Understanding and treating neurological disorders
Welcome to the Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford!
The Department has been a center of excellence for more than four decades and includes over 140 School of Medicine faculty members with primary academic appointments in the Department at our four outstanding teaching hospitals and health care systems. The Stanford Health Care (SHC) new 824,000 square-foot state-of-the-art hospital opened in 2019 with over 600 beds, making it one of the largest inpatient facilities in California. Ranked in the top 10 for Neurology and Neurosurgical Care by US News and World Report, SHC is at the cutting edge of the latest treatments for neurological diseases. SHC boasts a dedicated outpatient Stanford Neuroscience Health Center—a facility like no other on the West Coast—as well as clinics located throughout Northern California. With over 60,000 annual outpatient visits and thus one of the largest neurology volumes in the U.S., Stanford Neurology provides care for a large and highly diverse patient population and supports excellence in clinical care, education, and research.
Frank M. Longo, MD, PhD
George and Lucy Becker Professor and Chair Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Neurology News
Young cerebrospinal fluid probably improves the conductivity of the neurons in ageing mice.
Scientists have been trying to unravel the mysteries of why memory diminishes with age for decades. Now they have discovered a possible remedy — cerebrospinal fluid from younger brains.
The brain ‘learns’ to have seizures more efficiently and frequently over time, mouse study shows
Drs. Juliet Knowles, John Huguenard and Michelle Monje led studies which demonstrated that activity-dependent myelin plasticity, which occurs in the setting of seizures, can promote further seizure progression. This is the first demonstration of maladaptive myelination: activity-dependent myelination that promotes a disease process.
Scientific endeavor launched to combat neurodegeneration
A new initiative on brain resilience will study the causes of cognitive decline – what may be done to prevent, delay, or reverse the decline – and what goes right for those who keep their cognitive abilities intact. Based at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, this scientific endeavor is being launched by a $75 million gift from Nike founder Philip H. Knight, MBA ’62, and his wife, Penny. Tony Wyss-Coray, the D. H. Chen Distinguished Professor II of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford, has been appointed the inaugural director of the Phil and Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience.
Brains and Heart
Neurologist Michelle Monje harnesses passion and purpose as she works to cure a devastating childhood cancer.
Electrically stimulated stem cells aid stroke recovery in rodents, Stanford researchers find
Stanford scientists in the Paul George Lab have developed a device that delivers and electrically stimulates stem cells to promote stroke healing.
Breastfeeding is Safe for Children of Women with Epilepsy on Antiseizure Medication
In an ongoing multicenter NIH study of pregnancy outcomes in women with epilepsy, Dr. Meador and colleagues found that breastfeeding while taking antiseizure medications did not have any adverse effects on the child’s cognitive function at age 3 years old. This may be in part because the concentrations of antiseizure medications are much lower in these child than their mothers. Given the multiple known benefits of breastfeeding to the mother and child, Dr. Meador encourages women with epilepsy to breastfeed.
Stanford Neuroscience
Stanford Health Care provides comprehensive care and treatment for neurological disorders.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute
The Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences is a member of the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.