recently, the Glymphatic System was a neglected corner of neuroscience. Now it's increasingly clear that the brain's system for the flow of fluid, nutrients, and waste plays an important role in sleep and brain disease. With glymphatics in the spotlight, researchers are coming up with innovative ways to study this slow, constant flow of cerebrospinal fluid throughout the brain. Dr. Daniel Cl...

Just last week, we wrapped up another exciting annual meeting of the American Neurological Association, ANA2024. Right before we packed up to head home, the President of the American Neurological Association, Dr. Betsy Ross, sat down with Dr. Allison Willis, the 2024 chair of the ANA's Annual Meeting Programming Committee, to reflect on some of the highlights of this year's meeting. Series 5, Epis...

Listen as Dr. Adeline Goss, Associate Chief of Neurology at Highland Hospital, discusses the groundbreaking potential of psychedelics in neurology with Dr. Steve Zeiler, a Vascular Neurologist and Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins, and Dr. Ghul Dölen, a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UC Berkeley. The conversation explores the newfound excitement surrounding psychedelics like MDMA,...

AI is everywhere, whether you are a fan of it or not. This month, join us for a deep dive into the AI revolution with our guest Dr. Ethan Mollick, professor at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the New York Times bestseller, "Co-Intelligence." Discover how this AI revolution stands apart from past technological advancements and how it is transforming academic resea...

There has been tremendous progress in recent decades in the management of ischemic strokes. Meanwhile, hemorrhagic strokes have stubbornly resisted this progress. Interventions for these types of strokes have failed again and again to show a benefit over standard medical management, until this year. The recently published ENRICH trial is the first to show that minimally invasive neurosurgery may i...

2024 has been a year of exciting trials on minimally invasive techniques in intracranial hemorrhage. This month we're focusing on Chronic Subdural Hematoma, where a minimally invasive strategy called Middle Meningeal Artery (MMA) Embolization is offering expanded treatment options for select patients. Dr. Chris Kellner is a cerebrovascular neurosurgeon and associate professor of neurosurgery at Mo...