Publications by authors named "J A Gurwell"
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a severe neurological disease for which there is no effective treatment or cure, and therefore it remains an unmet need in medicine. We present data from four participants who received autologous transplantation of small pieces of sural nerve tissue into either the basal forebrain containing the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) or the midbrain substantia nigra (SN). The grafts did not exhibit significant cell death or severe host-tissue reaction up to 55 months post-grafting and contained peripheral cells.
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- The study aims to assess the safety and feasibility of delivering regenerating peripheral nerve tissue directly to the substantia nigra in patients with Parkinson's disease during deep brain stimulation surgery.
- A total of 18 participants were involved, all of whom successfully received the targeted delivery, with most experiencing mild side effects like numbness or tingling at the biopsy site but no serious complications.
- Clinical results showed a significant reduction in Parkinson's symptoms after 12 months, indicating that the procedure is safe and warrants further investigation.
Background And Objectives: To review the current evidence on the options available for initiating dopaminergic treatment of motor symptoms in early-stage Parkinson disease and provide recommendations to clinicians.
Methods: A multidisciplinary panel developed practice recommendations, integrating findings from a systematic review and following an Institute of Medicine-compliant process to ensure transparency and patient engagement. Recommendations were supported by structured rationales, integrating evidence from the systematic review, related evidence, principles of care, and inferences from evidence.
Background: The efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and dopaminergic therapy is known to decrease over time. Hence, a new investigational approach combines implanting autologous injury-activated peripheral nerve grafts (APNG) at the time of bilateral DBS surgery to the globus pallidus interna.
Objectives: In a study where APNG was unilaterally implanted into the substantia nigra, we explored the effects on clinical gait and balance assessments over two years in 14 individuals with Parkinson's disease.
Background: The symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) can overlap with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Although testing is available for aquaporin 4 (AQP4) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies, screening for NMOSD is recommended but not mandatory to establish a diagnosis of MS.
Methods And Results: We queried 319,994 individuals who filed claims for MS and NMOSD in a Truven Health Analytics (THA) database and had at least one year of uninterrupted health insurance coverage.