Episode 3: AANTV at the 2023 Annual Meeting – American Academy of Neurology

[00:00] Thanks for watching.

[00:20] team-based patient-centered clinical care. As we highlight the many accomplishments and advances of the last 75 years, AAN-TV is bringing it all straight to you. Hello and welcome back to the 75th anniversary.

[00:40] of the AAN. I'm Atria Godfrey and this is AAN TV. Today we are shifting the focus to emerging science. The AAN has made it its mission to expand and support neuroscience research and today we will do just that as we catch up with three trailblazers. This year's recipients of the highly prestigious AAN

[01:00] Neuroscience Research Prize Award. Hear how these high schoolers are changing the game of neuroscience. Plus we continue our tour of the organizations and institutions, blazing new trails in neurologic research and specifically the ways in which we treat Parkinson's. There is so much to see and we want to make sure you never miss a minute.

[01:20] You can always find the latest AAN TV episode airing on the TV station throughout the convention center. On the AAN website, on the in-house channels at some of our partner hotels,

[01:40] And on the AAN YouTube and Twitter channels.

[02:00] latest emerging science. She also serves as the science committee chair for AAN and is here with us in studio now with a look ahead at what we can expect this week. Thanks for your time. Thank you for having me. Let's get started with given that there is always emerging science, it's ongoing, how do you decide and how do you select what should be showcased here at this annual meeting?

[02:20] Well I'm so glad you asked me this question because this is my opportunity to thank the AAN Science Committee, which is a planning body of this meeting and not only of the meeting and scientific program of the meeting, but also of all think science at the American Academy of Neurology. As you know, the AAN has invested over the years an enormous amount of resources.

[02:40] into building up our neurological research and science program and that ultimately is translating into the richness of the program. So the planning of this year's meeting begins almost immediately after the meeting ends the year prior and so that's when we begin environmental scan of what's new, what's the cutting-edge.

[03:00] in every area of neurology. And the science committee is representing really multiple subspecialties, but also multiple types of research, such as basic, translational and clinical research. So the choices are very broad, but we are very focused on what is relevant to our clinical mission. So that's how you kind of whittle it down.

[03:20] Now, can you tell us what we have in store this week?

[03:40] science and a clinic symposia. More than 2,600 original scientific abstracts are going to be presented at this meeting. More than 400 of them are going to be in the oral presentation format and over 2,000 in post-turn neighborhoods. So I'm inviting everybody to come and join the party. A lot to take in. I know that there's also a new study this year.

[04:00] specifically focusing on focal epilepsy. What can you tell us about this research? You are talking about the study that has been submitted in the subtext of the Emerging Science Program. And this Emerging Science is really something that the academy wants to bring the latest and greatest kind of heart of the press scientific breakthroughs. And so this is a study that's been conducted

[04:20] This particular study is focused on what's called mesotemporal lobe epilepsy. This is one of the disorders that are very difficult to control with traditional medications. Some surgical approaches were attempted in the past for this type of patient populations, but again, patients are still suffering with breakthrough seizures.

[04:40] So in this particular trial, they've tried to implant into the brain through a surgical, limited surgical procedure, a type of neurons that produce a substance that helps calm brain down or we call it GABAergic interneuron implant and so the two patients that they're presenting

[05:00] presenting to us are kind of a showcase. It's first in human and really representing the latest and greatest. So in addition to that one, are there any other key studies that you would like to highlight? Well, like I said, there's 2,600 original. Do you have one out of those? Well, I wanted to actually draw attention to the abstracts and other studies that are going to be available.

[05:20] to be presented in a context of the plenary sessions. Those are going to be the top kind of key findings in different subspecialties and areas of research. We specifically select them in such a way that you really want to be front and center and so everybody has an opportunity to see them. As you know, our plenary sessions are our

[05:40] kind of a premier science and so it's also a place for a neurological community during the meeting to come together so I invite everybody to attend. Fascinating, well we certainly appreciate all the work that you and the science committee have put in for this week and we're looking forward to a great week ahead. Thank you so much, so are we.

[06:00] When it comes to emerging science, one of the most prestigious awards the AAN bestows recognizes high schoolers who have shown incredible scientific skill and talent in their contributions to neuroscience. It's time to meet this year's AAN Neuroscience Research Prize Award winners.

[06:20] My name is Max Young and I'm a senior from Rossin High School in Long Island, New York. I'm focused for a true II am from Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas. I'm Samantha Shavitt. I go to Byron Hills High School in Armand, New York. So my research focused on the interaction of the mucopyrin and amorphins and cediclipid. So essentially I saw that COVID-19 is a lot of brain-

[06:40] fog issues, and that people with diabetes also have a high incidence of getting Alzheimer's. My research found a link between diabetes patients and patients with COVID-19 and how it affects their memory. My research was using machine learning to diagnose, analyze, and treat Parkinson's patients all from their app and their websites, and we found that it can actually

[07:00] actually increase their accuracy as compared to the current medical industry and also improve accessibility to billions of people across the world. I investigated the use of focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier and increase drug delivery in a murine model of primary high grade glioma tumors.

