Central Maine Healthcare

Where You are the Center

Neurology

Why Choose Us: Neurology

Our Expertise

CMH’s exceptionally skilled team treats brain and spine disorders, including:

  • Cervical spine disorders
  • Chronic low back pain
  • Herniated disk
  • Hydrocephalus
  • Lumbar spinal stenosis
  • Stroke (brain attack)
  • Trigeminal neuralgia
  • Brain and spinal tumors

Other procedures include the repair of ruptured discs in the spinal column, bleeding problems within the brain tissue or the surrounding membranes, tumor excision, or pituitary gland surgery.

Awards and Accreditations

Central Maine Healthcare’s Neurology Department is honored to bring nationally recognized, top-rated care to our community. Our awards and certifications demonstrate that we meet the highest standards in patient services, bringing you the best care available in this region. Below, you’ll see a few of the reasons why Central Maine Healthcare has been named one of the leading Neurology providers in the country.

The Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification

This prestigious certification recognizes Central Maine Healthcare’s Neurology Department as a leader in the nation for our high-quality stroke care. The Joint Commission is the oldest and largest accrediting body in the U.S., and they awarded this distinction after a rigorous inspection of Central Maine Healthcare’s quality and safety procedures and data.

One of the biggest achievements highlighted was our multidisciplinary approach to neurology care. That means that should you or a loved one ever need our care, they will receive it from a celebrated team of board-certified healthcare professionals from several different specialties. Our success with this personalized, team-oriented approach to care is why Central Maine Healthcare was also noted by The Joint Commission as one of the top patient outcome achievers. You and your family can expect fast, accurate care and the best possible chance for recovery and rehabilitation.

American Heart Association & American Stroke Association’s “Get with the Guidelines – GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award”

Both the AHA and ASA recognize Central Maine Healthcare’s commitment to providing the very best treatment for your stroke or other related condition. Our doctors, nurses and other team members always base our treatment plans on the latest science and guidelines to ensure that you are receiving safe, cutting-edge care.

Quality and Safety Outcomes

At Central Maine Healthcare, our goal is to provide you the finest neurological care possible. We believe the way to produce the best outcomes is by working with nationally recognized, highly trained professionals and keeping our focus on patient safety which is our highest priority.

We Make Our Safety Data Transparent

We share our data publicly to give you the opportunity to compare us to other health centers. A well-informed patient is a satisfied patient, and we want to help you make an informed decision about your healthcare providers.

Your Input is Important to Us

We’re always looking for ways to enhance your experience with us. If you have suggestions on how we can improve the quality of our care, please call and speak to one of our Patient Advocates at Central Maine Medical Center 207-795-2398, Bridgton Hospital 207-647-6099 or Rumford Hospital 207-369-1488.  We’ll follow-up as soon as possible.

Thank you for choosing Central Maine Healthcare – and thank you for helping us improve our services.

Stroke Care

There are two types of strokes: Ischemic strokes are caused by a clot, and they’re the most common, accounting for 87 percent of all strokes. Hemorrhagic strokes are exactly what the name implies—they’re caused by a hemorrhage (bleeding) into the brain after a blood vessel breaks, an event called an aneurysm. And it’s not an old person’s disorder; 34 percent of strokes happen to people under 65.

Probably the most important point to know about a stroke is that you have to act fast and call 911 immediately. Brain cells will die within minutes, and if you don’t get help right away, the neurological damage could be permanent. It’s a true life-and-death situation, and you need to recognize the symptoms:

  • Sudden weakness or numbness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side
  • A sudden, severe headache
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or inability to understand what you’re saying
  • Suddenly can’t see with one or both eyes
  • Sudden problem with walking, coordination, dizziness or balance.

When it comes to strokes, ethnicity matters: all minority groups are at higher risk of stroke than Caucasians. African Americans have twice the risk of a first-time stroke.  Age is a factor; older people are more likely to have a stroke, especially if they’re overweight, have high blood pressure or heart disease, or smoke.

