Source for neuro primary literature

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iBS1972

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This may be a long shot but is there a place that contains summaries of some of the major landmark studies in neurology? In other words, I'm trying to familiarize myself with some of past studies (and I don't know which ones are important) so I'll have an idea behind the rationale for some of the management practices. Ex. It's taught that tPA can be given if time of last normal is 3-4.5 hrs. But, noone ever explains that the 3hr is FDA approved and supported by the NINDS trial, while 4.5 is because of the ECASS III trial but not technically FDA-approved. Hope this makes sense! Thanks for reading!

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There actually is, well there's a book - 50 studies every neurologist should know or something like that, Dr. Greer and a couple other folks did it back when he was at Yale I think. I haven't worked through much of it myself, but some of the residents at my home institution seem to like it
 
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Without rigorous updating, secondary resources for primary literature become obsolete quickly. That's why guidelines and consensus statements are routinely reviewed, and why new editions of books come out so frequently. For stroke (which moves fast these days), the prevention and treatment guidelines from the AHA are a good place to start, but in my experience the best way to get a handle on the literature that guides practice is to always ask "why" when you are told how to manage a patient, and then look it up on PubMed.

Why don't we use anticoagulation for intracranial atherosclerotic disease?
Why don't we need an MRI before going to the cath lab with a 4 hour old stroke? What is ASPECTS?
Why the hell is this patient still on Plavix two years after their stent?
Should I put this patient with a CHADSVAsc score of 2 on ASA or warfarin or apixiban?
Hey, maybe if I keep this patient in sinus rhythm I don't have to anticoagulate them for their AF!
Should I send this patient with a PFO for closure?
When should I use a WATCHMAN device?
Why does that one attending always order Lp(a)?
Why do we clip/coil aneurysms immediately but treat AVMs later after SAH?

The list goes on. What you end up considering a "landmark trial" may be irrelevant to someone else.
 
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AHA stroke guidelines are quite comprehensive... the latest having been revised in 2018...the window for mechanical thrombectomy being increased from 6 hours to 24 hours in select cases...
Latest review articles on the management of neurological disorders may be another source.
Hope this helps
 
Maybe try the continuum series from the AAN? They are updated on a continuing cycle for major supspecialties in neuro so they tend to be reasonably up to date. Not exactly historical “landmark” studies, but will tend to reference any recent ones that change or confirm practices.
 
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