‘A glimpse of the future’

South Carolina is the “buckle of the stroke belt,” explained Dr. Adnan Siddiqui.

The belt is a swath of Southeastern states where incidences of and death from stroke are much higher than the rest of the country. That’s why the University of South Carolina is perfectly situated to address the health disparity — and other neurological-related diseases — impacting South Carolinians.

A neurosurgeon and distinguished professor at the University of Buffalo, Dr. Siddiqui was one the many experts who attended USC’s inaugural Brain Health Symposium on Oct. 8.

USC invited some of the world’s greatest minds in the fields of neuroscience, medicine and engineering to the Columbia campus to take on the top brain health issues facing the region, including dementia, Alzheimer’s diagnoses and fatal brain injuries.

When it comes to these specific issues, the Palmetto State ranks as one of the worst in the country. Add in a lack of adequate care and a rapidly aging — and booming — population, and the state’s brains are in dire need of help.

The symposium’s moderator, Dr. Fady Charbel, said the talks and relationships forged in Columbia will have ripple effects throughout hospitals, universities and patients’ lives.

“What we’re seeing today is a glimpse into the future,” said Dr. Charbel, who leads the University of Illinois Chicago’s neurology department. “We are aiming for where medicine is going to be.”

Tackling S.C.’s brain health problems head on

There are more than 125,000 South Carolinians living with a dementia diagnosis — a number set to rise. The state also sees high rates of Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases.

By prioritizing research, expanding clinical care, and developing healthcare workers and educators, USC is working to fill the gap between resources and the needs of the state.  

“We cannot accept that South Carolina will continue to be a neurology desert,” USC President Michael Amiridis said in his opening remarks at the event. “We cannot accept that South Carolinians have to go to another state to get the best hospital care and rehabilitation services when they have a complex neurological problem — and only if they have the money to do so.”

USC has launched the Brain Health Network to provide access to care in seven locations across the state. The Brain Health Center opened in Columbia this year and will be part of the university’s growing Health Sciences Campus. The campus will include a neurological hospital and rehabilitation center as well as the Floyd School of Medicine.

At every level of this work — and across disciplines like medicine, pharmacy, public health, nursing, biological sciences and engineering — faculty and staff are training students to develop a pipeline of healthcare workers.
 
“We are building this program, and we will improve the quality of life in our state,” Amiridis said, calling the planned neurological hospital and rehabilitation center a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for South Carolina.

A ‘golden period for neuroscience’

The symposium was a venue for big ideas and the future of medical innovation to be discussed among new and familiar colleagues across academia, hospitals and private industry. Presenters explained treatments and surgical techniques that seem ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel.

Dr. Siddiqui showed how new technology linked with a patient’s brain suffering from ALS allowed him to send text messages, feed his dog and run the vacuum — all just by thinking.

Dr. Paul Larson, a neurosurgeon and researcher with ClearPoint Neuro, discussed how gene therapy uses a virus as an “Uber” to deliver genes that help the brain function better or fight off disease.

These innovations are only the cusp of what is emerging in the fields of brain health.

“We are entering a golden period for neuroscience,” Dr. Charbel told the group of about 50 attendees.

Bringing bright minds together is crucial to making USC’s dream of better brain health a reality.

“[USC] would be a magnet for the best minds that want to come and work there and want to collaborate there,” Dr. Charbel said. “And not just physicians, but also partners from industry and partners from science.”