Risks and Rewards: About 15 percent of strokes are preceded by a “mini-stroke,” or TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), which means a blood clot temporarily blocked your blood vessels. In this case, clot-dissolving medications can reduce the damage, but only if the person is treated within three hours of the stroke. You can be sure the stroke treatment provided by Central Maine Healthcare is world-class. We recently were awarded the prestigious Joint Commission’s Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizing our top-quality stroke care. The Joint Commission mentioned our multidisciplinary approach to neurology, and for you that means your treatment covers every aspect of your recovery—speed, compassionate care and attention to every detail.

We also were granted the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s “Get With the Guidelines—GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award” for Central Maine Healthcare’s consistent excellence in stroke care, always based on the most current research.

There are 7 million stroke survivors in America today. Central Maine Healthcare treats more than 200 stroke patients each year, mostly through our Emergency Department where we can quickly evaluate and treat your condition. Once you’ve had a stroke or heart disease, your risk of stroking escalates.

Signs and Symptoms

Strokes can come on suddenly. The faster you seek help, the more brain cells you can save. Unfortunately, the damage to the brain caused by strokes can be permanent. That is why a fast reaction may help you or a stroke victim get the right treatment and have a better recovery and prognosis.

Know the Signs of a Stroke: If you notice any of the following symptoms, call 911 or seek emergency medical attention immediately:

  • Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
  • Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
  • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. It is also a major cause of long-term disability. A critical element of a stroke is that impacts the brain, and as the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association note: “Time lost is brain lost.” In other words, brain cells that die cannot be replaced.

What is a stroke? A stroke is caused when an artery that delivers blood and oxygen to the brain becomes blocked or ruptures. Brain cells deprived of oxygen die within minutes. As a result, the effects of a stroke — neurological impairment — may be permanent, since the brain cells cannot be replaced.

A stroke that is caused by a clot that obstructs blood and oxygen flow is called an ischemic stroke. This is the most common type of stroke, occurring in 87 percent of cases. The remaining 13 percent are known as hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by a blood vessel breaking and bleeding into the brain. Hemorrhagic strokes are caused by two types of defective blood vessels: aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. Aneurysms are vessels that have weakened and ballooned outward; arteriovenous malformations are a collection of abnormal blood vessels that are prone to breaking.

What is a TIA? A TIA is a transient ischemic attack and is also known as a “mini stroke.” It occurs if a blood clot temporarily blocks blood vessels to the brain. Because TIAs precede about 15 percent of all strokes, they should never be ignored. Clot dissolving treatments are available to reduce damage from a TIA but are effective only if received within three hours of the stroke.

Can I lower my risk of stroke? Research indicates that living a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of having a stroke. This includes:

  • Controlling high blood pressure
  • Not smoking
  • Eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet
  • Staying physically active
  • Maintaining a healthy body weight
  • Managing diabetes
  • Moderate intake or abstinence from alcohol

To learn more about strokes:

Treatment

When you have a crisis as serious as a stroke, you want the finest care available. When the Joint Commission recently awarded Central Maine its esteemed Primary Stroke Center Certification, inspectors noted that ours was “among the leading programs in the nation.” That honor was affirmed by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association when they presented us with their Get With the Guidelines—GOLD PLUS Quality Achievement Award for our outstanding stroke treatment. For you, these awards mean you can depend on us for the finest stroke care in the region. If you suspect you or a family member are having a stroke, call 911 immediately.

Fast Action Saves Lives: When someone is having a stroke, seconds count! Our Emergency Department will quickly assess the situation, then they’ll almost certainly administer a clot-busting drug, either aspirin or an injection of TPA to restore the blood flow. Medications might be sent directly to the brain through a catheter in the groin.

If it’s appropriate, your surgeon will perform a minimally invasive clot removal to remove plaque from your arteries. Some emergency treatment also involves an angioplasty—inserting a small balloon into one of your blood vessels to widen it and improve the blood flow. Or doctors might insert a stent, a tiny mesh tube to keep the artery open.

For a hemorrhagic stroke, doctors might give you a drug to lower your blood pressure or reduce pressure on your brain. Another common procedure is “clipping,” clamping your aneurysm to stop the bleeding. “Coiling” is another option, where a surgeon inserts a tiny coil into the aneurysm to fill it and block the bleeding. Radiosurgery sometimes works as well, shooting beams of focused radiation into your brain to repair the blood vessels.

