Neurology

Neurology is the field of medicine that deals with the disorders of the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and nerves.

At NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue we provide outstanding neurological care to you and your family. We make patient education central to the care we provide and stay current on the latest neurological innovations. We strive for excellence in medical education and research.

Our nationally recognized physicians with expertise in various subspecialty fields provide state-of-the-art care for patients with neurological diseases. Consultations and in-patient services are also provided in addition to various outpatient clinics.

Here are the services we provide:

Neurology Clinic:
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 1pm-5pm

Epilepsy Clinic:
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays 9am-1pm

Stroke Clinic:
Tuesdays, 1pm-5pm

Call 212-562-5555 to make an appointment.

Here is a list of common neurological conditions that we treat:

Migraines / Tension / Other types of Headaches
Back pain / Neck pains due to herniated disc and other causes
Strokes / Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA, mini-strokes)
Seizure/Epilepsy
Parkinson’s Disease / Tremors / Other related Movement Disorders
Botox treatment for migraines, hemi facial spasm, spasticity, dystonia
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Tingling / Numbness / Neuropathy

Memory problems/Dementia
Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors
Brain and Spinal Cord Infections
Concussion / Head Trauma and related disorders
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Muscle weakness / Spasms / Cramps
Chronic pain syndromes / Fibromyalgia
Sleep related disorders / Narcolepsy
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Facial pains / Trigeminal Neuralgias

Our neurologists and paramedical staff are always ready to provide assistance. We will do our best to make your visit a truly outstanding patient experience.

Bellevue Epilepsy Center

There are about 3.4 million people in the United States who have epilepsy and about 1 in 26 people in the United States will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime. There are about 150,000 new cases of epilepsy in the United States each year.

The Bellevue Epilepsy Center has a truly integrated and dedicated team of epilepsy specialists, neurologists, trained nurses and patient-care-technicians in epilepsy, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, neuropsychologists, social workers, EEG technicians, and administrative assistant staff. Our epilepsy unit is equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and digital video monitoring technology. Inpatient video EEG studies are also offered for presurgical evaluation, confirmation of diagnosis and change of medications under a safe environment and direct EEG monitoring. We offer portable home EEG monitoring and routine EEG studies as well.

Our mission is to establish accurate diagnosis in a neurological consultation in our epilepsy clinics. Your clinic visit is followed by diagnostic tests such as MRI brain and Electroencephalogram (EEG which monitors the electrical activity of the brain). The treatment goals are tailored to individual’s needs of patients with special emphasis on achieving seizure freedom, good tolerability to medications, and improve overall quality of life for our patients. Despite all medical treatments, one-third of people with epilepsy continue to live with uncontrollable seizures who could benefit from referrals to the epilepsy center for possible epilepsy surgery which can be minimally invasive in certain cases.

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects people of all ages and has no geographic, social, or racial boundaries. The word “epilepsy” comes from the Greek word, which means to be taken, seized, or attacked. A seizure can have motor, sensory, psychic, or autonomic manifestations, or a combination of the above. A seizure is defined as a transient change in the clinical state of the patient due to excessive neuronal firing in the brain. Seizures can be provoked or unprovoked. The operational revised 2014 definition of epilepsy by International League against epilepsy (ILAE) is:

At least two unprovoked (or reflex) seizures occurring greater than 24 hours apart.
One unprovoked (or reflex) seizure and a probability of further seizures similar to the general recurrence risk (at least 60%) after two unprovoked seizures, occurring over the next 10 years.
Diagnosis of an epilepsy syndrome

Epilepsy is considered to be resolved for individuals who had an age-dependent epilepsy syndrome but are now past the applicable age or those who have remained seizure-free for the last 10 years, with no seizure medicines for the last 5 years.

The annual incidence of epilepsy in the general population ranges from 30 to 57 per 100,000. These rates vary with age, being high in infants and young children, and then decreasing throughout adulthood until approximately age 60, when they again begin to continue to rise. Of the 2.2 million Americans with epilepsy, approximately 30% have intractable epilepsy that does not respond to medical treatment. These patients should be referred to epilepsy centers to confirm or refute the diagnosis of epilepsy and appropriate screening and presurgical treatment to determine if surgical intervention can be helpful to cure their seizures.

Stroke Center

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue is certified by The New York State Department of Health as a Primary Stroke Center. Our team of vascular neurologists, neuroradiologists, and neurosurgeons are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide advanced stroke care. We give clot-busting drugs (tPA) to patients having an acute stroke or remove clots with catheter-directed therapy in our state-of-the-art angiography suite.

Get With The Guidelines, a national quality and safety organization, has recognized the Bellevue Hospital Stroke Program with the highest award of Gold Plus status for the high quality of stroke care we provide. In addition to acute therapies, we provide specialized inpatient care to stroke patients in our dedicated stroke unit staffed by specially trained nurses and vascular neurologists. Many stroke patients complete a course of rehab in the Bellevue Hospital inpatient acute rehab unit with highly trained therapists and physiatrists.

Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy

Our child neurology inpatient service is available in-house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and the child neurology outpatient clinic located in the NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue Ambulatory Care Building welcomes patients Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings year-round in the heart of Manhattan, easily accessible to all five boroughs.

We work closely with other top-tier subspecialty academic services both inpatient and outpatient within Bellevue including child psychiatry, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, genetics, ophthalmology, orthopedics, pediatric neurosurgery, and rehabilitation among others to offer a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to patient care for our complex and diverse patient population. Our pediatric outpatient, emergency, inpatient, and separate neonatal and pediatric ICU settings allow for seamless transition between any and all levels of care as needed.

Our general and subspecialty-trained child neurologists are comfortable treating a range of conditions from common diagnoses such as headaches, developmental concerns, and epilepsy to rare neurodegenerative or neuromuscular diseases. We offer a comprehensive suite of pediatric epilepsy services from initial diagnostic workup through management of medically refractory epilepsy, with capabilities including inpatient and outpatient routine, ambulatory and continuous video EEG monitoring as well as multidisciplinary nonpharmacological approaches to epilepsy including the use of medical devices, dietary modification, and epilepsy surgery as warranted.

For appointments call 212-562-5555.

NYC Health + Hospitals providers and patients with referrals may schedule an appointment for routine outpatient, ambulatory, or inpatient video EEG studies by calling: 212-562-3582

Movement Disorders & Botox Clinics

Movement Disorders Clinic

The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders clinic at Bellevue Hospital Center treats patients with Parkinson’s disease, other parkinsonian syndromes and a variety of hyperkinetic movement disorders.

The Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders clinic at Bellevue is part of the Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders at NYU Langone Medical Center (The Fresco Institute), a National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence since 2009. The Fresco Institute’s mission is to enhance Parkinson’s and movement disorders specific clinical care, basic science research, clinical research, education, and wellness for patients and families.

As part of the collaborative partnership between Bellevue and NYU Langone, Deanna Rayment, Program Coordinator for The Fresco Institute, will be working with Dr. Gilbert to oversee and develop programs for the Bellevue clinic’s patients.

The Bellevue Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders clinic currently offers a Parkinson’s fitness and wellness program for patients, families and caregivers. The program consists of recurring six week blocks of weekly 1 hour exercise and movement classes run jointly by a physical and occupational therapist.

Botox Clinic

The Botox Clinic treats patients with the medical conditions hemifacial spasm, blepharospasm, cervical dystonia, limb dystonia and spasticity.

Both the Movement Disorders Clinic and the Botox Clinic accept referrals from across the NYC Health + Hospitals health system and other healthcare referrals.