About 45 health care professionals and patients met Nov. 16 to discuss the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy and seizure disorders at Arkansas’ first Epilepsy Symposium at UAMS. Epilepsy is a common and serious neurological condition that affects over 50 million people worldwide. Epilepsy specialist and UAMS neurosurgeon Viktoras Palys, M.D….

Two years ago, James Calhoun was out of work, his neck twisting painfully to one side because of a neurological condition called dystonia. Today, he’s working in health care, finishing up an associate’s degree and applying to nursing school — his life back on track. Calhoun, 35, of Sherwood has been living with uncontrollable muscle…

LITTLE ROCK — Interventional pain management specialist Bhawna Jha, M.D., has joined the Department of Neurology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and sees patients in the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute. She also is an assistant professor in UAMS College of Medicine Department of Neurology.   Before coming to…

Erika Petersen, M.D., a neurosurgeon and researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been named the lead investigator for a major national clinical trial exploring a unique treatment for a painful chronic diabetic foot condition. The trial will test whether high frequency spinal cord stimulation is an effective treatment for painful…

Erika Petersen, M.D., a neurosurgeon at UAMS, has received the inaugural Clinical Excellence Award from the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience for her work to advance the treatment of pain. “Dr. Peterson’s recent achievements in research, education and clinical care made her an overwhelmingly unanimous choice,” said Dawood Sayed, M.D., president of the American…

Six months after a fall left him severely injured, Dewey Raper, 65, was not healing as quickly as he thought he would. “I spent so much time in a wheelchair, a walker and on crutches,” Raper said. “Eventually, I got an MRI. Dr. Radvany viewed it and took the case over.” Martin Radvany, M.D., is…

Barrett McAlister hopes an ongoing clinical trial at UAMS can help establish a new treatment for Tourette syndrome in children so they can focus on being kids, playing and learning, without worrying about being “different.” “If they’ve got a chance at a normal life, I say take it,” McAlister said. “Take it with both hands.”…

Last fall, just getting out of a chair and walking from one room to the next was a labored and painful experience for Denise Frerichs. The pain was excruciating and it ran down from her back to her legs. “The pain started about two years ago. At first I thought it would get better. I…

The Parkinson’s Symposium continues to grow each year, welcoming more people who want to learn about the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The fifth annual event was held April 7 in the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute at UAMS, with nearly 200 people in attendance. “Some people have…

The first thing Valerie Hutchens noticed when she woke up in the recovery room after surgery was how much clearer the voices around her sounded. “I can hear you!” she said to her surgeon, Martin Radvany, M.D., UAMS interventional neuroradiologist. Among the myriad of symptoms Hutchens experienced with idiopathic intracranial hypertension was a constant whooshing…