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NEUROLOGY NEWS ARCHIVE:
Dr. James M. NobleNEUROLOGY TODAY
Pilot Study Reports High Rates of Intracranial Hemorrhage in African-Americans Treated With Tpa
December 2005 - Volume 5 - Issue 12 - pp 18, 21
[read more]
Dr. Stephan A. MayerIN A STROKE PATIENT, DOCTOR SEES POWER OF BRAIN TO RECOVER
'Neurointensive' Care Gains Adherents, Despite Risk of Raising False Hopes
'Too Often, People Give Up'
By Thomas M. Burton
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
November 23, 2005; Page A1
Devastating strokes on both sides of his head drove 31-year-old Mark Ragucci into a deep coma. As seizures swept through his brain like silent electrical storms, his gaze froze. His arms were paralyzed at his sides in a syndrome neurologists call man-in-the-barrel, signaling serious brain damage.
The most likely fate for the patient was death or survival in a state of near-total disability, concluded Stephan A. Mayer, director of neurointensive care at Columbia University's medical center. "I really thought there was no hope" of a meaningful recovery, recalls Dr. Mayer.
But the family of Dr. Ragucci, who had just started a career as a doctor before his stroke, wanted every possible effort made to spare his life. So Dr. Mayer and his colleagues aggressively treated Dr. Ragucci's pneumonia, septic infections and roller-coaster blood pressure. They also dramatically cooled his body and brain to protect brain tissue.
A month after his stroke, Dr. Ragucci had recovered somewhat physically, but not mentally. He was still officially in a vegetative state. Six weeks after the stroke his family transferred him to a rehabilitation facility, and that was the last Stephan Mayer saw of Mark Ragucci.
The last, that is, until the day nearly a year later, in late 2002, when Dr. Ragucci walked into Dr. Mayer's Columbia office and introduced himself. The former patient spoke in a monotone and his fingers were tightened into claws, but that was the extent of his disability. "When he walked in, I almost fell over," Dr. Mayer recalls. "It was at that point I realized that we knew absolutely nothing about the recuperative power of the brain."
LINDA LEWIS TO RECEIVE VIRGINIA KNEELAND FRANTZ AWARD
May 16, 2005
Dr. Linda Lewis
No one deserves this Award more than Dr. Lewis. We congratulate her and also applaud the Alumni Association and the Dean's Day Program Committee for their inspired choice.
Timothy A. Pedley, M.D.
Chairman Department of Neurology
Dr. Carolyn Barley BrittonCAROLYN BRITTON RECEIVES SECOND CENTURY AWARD
Dr. Carolyn Britton was honored by The Friends of Harlem Hospital Center at their 17th Annual Gala Dinner Dance on November 20, 2004. She received the Second Century Award for her many contributions to the Harlem Community and her national leadership role in the National Medical Association. We also salute her as an outstanding clinician, dedicated teacher and wonderful role model. Congratulations!
Dr. John KrakauerWNYC.org
The Leonard Lopate Show
A Ticklish Subject
May 20, 2005
Featuring Dr. John Krakauer of Columbia University and Dr. Robert Provine of University of Maryland.
Listen to this program online
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