10 JAMA resources for neurologists to share with their patients

Being referred to a neurologist can be alarming—concerning enough to send patients to social media for quick information on their symptoms and potential treatments. But social media is no substitute for the perspective and experience of an expert physician. Inaccurate sources of information can create unnecessary stress for patients and even end up subverting care plans.

The JAMA Network® has long published its “Patient Page” feature to help physicians provide accurate, digestible, visual guides to their patients. Patient Pages offer a basic definition of the condition or issue, along with symptoms, consequences, diagnosis, treatment and prevention, and are designed to be sent home with patients and saved for future reference. 

As part of a series of news articles curating these trusted resources, the AMA is highlighting free, recently published “Patient Page” resources of relevance to various physician specialties. This article highlights resources relevant to neurology.

AMA members can explore a range of peer-reviewed research and clinical information published by the JAMA Network, which brings JAMA® together with JAMA Network Open and 11 specialty journals. Published continuously since 1883, JAMA is one of the most widely circulated, peer-reviewed, general medical journals in the world. If you are a member or interested in becoming one, learn how to access these educational materials and innovative tools. 

1. “What is Chronic Migraine?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes the condition of chronic migraine, its risk factors and preventive and acute treatment options. From the Patient Page: “Chronic migraine is a neurological disease that causes frequent, severe headaches and affects approximately 80 million people worldwide.
   2. “Chronic migraine is defined as having headaches on 15 or more days a month, with eight or more meeting diagnostic criteria for migraine or relieved by migraine medication. Migraines are headaches lasting four to 72 hours that are associated with nausea or vomiting or worsened with exposure to light or sound with at least two of the following characteristics: moderate to severe intensity, having a throbbing or pulsating quality, occurring on one side of the head, and worsened by or causing avoidance of physical activity.”

2. “What is Essential Tremor?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes essential tremor, its symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment.
   2. From the Patient Page: “Essential tremor is a disorder that causes involuntary, rhythmic shaking movements of a body part that is in motion.” It is “among the most common movement disorders worldwide. It is estimated to affect about 7 million people in the U.S., although this number may be an underestimate because some individuals do not seek medical attention for tremor.”

3. “What is Glioblastoma?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes glioblastoma, a malignant type of brain tumor, and its symptoms. From the Patient Page: “Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults.”
   2. It is incurable and “is diagnosed in more than 13,000 people per year in the U.S. From the time of diagnosis, the average survival time for people with glioblastoma is approximately 15 months, although about 7% of patients survive to five years.”

4. “What is Guillain-Barré Syndrome?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes the autoimmune disease Guillain-Barré syndrome and its risk factors, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. From the Patient Page: “Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a rare neurological disease that affects the peripheral nerves and causes muscle weakness."
   2. It is “an autoimmune disease that affects the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord (the peripheral nerves) and develops over several days to weeks. GBS can cause severe muscle weakness, and death occurs in about 5% of patients. The most common subtypes are acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP) and acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN). Approximately 90% of people with GBS in North America and Europe have AIDP.”

5. “What is Huntington Disease?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes Huntington disease and its symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment options. From the Patient Page: “Huntington disease is a rare genetic disease that affects movement, thinking and behavior.”
   2. It results from “an abnormal gene that damages cells in the brain. It is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, meaning that individuals born to a parent with Huntington disease have a 50% chance of developing the disease. Rarely, patients with Huntington disease have a gene variant that developed spontaneously and was not inherited.”

6. “What Is Narcolepsy?”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes narcolepsy types, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. From the Patient Page: “Narcolepsy causes sleepiness not due to sleep deprivation, poor sleep quality or sleep apnea,” and there are two types.
   2. “Narcolepsy type 1 is caused by damage to a certain part of the brain (the hypothalamus), resulting in decreased production of orexin, a hormone that helps maintain wakefulness. Narcolepsy type 2 does not have low levels of orexin, and its cause is unknown.”

7. “Understanding and Managing Headaches in Children and Teens”

   1. This JAMA Pediatrics Patient Page discusses symptoms and treatment of headaches in children and teens. From the Patient Page: “Headaches in children and adolescents are common,” and every child will get one at some point.
   2. “However, parents and caregivers may need guidance in helping it go away. They may also find it difficult to determine when a headache requires medical advice.
   3. “Children can have primary or secondary headaches. Primary headaches are common and are not caused by other underlying medical conditions. Secondary headaches are rare and often require medical evaluation. The most common primary headaches children have are tension or migraine headaches.”

8. “I Am Worried About Memory Loss—What Should I Know?”

   1. This JAMA Internal Medicine Patient Page describes memory loss and dementia and how they may be treated. From the Patient Page: “Some thinking skills like knowledge and wisdom improve with age. Changes in memory, thinking and reasoning are common with aging. Having trouble remembering someone’s name or misplacing items can be a normal part of getting older,” but there are times when patients should worry about memory loss.
   2. “See your doctor if your memory loss affects your ability to do your normal daily activities. Examples include trouble remembering details of recent events or conversations, difficulty thinking of common words, getting lost in familiar places or having problems doing something you used to be able to do with ease. See your doctor if someone close to you has concerns about your memory.”

9. “Driving Impairment Among Older Adults”

   1. This JAMA Patient Page describes risk factors for driving impairment among older adults, such as medical conditions and medications, and ways to mitigate driving impairment. From the Patient Page: “Older drivers may have age-related and medical conditions that affect their driving performance,” especially as more than 90% of automobile crashes are caused by human error.
   2. “In older adults, age-related changes of decreased vision, cognitive decline, slowed reaction time and decreased grip strength increase the risk of common driving errors, including straying from driving lanes, failing to observe speed limits and overlooking traffic signs.
   3. “The risk of dying in a car crash is 2.5 times higher for drivers aged 75 to 79 years and five times higher for those aged 80 years or older compared with younger drivers.”

10.  “Eating and Swallowing Problems in People With Advanced Dementia.”

    1. This JAMA Patient Page describes management of eating and swallowing problems in people with advanced dementia. From the Patient Page: “Patients with advanced dementia commonly have problems with chewing and swallowing, which may lead to aspiration of food, weight loss and malnutrition.”
    2. Caregivers should report to physicians “if patients with advanced dementia have difficulties with chewing and swallowing and whether they need assistance with eating. Speech-language pathologists can observe swallowing function and recommend strategies to feed patients in the safest manner possible.”

In addition to the Patient Page feature, here are other ways physicians can leverage resources from the JAMA Network to help them in their clinical practice:

• Take CME courses and earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
• Fulfill maintenance of licensure (MOL) and CME requirements on JN Learning™, the home for all JAMA Network CME.
• Read concise summaries of clinical guidelines and recommendations in a format designed for today’s busy physicians.

The subscription cost of JAMA is included with your AMA membership, plus unlimited digital access to all JAMA Network journals, including JAMA Neurology and these other journals: JAMA Cardiology, JAMA Dermatology, JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Network Open, JAMA Oncology, JAMA Ophthalmology, JAMA Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, JAMA Pediatrics, JAMA Psychiatry and JAMA Surgery.

The journals include many helpful features for students, residents and fellows, including full-text PDFs, clinical challenges, archived editions, audio and video author interviews where authors give their perspectives on a study’s objectives, findings and implications.