AAN 2021

Highlights from the American Academy of Neurology 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, April 17-22.

Cannabis Use May Lead to Rebound Headaches in Chronic Migraine Patients

Presenter: Niushen Zhang, MD

Using cannabis to relieve migraine headache may predict the development of medication overuse headache in chronic migraine patients.

Chronic Migraine Patients Who Exercise Regularly May Reduce Migraine Triggers

Presenter: Mason Dyess, DO

Chronic migraine patients who do a minimum of 2½ hours of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week have reduced rates of migraine triggers, such as stress, depression, and sleep problems.

Depression or Anxiety May Lead to Earlier Onset of Alzheimer's Disease

Presenter: Emily Eijansantos

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients with depression or anxiety start experiencing dementia symptoms several years earlier than those who do not have these psychiatric disorders. In addition, the age of onset of AD doubles with each additional psychiatric diagnosis.

Stroke Occurs Rarely in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

Presenter: Jonathon Fanning, BSc, MBBS, PhD

An international registry of critically ill COVID-19 patients found acute stroke was infrequent, occurring in 2.2% of patients. Hemorrhagic, but not ischemic, stroke, was associated with significantly increased mortality.

Warmer Weather May Send More MS Patients to the Hospital

Presenter: Holly Elser, PhD

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients may be uniquely susceptible to warm weather changes, worsening their symptoms enough to send them to the hospital.

COVID-19 May Induce Novel Seizures in Patients Without Epilepsy

Presenter: Neeraj Singh, MD

New COVID‐19 infections could cause novel seizures in patients without pre‐existing epilepsy. Seizures may only be seen in a minority of patients with COVID-19 infections, but most of these seizures are new onset, and these patients can have longer lengths of stay in the hospital and higher mortality rates.