Complete Neurology Care and Education
Our team of child neurologists at UAMS provide personalized and comprehensive care for infants, children and adolescents with various neurological disorders in both inpatient and outpatient settings while simultaneously training future pediatric physicians. As the only specialists focused on pediatric neurology in the state of Arkansas, our board specialized neurologists focus on complete evaluations and treatment plans as well as strong collaborations between referring providers and other subspecialists within our hospital system. Our team of child neurologists and APRNs serve patients throughout the state through our clinics at Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock as well Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale and Arkansas Children’s Pediatric Clinic in Jonesboro.
Conditions we treat include:
- Seizures/Epilepsy
- Neuromuscular disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy and muscular dystrophy
- Headaches
- Neurocutaneous disorders such as neurofibromatosis or tuberous sclerosis
- Neuroimmunologic disorders such as multiple sclerosis or autoimmune encephalitis
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Neurometabolic disorders
- Cerebral Palsy
- Pediatric Stroke
- Spasticity
- Tics/Tourette Syndrome
- Neurological complications of other pediatric diseases
Specialized clinics we are involved in include:
- Pediatric Neuro-Critical Care Service
- Complex Epilepsy Clinic
- Brain Tumor Clinic
- Neurofibromatosis Clinic
- Tourette Clinic
- Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic
- High Risk Newborn Clinic
- Spinal Cord Disorders Clinic
- Central Demyelinating Disorders Clinic
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy Clinic
- Muscular Dystrophy
- High Risk Newborn Clinic
- Headache Clinic
- Spasticity Clinic
- Neurometabolic Disorders Clinic
- Childhood Post-infectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy Clinic
Highlights of clinical education within our section:
- Complex Epilepsy Clinic (Co-directors: Fred Perkins, M.D., and Debopam Samanta, M.D.)
- Patients with intractable epilepsy are seen at our Complex Epilepsy Clinic with an emphasis on thorough assessment and exploration of various treatment options to give these patients the best results. In order to deliver state-of-the-art care, our skilled team of board-certified epileptologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, and neuroradiologists collaborate closely across disciplines. The National Association of Epilepsy Centers has designated Arkansas Children’s as a Level 4 epilepsy facility, indicating that Arkansas Children’s offers the most specialized diagnosis and treatment options for patients with epilepsy. Regarding diagnostics, inpatient EEG monitoring in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit ( EMU), diagnostic testing with access to cutting-edge technology like magnetoencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and functional MRI, as well as access to dieticians and other support staff are all possible components of evaluation through this Complex Epilepsy Clinic. Beyond diagnostics, this clinic also offers a variety of treatment options, including epilepsy surgery, dietary therapies, pharmacological treatments, and neurostimulation devices such as vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), responsive neurostimulation(RNS), and deep brain stimulation(DBS). Finally, the multidisciplinary team is also heavily involved in cutting-edge research, including clinical trials that are available to patients with epilepsy.
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy Clinic (Director: Kapil Arya, M.D.)
- Our Spinal Muscular Atrophy Multidisciplinary Clinic was one of the first programs in the country to be certified as a CureSMA Spinal Muscular Atrophy care center. This clinic cares from children from birth through early adulthood and help provides a smooth transition to an adult SMA center after this. Our physicians were instrumental in implementing the AR Newborn Screen Program for SMA and these physicians continue to advocate for these patients as SMA consultants to the AR department of Health. The clinic provides state of the art SMA care including treatments such as gene therapy as well as participation in multiple nationwide and worldwide SMA treatment trials. This allows our patients to receive the latest and most advanced treatment options for their diagnosis.
- Central Demyelinating Disorder Clinic (Director: V. Erin Willis, M.D.)
- Our Pediatric Demyelinating Disorder Clinic sees patients with both acute and chronic central demyelinating disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS), acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein associated disorders (MOGAD) and transverse myelitis (TM). Dr. V. Willis is the director of this clinic and is a National MS Society MS Partner in Care. The clinic focuses not only on diagnosis but comprehensive treatments for these diagnoses with assess to a multidisciplinary specialists including neuropsychology, physical therapy, rehabilitation, neuro-ophthalmology and social work. Clinical trials are also available to patients within this clinic to provide access to the latest evaluations and treatments in children with central demyelinating disorders.