Think Neuro

When a person receives a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, the effects extend out into that person’s world. Family members often find themselves in new roles as caregivers—or, in the phrase of Sheila Moore, a licensed clinical social worker at Pacific Neuroscience Institute—care partners. Sheila works with people who have Parkinson’s disease and their care partners at PNI and at PNI’s Movement Dis...

Celebrating 25 years with the team, Chester Griffiths, MD, FACS, has been a member of the Los Angeles Kings ice hockey team medical staff since 2002 as their maxillofacial plastic surgeon. Maxillofacial surgeons are trained to handle facial trauma as well as a wide variety of conditions and injuries that affect the head, neck, mouth, and jaw. Dr. Griffiths has done hundreds of procedures for team...

Hearing loss is common as we age, but its effects reach far beyond the ears. Research increasingly links untreated hearing loss to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia, while treating hearing loss with hearing aids or cochlear implants may help protect memory and quality of life. At PNI’s Ear, Hearing & Balance program, our audiologists and ENT specialists work together to evaluate...

Hearing loss is one of the leading causes of overall disability worldwide, affecting approximately 466 million adults and children. In this video, Rebecca Lewis, AuD, the Audiology Director of the Adult & Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute, answers common questions about cochlear implants. For more information: https://www.pacificneuroscienceinstitute.org/pati...

The pituitary gland may be tiny, but it plays a significant role in a woman’s health. When functioning properly, this master gland regulates essential hormones that influence many of bodily functions, from menstrual cycles to metabolism. Therefore, when pituitary gland disorders arise, they can disrupt reproductive health, energy levels, and overall quality of life. In this article, we’ll explore...

It sounds almost too good to be true: A simple solution to a major health issue, that’s safe, effective and covered by insurance—yet most of the people who would benefit from this procedure don’t even know about it. We’re talking about cochlear implants—a well-established procedure that can restore hearing loss. Dr. Courtney Voelker has made it her life’s work to spread the word about this remarka...

With four Comprehensive Stroke Centers at Providence hospitals in the greater Los Angeles region, Pacific Neuroscience Institutes specialists have expert teams to treat stroke patients. Working with EMS, neurointerventional teams are standing by to provide immediate, advanced treatment. Using the latest in leading-edge imaging and minimally invasive clot-retrieval and clot busting techniques, we a...

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) can cause symptoms of dementia, but these are reversible. NPH is a neurological condition that occurs when cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up in the brain’s ventricles, causing them to enlarge. It most commonly affects older adults and can lead to a unique set of symptoms, including difficulty walking, problems with bladder control, and cognitive decline. Becau...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune neurological disorder that affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. MS is managed by disease modifying therapies (DMTs), symptom management medications, and lifestyle interventions. Lifestyle interventions focus on six pillars of brain health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, social connection and avoi...

The world of brain surgery has changed dramatically over the past generation. Surgeons are able to remove many tumors and other problems from the brain, often using new approaches that have much shorter recovery times and much better long-term outcomes. Many of these surgeries are much less invasive than old methods that saw the need to cut into a patient’s skull. Dr. Daniel Kelly and the team at...

Walavan Sivakumar, MD, explains how Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is used at PNI to help patients with brain tumors through the neurosurgical process. ERAS unfolds in three phases, and Dr. Sivakumar details why the preoperative stage plays a key role in setting patients up for success.⁠

Parkinson's disease begins with the quiet loss of the brain cells that make dopamine, and dopamine is what carries your movement, your mood and the drive that gets you through the day. As those cells disappear, so does everything they were holding up, which is why the disease eventually shows itself in so many different ways at once. For years the central question in Parkinson's research has been...

For a tiny organ, the pituitary gland carries outsized responsibilities in the human body. The size of a pea, the so-called “master gland” produces vital hormones that regulate many important bodily functions, including growth, stress, thirst, and even reproductive development. So it only follows that when things go awry with the pituitary gland, the body can suffer many other problems. Dr. Garni...

