Neurology Patient Stories
April 16, 2019
Physician Treats Rare Cerebrovascular Disease, Restores Patient’s Vision
The first thing Valerie Hutchens noticed when she woke up in the recovery room after surgery was how much clearer the voices around her sounded. “I can hear you!” she said to her surgeon, Martin Radvany, M.D., UAMS interventional neuroradiologist. Among the myriad of symptoms Hutchens experienced with idiopathic intracranial hypertension was a constant whooshing…
April 4, 2019
New Treatment for Parkinson’s Patients Improves Drug’s Effectiveness
He no longer feels comfortable climbing ladders, but Mark Avra says there is plenty of work to be done on the ground. Avra is a builder and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2008. “I had two houses going at once and had to have extra help to finish them,” Avra said. “I realized then I…
March 18, 2019
Neurostimulator Significantly Reduces Seizures for Missouri Man
Matthew Pinegar was 3 months old when he had his first seizure. He was put on medication to keep them at bay, then taken off the medicine in junior high. “It wasn’t until I was 21 when I had my first grand mal,” Pinegar said. “After that happened and I looked back, I’m sure I…
December 3, 2018
Violinist Plays Again Thanks to Spinal Cord Stimulation
Alventena Cobb of Conway is a professional musician. She’s played the violin for more than 30 years and has instructed many students. Cobb uses her instrument as a method of expression. So when a shoulder injury prevented her from picking up her bow and strings, she felt incomplete.
November 8, 2018
UAMS Cancer Researchers Receive NIH Grant to Develop New Cancer Therapies
LITTLE ROCK — Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have received a $604,208 grant to study how an abnormal protein found in ovarian cancer and some brain tumors helps tumors grow. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded the three-year grant to Karen Abbott, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAMS College…
August 13, 2018
Essential Tremor Patient Says Surgery was Life-Changing
Aug. 13, 2018 | Kimberly Zimmer stretches her arms out in front of her and smiles. The 50-year-old is showing off how steady her hands are. “Never in my life have I been able to hold my hands that still,” she said. Zimmer had been diagnosed with essential tremor as a child. Fellow students bullied…
July 5, 2017
Patient’s Dramatic Improvement Highlights New MS Treatment Options
July 5, 2017 | Two years ago, Josh Martin wouldn’t have believed he could walk down the aisle at his own wedding. Or easily navigate his classroom as an elementary school music teacher. Or play disc golf with his friends. Martin was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2006, when he was a junior in high…
November 15, 2016
First Time in US: Patient Treated in Trial Using Virus on Brain Tumor
Nov. 15, 2016 | Beth Rogers might have been the first person in the United States to be treated as part of a clinical trial that included the injection of a virus into her brain tumor in combination with immunotherapy treatments – but the Hazen resident said she had no fear. “I’ve got so much…
August 14, 2015
Deep Brain Stimulation Helps Cabot Man
In the neurology clinic at the Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute of the UAMS, Dr. W. Steven Metzer performed the initial programming of Tommy Rickman’s deep brain stimulator. “There are four little electrodes down in your brain,” explained Dr. Metzer, a neurologist. “I’m trying to find the best one,” he said. He plugged in…
August 13, 2015
Five Bentonville Stroke Patients Receive Clot Buster
Rhonda Smith’s stroke was about as severe as they come. Her chance for survival was slim without immediate access to a stroke neurologist who could correctly diagnose her type of stroke so she could receive a powerful clot-dissolving drug. Fortunately, the 42-year-old wife and mother was working just a block away from Northwest Medical Center…
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