Clinical Excellence
The Department of Neurology treats the full spectrum of neurological disorders by highly trained experts in each subspecialty. As part of the Neurological Institute (NI) at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, we routinely collaborate with specialists from other NI departments—including neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and psychiatry and behavioral health—as well as other specialists from across the medical center and university. This ensures that our patients receive comprehensive treatment and long-term support. Our long-term goals are to mitigate symptoms and deficits, prevent future decline, and improve the quality of life of individuals with neurological disorders.
Treating the Whole Patient
In addition to our already existing treatment centers, such as those for multiple sclerosis or epilepsy, we are developing highly customized multidisciplinary clinics to treat rare as well as common disorders. This customized approach will allow our physicians and researchers to focus on a specific disease, clinical subset and/or therapeutic approach in a very targeted and expert way.
This unique holistic approach to neurologic disease is practiced by only a few academic centers across the country. We’ve seen how this collaborative style leads to more accurate diagnoses and more effective management of symptoms.
Our current plans include formal development of:
- A neuro-rheumatology clinic where rheumatologists and neurologists would work side-by-side to address conditions like spinal cord inflammation and neuropsychiatric deficits that occur in patients with rheumatological disorders such as lupus and vasculitis
- Sleep-disorders and fatigue in multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease clinics, staffed by neurologist and sleep disorders specialists; ideal for multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease patients who often struggle with low energy and hypersomnolence
- Neurology transition care clinics to help patients with neurological diseases that start in childhood shift to an adult care setting with more personal ownership of treatment management and independence
- A young onset dementia clinic to provide easy patient access to neurologists, psychologists, geneticists, physical therapists and speech therapists, all working cooperatively
Research Advancements
Access to data is a critical component of research success. To enrich and facilitate translational neuroscience research across the Ohio State College of Medicine, we’re building a cutting-edge biorepository and brain bank that will be integrated with a sophisticated database.
This biorepository and brain bank will dramatically expand collections of fluid and tissue specimens so investigators can more readily locate samples from particular patient populations. The intent is to support research that identifies novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets that will hopefully lead to new diagnostic tests and transformative treatment strategies.
Of additional benefit, this resource will promote collaboration between basic scientists and clinicians to bridge the gap between fundamental benchwork and bedside care.
Also noteworthy, the Department of Neurology has a particularly broad portfolio of clinical trials in neurocognitive, neuro-oncological and neuromuscular diseases, plus innovative trials in gene therapy for Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases, building on a tradition of gene therapy research here at Ohio State. We have state-of-the-art wet bench labs in neuroimmunology/multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disease and neurogenetics.
Training for the Future
Our high-rated neurology residency and fellowship programs ensure future advancements continue by training tomorrow’s neurology leaders. We’re very committed to educating young doctors and scientists and bringing them together to open lines of communication, which is a necessity for future advancement.
To enhance our curriculum, we’re developing new educational activities and symposia on the molecular and cellular bases of specific neurological diseases. We also want scientists to make research more relevant to clinical translation, and we actively encourage dialogue between clinical neurologists and scientists by supporting intramural data clubs and brainstorming sessions.
Subspecialty clinic rotations will expose residents, fellows, researchers and young clinicians to well-defined populations of patients with neurological disorders. This will make it possible to study a well-defined patient group in a controlled way and lead to an increased understanding of the mechanisms underlying neurological disease processes.
Supporting Patients, Partners and the Community
We’re optimistic about future advancements in neurology. We’re also passionate about providing excellent patient care, and enthusiastic about the research and education taking place at Ohio State. I invite you to learn more about the Department of Neurology through this website, but also welcome any inquiries or questions you might have. We anticipate many additional changes in the coming year, so please check back periodically for updates.
Benjamin Segal, MD
Chair, Department of Neurology
Director, Neuroscience Research Institute
Co-Director, Neurological Institute
Director, Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center