July is Healthy Vision Month, and the National Eye Institute—part of the National Institutes of Health—reminds us to take care of our eyes, by eating a healthy diet and exercising, and also by understanding the connection between our vision and other diseases. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is one of those diseases. Dr. Barbara Giesser, who specializes in treating patients with MS at Pacific Neuroscie...

Every medical treatment needs to start with a diagnosis, but sometimes that diagnosis proves elusive. Sometimes it may appear that a person has one thing needing treatment, and after that treatment doesn’t work, doctors have to consider other possibilities. Dr. Amit Kochhar at Pacific Neuroscience Institute sees patients with facial paralysis, which is often diagnosed as Bell’s Palsy or Ramsey Hun...

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you probably kept a close eye on the pollen count this spring—and you may have felt those all-too-familiar symptoms that affect one in five people: Congestion, sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose. That’s known as allergic rhinitis or, more commonly, hay fever. And that’s why now is a good time to revisit this Think Neuro podcast with Pacific Neuroscience Instit...

When blood collects in the skull outside the brain and below the outermost layer of tissue surrounding the brain (dura), a subdural hematoma results. This may occur due to head trauma when it is called an acute subdural hematoma. Chronic subdural hematomas may occur due to aging and the increased fragility of blood vessels. The pooled blood may resolve on its own or may require surgical interventi...

If you have back pain, you are not alone. According to Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, nearly 65 million Americans report a recent episode of back pain, and 16 million adults — 8 percent of all adults — experience persistent or chronic back pain and are limited in everyday activities. Dr. Marcus Mazur at Pacific Neuroscience Institute sees people living with back pain and works to...

National Stroke Awareness Month is observed in May to promote public awareness about stroke symptoms and prevention. While 800,000 Americans have a stroke every year, many of these can be prevented. It’s particularly critical to recognize when a stroke is happening, because fast treatment can prevent the worst effects. In this Spotlight Replay, Dr. Sandra Narayanan, a neurointerventional surgeon a...

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month, which the National Brain Tumor Society calls “a time dedicated to supporting, empowering, and amplifying the voice of the brain tumor community.” The NBTS estimates that more than 1.3 million Americans are living with a brain tumor and, while 73 percent of these are benign, an estimate 18,350 Americans will die of a brain tumor this year. In this Spotlight Repla...

Dr. Nouzhan Sehati, is a board-certified neurosurgeon who specializes the treatment of a wide variety of brain, spine and spinal cord disorders at Pacific Neuroscience Institute. His expertise is in surgical and nonsurgical management of degenerative, traumatic and neoplastic (tumor) diseases of the brain and spine with a focus on minimally invasive techniques.⁠ ⁠ Dr. Sehati believes in clinical e...

In general, aneurysms are only detected after they have burst although they may sometimes be detected during the course of other tests. Operating on the arteries of the brain may feel scary but there have been tremendous advances in the way that aneurysms are surgically treated. The interventional neuroradiologist has several options for treating the aneurysm from the inside of the blood vessel ba...

Parkinson’s disease is a neurologic movement disorder. It affects the brain and causes difficulty with movement, with the most common motor symptoms being tremors, stiffness or rigidity of muscles, and slowness of movement. According to the American Parkinson Disease Association, it is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in the world, and the second most common after Alzheimer’s disease,...

Two slender muscles carry out some of the most important—and taken-for-granted—tasks in our lives. These muscles make up what we have come to call our “voice box,” and they not only produce the sounds that we make—they also close on cue to protect our lungs as we swallow. In this Spotlight Replay, we revisit a conversation with Dr. Omid Mehdizadeh, who treats voice and swallow disorders, in which...

Survey after survey is telling us that Americans are increasingly feeling lonely. It’s a trend that’s been growing for years and, while it was exacerbated during the pandemic when we were instructed to socially isolate, it continues even as society has reopened. In this Spotlight Replay, we revisit a panel discussion in which three doctors at Pacific Neuroscience Institute tell how they help peopl...