How do new cancer drugs affect our brains? A practical guide to immune checkpoint inhibitors
Immune checkpoint inhibitors can significantly improve cancer survival rates. But resulting immune-related toxicities are common, requiring multidisciplinary cooperation between oncology and neurology.
This episode, PN's podcast editor Dr. Amy Ross Russell speaks with a panel of experts on the balancing act required when treating cancer patients with these new drugs. Oncologist Dr. Heather Shaw is alongside neurologists Dr. Aisling Carr and Dr. Mark Willis, and they are amongst the authors of the editors' choice paper for the latest issue of Practical Neurology.
Read the paper: Neurological complications of immune checkpoint inhibitors: a practical guide
Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3vVPClm) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/4baxjsQ). We'd love to hear your feedback on social media - @PracticalNeurol.
Production by Letícia Amorim, Brian Kennedy, Amy Ross Russell and Brian O'Toole. Editing by Brian O'Toole. Thank you for listening.
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57:41
Guidelines on disease-modifying treatment in MS: a decade-long update
The latest guidelines on disease-modifying treatment in multiple sclerosis (MS) from the Association of British Neurologists is discussed in this intercontinental podcast with perspectives from the UK, the USA, and Australia.
Participants:
Professor Alasdair Coles is Head of Department for Clinical Neuroscience and also Co-Director of the Cambridge Centre for Myelin Repair, UK.
Dr. Tamara Kaplan is Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and is also affiliated with the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, USA.
Professor Michael Barnett is a consultant neurologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, Central Clinical School, and Director of the RPAH MS Clinic and the MS Clinical Trials Unit at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Australia.
Read the paper (https://pn.bmj.com/content/25/1/18) which is part of the February issue of the Practical Neurology journal.
Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3vVPClm) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/4baxjsQ). We'd love to hear your feedback on social media - @PracticalNeurol.
Production and editing by Letícia Amorim. Thank you for listening.
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36:05
Localisation myths, brain fog, and small fibre neuropathies - Editors' Highlights April 2025
It's a podcast of pairs this time, for the latest issue of the journal. There's two hosts, two halves of the brain, two sides to a clinical debate, and two themes to the episode itself. Leading off is a discussion on peripheral neurology, taking a look at the editors' choice paper on immune checkpoint inhibitors. That's followed by a paper on secondary hypertension, and another on small fibre neuropathies. The second half covers elements of cognitive neurology, including a topic with increasing awareness - that of brain fog. There's the dramatically named STOP-BANG questionnaire, a notable appearance from a monkey, and a reflection on modern practices for cognitive assessment.
Read the issue: https://pn.bmj.com/content/25/2/101
Listen to Dr. Laura McWhirter on the JNNP podcast: Brain fog demystified
Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3vVPClm) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/4baxjsQ). We'd love to hear your feedback on social media - @PracticalNeurol.
Production by Letícia Amorim and Brian O'Toole. Editing by Brian O'Toole. Thank you for listening.
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42:52
Intestinal obstruction, and new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE) - Case Reports February 2025
A puzzling pair of Case Reports from the most recent issue of the journal. First up (1:35) is a man in his mid-fifties, presenting with lumbar spine fractures, which then developed into confusion, vomiting, and abdominal pain. An x-ray showed dilated intestinal loops and his blood sodium levels were low. https://pn.bmj.com/content/25/1/87
The second case (23:06) involves a 21-yo woman, who presented at 18 weeks pregnant with multiple episodes of right upper limb tonic extension, and subsequently developed new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE). https://pn.bmj.com/content/25/1/56
The case reports discussion is hosted by Prof. Martin Turner¹, who is joined by Dr. Ruth Wood² and Dr. Xin You Tai³ for a group examination of the features of each presentation, followed by a step-by-step walkthrough of how the diagnosis was made. These case reports and many others can be found in the February 2025 issue of the journal.
(1) Professor of Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, and Consultant Neurologist at John Radcliffe Hospital.
(2) Neurology Registrar, University Hospitals Sussex.
(3) Clinical Academic Fellow, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Oxford University, and Neurology Specialty registrar, Oxford University Hospital.
Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3vVPClm) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/4baxjsQ). We'd love to hear your feedback on social media - @PracticalNeurol.
Production and editing by Letícia Amorim and Brian O'Toole. Thank you for listening.
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47:39
Stiff-person syndrome
Intermittent painful spasms, stiffness and rigidity of the proximal and truncal muscles are only a few symptoms of the relatively uncommon Stiff-person syndrome (SPS). In this podcast, we delve into the characteristics and diagnosis of this complex autoimmune condition.
PN's podcast editor Dr. Amy Ross Russell interviews Professor Saiju Jacob (University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK). The paper is the Editor's Choice paper of the February issue of Practical Neurology.
The episode is released to coincide with world Encephalitis day. For more information about World encephalitis day, or encephalitis international please follow this link: https://www.encephalitis.info/world-encephalitis-day/
Please subscribe to the Practical Neurology podcast on your favourite platform to get the latest podcast every month. If you enjoy our podcast, you can leave us a review or a comment on Apple Podcasts (https://apple.co/3vVPClm) or Spotify (https://spoti.fi/4baxjsQ). We'd love to hear your feedback on social media - @PracticalNeurol.
Production by Letícia Amorim and Brian O'Toole. Editing by Brian O'Toole. Thank you for listening.
The Practical Neurology Podcast is the essential guide for the everyday life of all neurologists. Just like our journal Practical Neurology, this podcast is useful for everyone who sees neurological patients and who wants to keep up-to-date and safe in managing them. In other words, this is a podcast for jobbing neurologists who plough through the tension headaches and funny turns week in and week out.
Subscribe to enjoy deep dives into each journal issue with editors Prof. Philip Smith and Dr. Geraint Fuller, discussions on recent case reports with Prof. Martin Turner, and Editor’s Choice article discussions between authors and Dr. Amy Ross Russell.
Practical Neurology - pn.bmj.com - is included as part of a subscription to JNNP and provided in print to all members of the Association of British Neurologists.
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