Memory, Neurosciences

Memory loss is common among older adults and has a few causes

It’s common for people as they get older to experience some difficulty with memory — such things as forgetting a birthday or misplacing car keys. But what if it is persistent? What causes memory loss and forgetfulness? Memory issues in older adults, particularly in their 60s and 70s, are often seen as a normal component…

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Heart, Neurosciences, Patient stories - Norton Healthcare, Sports Health, Stroke

I’m not the same person after my stroke

You wouldn’t look at Robert Taylor and think he survived a stroke. The 56-year-old is a poster child for good health. He ran the Boston Marathon, completed three Ironman competitions — including the national championship — in one year, and has participated in countless triathlons. Even a random 100-mile bike ride on a Saturday morning…

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Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis, Neurosciences

Local family donates $1 million to support multiple sclerosis care

When David C. Hussung’s mom, Beth, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the early 1970s, there was very little local support to treat the disease. Thanks to David and his wife Rebekah’s $1 million donation to the Norton Healthcare Foundation, the newly named Hussung Family Multiple Sclerosis Center will provide patients with the latest…

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During Your Pregnancy, Epilepsy, Expecting, Neurosciences, Obstetrics

Pregnancy and epilepsy

If you have epilepsy, but are thinking of getting pregnant, you may have questions about how epilepsy affects pregnancy or a fetus. Epilepsy affects each person differently, based on medication, hormones, and other factors. Here are some things to know if you have epilepsy and want to have a baby. Epilepsy is an umbrella term…

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Memory, Neurosciences

Treating memory impairment can improve care for all other medical issues

Memory loss complicates treatment of every other medical condition you may have. You can’t recall symptoms from a month ago or earlier this morning. Family medical history may be difficult to articulate, and remembering how to take care of yourself with medications can be a challenge. Caregivers, too, feel the stress of helping you through…

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Multiple Sclerosis, Neurosciences

Getting started on a healthy lifestyle with MS

If you have multiple sclerosis, physical exercise can be an important part of your treatment. But don’t let that word — exercise — put you off. Everyone should be getting exercise, regardless of your disability level. How much exercise or what type will vary, but the message here is that everyone should be exercising. The…

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Migraine and Headaches, Neurosciences

Those headaches you’ve been blaming on your sinuses? They may be migraine attacks

You live in Louisville or Southern Indiana, so you get sinus headaches, right? Well, maybe not. They very well could be migraine attacks, and the way you’ve been treating them actually may be giving you more headaches. As many as 86% of those who thought they had sinus headaches were actually experiencing migraine, according to…

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Neurosciences

Potential new Alzheimer’s drug shows promising results

A new medication may be showing hopeful results in treating Alzheimer’s disease. Donanemab, an antibody treatment from Eli Lilly, targets a form of plaque that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. While the medication hasn’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, clinical trial results showed those receiving the experimental drug…

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Neurosciences, Sports - Concussion, Sports Health

An athlete’s recovery from concussion follows a step-by-step process

The typical time it takes an athlete to heal from a concussion ranges from two to six weeks and follows an evaluation at each step before the athlete is approved to return to play, according to Tad D. Seifert, M.D., director of the Norton Neuroscience Institute Sports Neurology Center. The entire process can take as…

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COVID19, Migraine and Headaches, Neurosciences

After recovering from COVID-19, some get persistent, debilitating headaches

Headaches after recovering from COVID-19 can be persistent for some patients, and neurologists are finding some effective ways to address the debilitating pain that can linger. “Imagine a 24/7 headache for a period of three months or longer,” said Brian M. Plato, D.O., neurologist and headache specialist with Norton Neuroscience Institute. “We’re seeing a lot of…

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Migraine and Headaches, Neurosciences

Treatment for cluster headaches — ‘The most severe pain’

Cluster headache medication can reduce the extreme pain of these episodic headaches, as well as the frequency. Active periods of cluster headaches can last one week to several months, with pain-free periods of at least three months. Several headaches per day are not uncommon. The attacks average 30 minutes, but they can last anywhere from…

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Brain Cancer, Brain Tumor, Brain Tumor, Cancer, Neurosciences, Patient stories - Norton Healthcare

Brain cancer doesn’t stop for the pandemic; it didn’t stop for Ben Smith

A seizure in late May, followed by another in early June led Ben Smith to the emergency department at Norton Women’s & Children’s Hospital. Visitor restrictions were in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, but he found comfort in knowing his wife, a nurse at the hospital, was working nearby. A computed tomography (CT) scan…

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