Gross. I stayed far away from those people.

Text message today alerting our team that a stroke patient has arrived, with symptoms of “Left side weakness and confession”. Confession? Confusion? Details matter.

On Sundays our busy Stroke Service stands ready to take on new challenges . . .

999 med students just matched to a #neurology residency program, the largest # of new neurologists ever!

But:
New cases every yr in the US:
90k -Parkinson
200k -epilepsy
800k -stroke
900k -Alzheimer

Total living in the US:
1M -MS
1.1M -Parkinson
3.5M -active epilepsy
10M -dementia
45M -migraine

If an LLM tried this in my house there’d be no screen time for a week. We have rules.

Here’s a great recap of #ISC26 International Stroke Conf from @befast.bsky.social.

My meeting highlight: random march alongside the STORYVILLE STOMPERS and their leader!

Also grateful for chance encounters with new and old friends - thanks for lighting up ideas for stroke science and practice.

A drawing of me in the hospital bed after my stroke, holding an hourglass with my left hand.

My @bmj.com article about my stroke recovery and the importance of communication by health care professionals, especially around time frames: www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Nice work by @tomohikotakei.bsky.social expands understanding of the corticospinal pathway in primate fine motor control.

Primate dexterous hand movements are controlled by functionally distinct premotoneuronal systems Distinct spinal and cortical pathways coordinate muscle synergies and fine control to support primate dexterous hand movements.

Our paper is out in Science Advances!
What makes primate hands so dexterous?
We show that evolutionarily distinct spinal and cortical pathways work together to balance stability and flexibility, supporting remarkable primate hand control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New free resource for physicians!

Post-stroke spasticity is frequently missed but early identification makes all the difference. AAPM&R’s new microlearning series helps physicians who don’t treat spasticity learn more on the topic!

Start learning today: ow.ly/K0fz50Y9lmc

Wow

Agree. A larger study is ongoing, but there is nothing very promising from this one.

Graphic describing Tenecteplase in Acute Central Retinal Artery Occlusion study in NEJM. 78 adults randomized to receive IV TNK or aspirin within 4.5 hrs of onset. Results show vision recovery in 20% of TNK and 24% of aspirin group (not significant) with 10 v 4 serious adverse events (non-significant trend).

Disappointing news for treatment of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO, “stroke of the eye”).

A new randomized trial shows no benefit of IV tenecteplase vs aspirin when given within 4.5 hours of onset. Fewer than 25% of patients in either group recovered vision.

www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...

Early Recognition and Intervention for Poststroke Spasticity: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association | Stroke Spasticity and related motor disorders are common and often disabling complications after stroke, affecting an estimated 30% to 80% of survivors. Spasticity can impair functional mobility, reduce inde...

Grateful to the AHA Stroke Council Stroke Rehabilitation & Recovery writing group.

Authors: Sujani Bandela, @lauramcp.bsky.social, Richard Harvey, Oluwole Awosika, Dipika Aggarwal, Charles Liu, Preeti Raghavan, Mark Goldberg.

www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...

#Stroke @uthealthsa.bsky.social

Screenshot from Stroke journal title page: Early Recognition and Intervention for Poststroke Spasticity: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Sujani Bandela, MD, Vice Chair, Laura McPherson, DPT, PhD, Richard L. Harvey, MD, FAHA, Oluwole Awosika, MD, Dipika Aggarwal, MD, Charles Y. Liu, MD, Preeti Raghavan, MD, FAHA, and Mark P. Goldberg, MD, FAHA, Chair

Pleased to share our new publication in STROKE: @americanheart.bsky.social Scientific Statement on Early Recognition and Intervention for Poststroke Spasticity.

We support advances in research, training and implementation toward earlier diagnosis and timely, innovative spasticity treatments.

Copilot, asked for an explanation of its latest fail, finally provides a straight answer: You bought a paid Copilot product. Outlook is part of Office 365. You are asking it to perform the most basic possible task: “create a meeting from an email.” And it does not do what is advertised.

Finally found something Copilot can do:

Yesterday an interview was posted with Mike Lauer about the state of science.
I strongly disagree with it.

I will write more later. But for now: I agree w/ Lauer’s central points about budgets and paperwork and institutional incentives. But he seems to not realize the political minefield he is in.

What’s Wrong with NIH Grants? “Science is fundamentally different than remodeling a kitchen”

“The system of funding science is fundamentally broken. In some respects, it’s been an unmitigated disaster. It was a house of cards, and it’s not surprising that it’s now falling apart.”

-Mike Lauer, former director of extramural research 🧪

www.statecraft.pub/p/whats-wron...

Don’t miss the 2025 Stroke Review from bluesky’s vascular neurologist, Dr. Dymm, @befast.bsky.social!

Never gonna be a constitutional lawyer.

Movie you’ve watched more than six times in a gif. Hard mode: no Star Wars, Marvel.

How do we know you’re not one?

Important change: no pre-approval required for NIH proposals > $500K.

Ancillary studies are open. We’re working hard to get these samples into your hands.

Please apply.

recovercovid.org/ancillary

Line graph of VO2max values over several days (Y axis hidden …). Last two runs show 7-8 points higher.

Did Apple Watch VO₂ max suddenly get way more flattering?

Maybe something in the iOS 26 update? No explanation from Apple — but I’m not complaining.

Fellow scientists, enjoy this low-calorie treat from Nature Scientific Reports, topped with the very best #AI. Thanks @erikangner.com for brightening my holiday.

Photo of San Diego convention center. A very large meeting space.

Sorry to have missed this. Turns out LBP (late-breaking) posters are at the OTHER end of the exhibit hall. Next time will take an Uber.

Thrilled to be at #sfn25 with some of the best #NeurorepairLab science ever!

First up: a method to trace sparsely labeled, long distance neuronal projections across entire mouse spinal cords and brains.

Sunday afternoon (today, board NN12).

Cajal would be proud!

eppro02.ativ.me/appinfo.php?...

Agree. Bsky is good for science posts, notices of new publications. But there’s almost no medical conversation in my field and I’ve stopped posting too. Still here for timely reporting on politics & NIH.

As of today, we can confirm that we will be rescheduling all October and November grant application submission deadlines (specific dates to be announced in a future Notice). By delaying due dates that occurred both during the lapse in funding and in the week following, applicants will have access to NIH staff and the help desks as they develop their applications.

#NIH proposals due soon? Have you seen this? All upcoming deadlines will be extended. (Mine was … tomorrow.)

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Do you have a synovium of rheumatologists?