Getting a Diagnosis: Firming up a stroke diagnosis is a high-tech affair. Once the crisis is past, your doctors may want to look at your brain through a 64-slice scanner, a machine that provides faster, higher-res images than less cutting-edge scanners, and shows them a detailed, 3-D reconstruction. With this technology, doctors can identify specific parts of the brain that were affected by the stroke but might still respond to treatment.

You might also undergo a MEG (magnetoencephalography) lab test, a safe, non-invasive exam that measures your brain activity. Over the coming days or weeks, you might receive a 3-Tesla MRI scan, which will track the recovery of your brain tissue to see which parts started working normally again after your stroke.

Stroke Rehab: Once you get past the emergency stroke treatment and you’re stabilized, your neurologist will want your rehabilitation to begin as soon as possible. The faster you start your rehab, the more independence and quality of life you’re likely to regain. Every aspect of your rehab is customized to you, shaped by the collaborations between your medical care team. It’s likely to incorporate these features:

  • Occupational therapy, to help you rebuild skills for performing everyday activities. Depending on the severity of your stroke, you may need to re-learn writing, bathing, dressing and other simple tasks.
  • Physical therapy, to improve your stamina, minimize your pain, build coordination and balance, and regain control of your extremities.
  • Speech and language therapy to strengthen your ability to communicate and, if needed, to swallow.

Most rehab happens on an outpatient basis, available at centers throughout the Central Maine system. We also offer a menu of education options and support groups, both for the stroke patient and their family.

Rehabilitation: The aim of neurological rehab is to get you living independently again as soon as possible. That can be a lengthy process, especially if you have to re-learn basic skills like talking, writing and dressing yourself. At Central Maine Healthcare’s Rehab Center, we provide a long list of therapies designed to get you to the highest possible level of functioning and well-being.

If you’ve had a neurological disorder and think you’re a good candidate for rehabilitation, call: (207) 795-2927.

Types of Neurological Rehab

At Central Maine we can help you rehab from a variety of disorders, including brain injuries, movement disorders, spinal cord injuries, head and neck cancer, and stroke. While the specifics of your rehab program vary according to the disorder and your personal condition, most rehab takes you through your daily functions such as mobility, thinking abilities and communication. For neurological rehab, you may work with physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, exercise specialists, nutritionists and others. They’ll make up your rehab team, and they will stay in close communication with your doctor and each other, monitoring your progress as you continue. Their goal is your smooth transition to outpatient care and independent living.

Pain management is included in many neurological rehab plans, because a number of neurological disorders cause pain and you may not find total relief during your treatment. In this case, you may be referred to CMH’s pain management program, which includes education and education. If you’ve suffered back pain after an injury or spinal disorder, you’ll undergo a program to regain strength, mobility and independence in terms of caring for yourself. Aquatic therapy is especially effective in relieving back pain, with the added bonus of relaxing sore muscles, too.

Other neurological rehab strategies might be new to you, or they could be continuations of your treatment plan, such as relief from stress, anxiety or depression. You might undergo training to regain lost social and behavioral skills, and nutritional counseling to plan meals that will support your wellness.

Rehab After a Stroke

Your after-stroke rehab plan will feature a special set of skills and goals. Many of these are found in other neurological rehab programs, but almost all are likely to be part of your program after a stroke:

  • Motor-skill training: You probably will start a regimen of exercises to improve your muscle strength and coordination, including the muscles involved in swallowing.
  • Mobility training: You may need to learn how to use devices to help you move around, such as a walker, wheelchair or cane. Some patients wear an ankle brace during this phase; it supports their ankles while they get better at walking again.
  • Constraint-induced therapy: It might sound counter-intuitive, but in this therapy, your unaffected limb—say, your left arm if your right arm had been affected by the stroke—is put in restraints. The idea is to exercise your limbs that were affected, without getting “help” from the healthy limbs.
  • Range-of-motion therapy: These exercises show how far you can move your limbs in different directions, and work to increase their range.
  • Electrical stimulus: Small electrical charges are applied to weakened muscles, causing them to contract and respond when they’re stimulated.
  • Therapy for cognitive disorders: This type of rehab is highly personalized, and could include techniques for improving your memory, problem solving skills, social skills and safety awareness.
  • Speech therapy: Many stroke patients need to learn to speak clearly again.