[07:20] I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor. I was not a doctor, I was a doctor.

[07:40] smart people and it was such a great experience. It really validated my research. I went into my science research program hoping to help just one person and being here in front of all of the really prestigious doctors and researchers gives me hope for my future. The future of neurology is definitely an AI mission.

[08:00] The future of neurology is bright. The future of neurology is ever-changing and hopefully I can contribute something to a cure for these brain cancers. Turning now to groundbreaking new research being conducted at the University of Michigan.

[08:20] of Pennsylvania's center without walls that could dramatically change the way that we treat and diagnose conditions like Parkinson's disease and others. The center without walls for imaging protonapathy with PET is a multidisciplinary, multinstidicular

[08:40] institutional research program whose goal is to develop novel radio traces for use with the molecular imaging technique positron emission tomography. Yale and the Yale Pet Center is just very excited to be part of this fabulous consortium to be able to develop novel radio pharmaceuticals for these Alzheimer's disease and related

[09:00] disorders, trying to look at these targets in the brain that are just very, very difficult to image without the right combination of the right radiopharmaceuticals as well as the right imaging technologies there. I think the computational methods that we developed as part of this center is going to be a paradigm shift in pet radio tracer development.

[09:20] women. The incredible work beyond American borders

[09:40] with us knows that firsthand. Dr. Ralph Josephowitz joins us now in studio to discuss neurology on a global scale. Such a pleasure to have you this morning. It's a real pleasure to be here. Well, you are speaking at the Presidential Plenary this year. What are your key topics that you would like folks to take away? Well, I was speaking about this program in medical education that

[10:00] I established between Yaglonian University in Krakow and the University of Rochester about 25 years ago. And I think the key thing is the reason the program is so successful, and it includes student and faculty exchanges and education conferences, is because there are passionate advocates in both countries. Number two

[10:20] It provides benefit to both countries. And number three, it's revenue neutral because each country basically supports it. How did this partnership come about? Well, it started with my Fulbright in 1992. I spent five months in Krakow, Poland on a Fulbright sabbatical, teaching neurology and English at

[10:40] at the Yaglone University School of Medicine. And the way that started is Krakow and Rochester, New York are sister cities. And because of the sister city connection, this all became established. And you've placed a lot of importance on education throughout your incredible career. Why is this such an important topic for you? Why do you think it's so important for us to-

[11:00] continue our education.

[11:20] not only teach students and each other, they teach our patients. How would you describe the globalization of neurologic education? The world is small and the future of American medical education is international medical education but also we learn so much when we interact with our colleagues abroad.

[11:40] broad. So that's the globalization. It's not only do we give, but we also receive. And so you travel to Krakow every year? Every year for 26 years. Incredible. You've certainly racked up some points. What do you hear from your colleagues there and from your students there about the world of neurology? What I've really been impressed with, especially when I was there last year, is that we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to be able to get to the point where we're going to get to the point where we're going to get

[12:00] year and my second full bright is the level of medical care and scientific knowledge in especially in neurology is the same as in the United States right now. So the world really is small getting smaller by the day. Yes. Alright well we certainly appreciate all of your work within the neurology community and we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you. Thank you very

[12:20] much.

[12:40] We founded the Parkinson's disease and Minnesota Center in 1999. The Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida includes a clinical care center, a research center, a wellness center and the foundation. We're a non-university based academic medical center and our goal is to advance research and

[13:00] Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, as well as Lewy body dementia. At our center, we're able to combine expert medical care by movement disorder specialists with access to research programs that patients can find out about and decide whether they want to be a part of. It's our goal to prevent and treat these neurodegenerative diseases in ways that

[13:20] in the past we never thought were possible. The Parkinson's Research and Education Foundation and the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Research and Education Foundation is committed to supporting research initiatives, community outreach, and education for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases related to aging.

[13:40] If you'd like to learn more, visit ParkinsonCenter.org or visit IND, Florida.

[14:00] vellum. Alright, Sarah, w attendees are most lookin year. I'm feeling excitre the brightest minds in ne opportunity to meet some

[14:20] presenting my research on Wednesday morning. So I'm looking forward to that.

[14:40] the networking, the content, the people. I mean this is just the neurology conference of the year. I am with the AAN Women Leading in Neurology Leadership Group and I have been so fortunate to be part of this illustrious program and meeting such wonderful, inspiring and brilliant people.

[15:00] people. I'm most looking forward to connecting with peers and friends at post COVID, having that opportunity to network. So that's been awesome. We're only halfway through this exciting week in Boston and there is still

[15:20] much more ahead this week, including the future of neurology and health and wellness efforts. If you missed any of today's episodes, remember you can always catch us by finding AAN TV on the TV stationed throughout the convention center on the AAN website.

[15:40] in-house channels at some of our partner hotels and on the AAN YouTube and Twitter channels. Thanks for tuning in to AAN TV today.

[16:00] can't wait to see you right back here tomorrow. Go have a great day.