Neurology

Our Epilepsy Center in Shreveport is one of only three epilepsy centers in the state accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers. In addition, we are the only Level 4 epilepsy center in the tri-state area. Level 4 centers provide the highest level of specialized care for patients with epilepsy and seizures.

Headaches can drastically lower your quality of life and make it hard, if not impossible, to participate in work, school or recreational activities. We offer expert diagnosis and treatment of headache disorders, including:

• Chronic daily headaches
• Cluster headaches (pain on one side of the head, often around one eye)
• Migraine (throbbing, pulsing pain, usually on one side of the head, that can feel worse with light or sound)

Our team cares for patients with headache disorders on an outpatient basis, as well as inpatient care if needed. Your personalized headache treatment plan may include:

• Lifestyle changes
• Medication therapy
• Trigger-point and Botox injections

MS is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves (the nerves of the eyes). MS involves the body’s immune system attacking the central nervous system. Symptoms can vary from person to person, but MS symptoms can include:

• Numbness in the limbs
• Paralysis
• Vision loss

Although there is no cure for MS, our neurology team provides many effective medications to treat MS attacks or flare-ups and improve your daily function. We have the only infusion clinic in Shreveport that’s managed by a neurology program, which lets us offer some of the newest infusion medications available for MS. In addition, your treatment plan may include pills or injectable medications, depending on your unique needs.

Movement disorders are neurological diseases that involve abnormal movements. Depending on the condition, these movements may be unusually fast or slow, or they can involve shaking (tremor) of certain muscles.

• Parkinson’s disease, which can involve slowed movement, stiffness, tremor and trouble balancing, is one of the better-known movement disorders. However, we also treat many others, including:

• Ataxia, which can cause coordination issues, clumsiness, speech difficulties and trouble moving the limbs
• Dystonia, which involves involuntary muscle movements (often twisting or repetitive motions or unusual positions)
• Huntington’s disease, a progressive illness that involves jerking movements, trouble with cognition (thinking) and development of mental health issues
• Spasticity, which involves involuntary muscle contractions that cause the muscles to be too stiff or tight

We’ll work closely with you and your loved ones to create a personalized treatment plan for your movement disorders. Symptoms of movement disorders often respond well to medication therapy. Depending on your needs, your treatment plan might also include:

• An exercise program
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Speech/language therapy

Neuromuscular disease involves the peripheral nervous system, which includes all the nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Conditions that affect these nerves can cause the muscles to weaken and degenerate (atrophy).

Some of the many forms of neuromuscular disease that we treat include:

• Motor neuron diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which involves loss of muscle control
• Muscular dystrophy
• Myasthenia gravis, which involves weakness and fatigue in muscles under your control

Each week, we see patients in our Muscular Dystrophy Clinic for a wide range of neuromuscular disorders. We’ll work closely with you to create a personalized plan to help manage your condition, which may include:

• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Speech/language therapy

Pediatric neurology (also known as child neurology) can make a critical difference in the lives of children with neurological disorders, such as:

• Cerebral palsy, which involves difficulties with balance, movement and posture
• Developmental disabilities
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a progressive genetic disorder that involves trouble moving and muscular atrophy
• Epilepsy
• Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disorder that involves muscular degeneration (atrophy)
• Tics and other movement disorders

Our colleagues at the Sleep Disorders Center diagnose and treat the full range of sleep disorders, including insomnia, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea and many others.

Learn more about our sleep medicine care.

Along with our colleagues in the Department of Neurosurgery, we provide emergency stroke care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because of our high-quality stroke care, we receive patients from throughout the Ark-La-Tex (southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana and eastern Texas) region.

The Joint Commission has certified our Academic Medical Center as a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center, which means our neurosurgery team provides the latest in minimally invasive endovascular surgery to remove dangerous blood clots that can cause a stroke. Our team is the only one in northern Louisiana that offers these advanced procedures for stroke treatment.

Time is crucial when it comes to stroke care, and someone experiencing a stroke might not be able to say they need help. Remember the American Stroke Association’s acronym FAST to know when to call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if a loved one needs immediate stroke care:

• Face: Are the facial muscles drooping or weak? If you ask the person to smile, is the smile lopsided?
• Arm weakness: Can the person raise both arms? Does one arm drift downward, or is one arm numb?
• Speech: Can you understand the person when they speak? Tell the person a simple sentence, and ask them to repeat it.
• Time to call 911: If your loved one shows any of these symptoms, even if they go away on their own, call 911 or get them to your nearest emergency room.

If you or a loved one is staying with us following stroke treatment, we’ll provide a number of essential services for immediate care and long-term guidance after a stroke, including:

• Nutrition services to help regain strength and lower the risk of future strokes
• Social work services to help you or your loved one, as well as family members, deal with changes that can occur after a stroke
• Stroke education for patients and families to understand stroke risk, rehabilitation and prevention

Rehabilitation therapy, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, to help restore movement and function