REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) ANNUAL MEETING, NEW ORLEANS LA, APRIL 21-28, 2012 – The preliminary results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) suggest that combined smoking and caffeine consumption may interact with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) to reduce PD risk in some individuals (Gao et al. AAN 2012; abstract PD4.003).
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Need to test for celiac disease in migraineurs?
July 25, 2012REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) ANNUAL MEETING, NEW ORLEANS LA, APRIL 21-28, 2012 – A number of reviews of celiac disease (CD) have reported on an increased prevalence of neurological and psychiatric symptoms, such as headache disorders, cerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathies, vestibular dysfunction, depression and personality changes (Burk et al. Mov Disord 2009;24:2358-2362; Zelnik et al. Pediatrics 2004;113:1672-1676).
It has been suggested that gluten sensitivity is associated with neurologic symptoms, although symptoms are still evident in CD patients adhering to a gluten-free diet (Bushara KO. Gastroenterology 2005;128(4 Suppl 1):S92-97).
New AAN guidelines for migraine prophylaxis
July 11, 2012REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) ANNUAL MEETING, NEW ORLEANS LA, APRIL 21-28, 2012 – The AAN annual meeting coincided with the publication of new guidelines on preventive treatment of migraine by the AAN and the American Headache Society (Silberstein et al. Neurology 2012;78:1337-1345; free full text at www.neurology.org/content/78/17/1337.full.pdf+html).
Breastfeeding not a sustainable therapy
July 11, 2012REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) ANNUAL MEETING, NEW ORLEANS LA, APRIL 21-28, 2012 – Studies to determine if exclusive breastfeeding reduces relapse frequency postpartum have produced conflicting results (Langer-Gould et al. Arch Neurol 2009;66:958-963; Portaccio et al. Neurology 2011;77:145-150; Nelson et al. JAMA 1988;259:3441-3443).
Langer-Gould and colleagues have now followed 72 women with MS through their pregnancy and for 12 months postpartum to examine this issue further (Hellwig et al. AAN 2012; abstract P06.186).