The Benefits of Comprehensive Neuroscience Care

By Christian Rosado, MD

Conditions that affect the nervous system are often complex and debilitating. Any patient with a neurological condition is most likely going to have other associated medical conditions and may face psychological, emotional and social challenges as well. As neurologists, we always work on that premise, because when it comes to the brain and nervous system, it’s unavoidable. These patients will reap the greatest benefit from subspecialty care in a multidisciplinary setting.

This is the basis of the structure of the Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute as a comprehensive neuroscience center offering high quality, accessible, true subspecialty care and fostering multidisciplinary collaboration. The focus is on treating patients holistically across the care spectrum, leveraging expertise in all areas we know a person will need help.

Comprehensive neuroscience care overlaps multiple domains including neurology, neuropsychology, neurosurgery, pain management, rehabilitation and behavioral health with numerous interrelated specialty centers and programs. Under neurology, centers and programs include epilepsy and seizure disorders, movement disorders, neuromuscular and peripheral nerve disorders, memory disorders, cognitive and behavioral neurology, multiple sclerosis and demyelinating disorders, headache and facial pain, stroke and vascular neurology and inpatient neurologic care. Within each of these specific areas, highly trained and experienced experts — many from the academic setting with subspecialty board certifications — leverage advanced technologies, collaboration within the multidisciplinary system and participation in research studies to ensure access to the highest level of complete care.

While all of the subspecialty centers and programs offer exceptional and innovative care, I have chosen a few that are certainly worth highlighting.

The Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute has a world-class group of epilepsy physicians, including epileptologists and neurosurgeons, working together to provide a level of epilepsy care as high as any in the nation. A patient is able to see a board-certified and fellowship-trained epileptologist and neurosurgeon on the same campus, where they can easily communicate and collaborate to create the best outcome for each individual patient. An expanding inpatient Epilepsy Monitoring Unit offers advanced evaluation with state-of-the-art testing to determine what is causing the epilepsy or seizures and where in the brain it is originating. That can then lead to a collaborative decision as to what the best surgical treatment may be among a variety of treatment options currently available. In addition to resective surgeries, alternative and less invasive surgical methods, including vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), responsive neurostimulation (RNS) and laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), enable the team to coordinate the highest level of epilepsy surgical care available.

Florida has a high population of people afflicted by dementia, but there are not many places in the region where people can go for proper evaluation and vital resources. So, unfortunately, many people in our communities experience forgetfulness and memory loss but don’t get an actual diagnosis. What is the condition? Is it Alzheimer’s disease? Frontal temporal dementia? Vascular dementia? The Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute has a dedicated dementia and memory disorders center with specialty-trained neurologists and neuropsychologists who are top experts in their fields. They are first able to offer a high level of care in terms of diagnosis. And that is crucial, because without the correct diagnosis, proper treatment cannot be leveraged. In addition to medical diagnostics and treatment, dedicated social workers work hand in hand with our neurologists and behavioral and cognitive neurology specialists to assist patients and families with all their needs. Someone with confirmed Alzheimer’s disease has a very different path to navigate than someone with vascular dementia. We also address caregiver needs, helping guide them through medical decision-making as well as home safety, education and crisis intervention. This is a rapidly growing program with many different means to help these patients.

In neuroscience, there are some very rare diseases that can have extremely debilitating effects, even shortened lifespan. These rare diseases require true experts in the field. One such condition is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Once called Lou Gehrig’s disease, this very rare condition causes muscles to stop working, and a person loses the ability to walk, eat, breathe. Our dedicated ALS program is led by a specialist with a vast amount of experience in the proper diagnosis and management of ALS. Muscular dystrophy also causes devastating muscle weakness and disability. Many patients diagnosed with muscular dystrophy are then told they must travel long distances to receive care, and that’s very difficult or impossible for many. Our muscular dystrophy program is something new for the community, and something that we see being able to reach and help a lot of people. Parkinson’s disease also falls into this same category. The ability to see a specialist, receive an accurate diagnosis, understand the prognosis and treatment options, and receive the best medical and surgical treatment for these conditions is something that is not possible outside of a comprehensive neuroscience center such as the Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute.

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