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Trigeminal neuralgia is a common neurologic disorder in which there are severe zaps of pain in the face. Patients often describe the pain as aching or stabbing or sometimes like an electric shock. The pain attacks start and stop suddenly, and they are brought on by...

A glioma is a type of tumor that begins from inside the brain itself. These tumors can be either benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancerous). They are graded from 1-4, with grade 4 tumors (glioblastoma) being the most aggressive, and unfortunately the most common. We...

Moyamoya disease is a rare disease that translates to “Puff of Smoke” in Japanese. Normally, blood is taken to the brain through the internal carotid artery. Once it gets to the base of the brain, it splits into the anterior cerebral artery which goes to the front of...

An AVM or an arteriovenous malformation, is a tangle of blood vessels within the brain. Normally, blood travels to the brain by arteries and spreads out once it gets to the brain through small networks called capillaries which provide blood to the brain. It then pools...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is therapy that delivers targeted electrical impulses to the brain to treat different neurologic disorders like Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, epilepsy, and dystonia. Some people compare DBS to a pacemaker - but for the brain. And...

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurologic disorder that affects around 1% of people over the age of 65. In the United States alone, there are close to a million people with Parkinson’s. We don't know what causes Parkinson's disease but we do know it results in a...

Essential tremor is one of the most common neurologic conditions in the world. It consists of a trembling or shaking that worsens over time, and it can affect patients at almost any age in life. It is usually brought out by holding a posture or making purposeful...

One of the common clinical scenarios I encounter as a neurosurgeon is a patient who has persistent and severe pain in the back or the legs after a previous surgery on the spine. This is sometimes referred to as “failed back surgery syndrome,” and it occurs in about...

As we get age, plaque builds up in our blood vessels. This is caused by smoking and other lifestyle choices like poor diet. One of the most common places for this to develop is at the carotid bifurcation. Normally, our carotid artery comes off of our chest and up on...

The normal anatomy of our head starts with the hair and scalp on the outside, the bony skull below, and then the brain on the inside. Between the skull and the brain there is a thin layer, called the dura. The dura acts like a bag that encases and protects the brain....