Budget funds testing for NMO
Diagnostic testing for neuromyelitis optica will be funded on Medicare, according to a Budget announcement that is expected to benefit 40,000 patients.
The Department of Health will fund a new MBS item and increased public funding of concurrent testing for the detection of anti-aquaporin-4 and antimyelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG-Abs) for the differential diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-related demyelination (MARD).
The decision was based on a positive recommendation by the Medicare Services Advisory Committee in 2020, in response to an application by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. However MSAC recommended the descriptor for the MBS item exclude the use of these antibody tests for disease monitoring in either condition.
Atypical anxiety seen in PD patients
People with Parkinson disease (PD) experience a form of atypical anxiety that is often under-recognised and difficult to diagnose, according to Queensland researchers.
A study of 184 PD patients recruited from neurology outpatient clinics found that 28 had atypical anxiety (anxiety disorder not otherwise specified, or NOS) while 42 had DSM-IV anxiety disorders. Atypical anxiety was associated with motor complications of PD therapy, episodic, persistent and social anxiety symptoms, depression, non-motor experiences of daily living, poor quality of life, and female sex compared to the no anxiety group.
According to the findings, published in Movement Disorders, Patients with atypical anxiety had greater global cognitive impairment, more severe motor complications of PD therapy, a greater severity and functional impact of dyskinesias, and greater complexity of motor fluctuations.
Neurologist saved man’s life after cardiac arrest
A Hobart café owner has credited a quick-acting neurologist with saving his life after a cardiac arrest on a sports field.
William Priestly was 31 when he collapsed while playing hockey in 2017 and was revived by CPR performed by bystanders.
“One of the only reasons I survived is I did collapse next to Helen Castley, the head of neurology at the Royal [Hobart Hospital] and Rohan, who’s a cardiac trauma nurse,” he told ABC Radio Hobart.
“Both of them were within 50 metres and so I was getting CPR within about 45 seconds, which is the only reason [I’m here].
The ABC has reported that Mr Priestley has filed suit in the Supreme Court in Hobart against two cardiologists and a private hospital, alleging they failed to diagnose ischaemic heart disease when he presented earlier with chest pains.