Your rehab might happen at home, in a skilled nursing center, or in an outpatient facility such as a doctor’s office. The sooner you begin rehab after a stroke, the better your skills will be.

Neurology Conditions We Treat

Symptoms of neurological disorders aren’t easy to navigate – neck pain, dizziness, blurred vision, tremors, and dozens more. They often resemble the symptoms of too many other ailments and can be hard to self-diagnose.

Enter the board-certified neuroscience team at Central Maine Healthcare, who are trained to diagnose and treat the full range of diseases linked to the brain, spine, muscles and nerves. By coupling cutting-edge technology with their compassionate care, our neurology team will take you in hand, identify your specific problem and design your personal treatment plan.

Back and Neck Pain

If you’re experiencing ongoing or severe back and neck pain, the neck and spine specialists at Central Maine will diagnose your problem and work with neurologists and other medical staff to find the source of your discomfort and create a treatment plan.

Why Your Back or Neck Hurts: With back-pain, your movements may be limited. You may even have a stiff neck, which makes it difficult to move your head from side to side. Back pain like this could be caused by something as simple as carrying a heavy bag on your shoulder.
Or your back pain may be a result of a more serious disorder like:
Herniated disc: When a disc protrudes in an abnormal way, it creates a hernia.
Spinal degeneration: Like all parts of the body, your spine can deteriorate over time, and you can lose your ability to walk and stand erect easily.
Spinal stenosis: The spaces within your spine can grow narrow, causing pressure on your nerves. Stenosis often is caused by arthritis and usually happens in your lower back or neck.
Chronic back pain: Once you’ve injured your back, if it’s not treated or doesn’t heal correctly you may experience pain over time.

Diagnosing and Treating Back and Neck Pain: Identifying the source of your pain usually starts with an X-ray to rule out injuries to bones or muscles. Your doctor also may order at CT or MRI scan to pinpoint the problem. You may also undergo an EMG (which is done via fine needles inserted into the muscles) to see whether certain nerves are working properly. A blood test is often added to check for inflammation or an infection. The treatment, of course, depends on the nature of your condition and always is personalized. Many patients respond well to a simple regimen of physical therapy, rest, exercise and medications. However, your individual program might include strength training and aquatic therapy or wearing a foam collar. From there, solutions get more sophisticated:
Baclofen Pump: With this advanced procedure, a small machine is implanted in your chest and delivers pain medication directly to your spinal cord.
Spinal Cord Stimulation Therapy: The stimulation happens in your brain. An electric current blocks your brain’s ability to sense pain in your spinal cord.
Surgery: More serious spine and neck conditions call for surgery, ranging from spinal fusions to vertebrae removal. Many procedures are computer-assisted or performed by robots, giving the surgeon a better view than they’d have in traditional operations, with more accurate results.
Regardless of why you’re feeling back or neck pain, CMH specialists can help get your relief.

Brain and Spinal Tumors

At Central Maine Healthcare, we focus on aggressively treating your tumor as soon as possible. Your treatment plan might include radiation, chemotherapy or surgery, and we will make sure you have the support to follow your personalized treatment.

Dementia

Dementia isn’t just one disease, it’s a group of symptoms that affect your memory, thinking and social abilities. Fortunately, at Central Maine Healthcare, you have some of the country’s best resources at your disposal, working quickly to diagnose dementia.

What Does Dementia Look Like? Dementia is tricky to diagnose because its symptoms can signal a long list of unrelated disorders. Some forms of dementia are progressive, like Alzheimer’s disease or Lewy Body dementia. But some types of dementia can be reversed. If it’s caused by an endocrine problem, such as a low-functioning thyroid or by dehydration or certain infections, the dementia stops when those conditions are addressed.

For most dementia, however, there is no cure — but modern treatments can treat the symptoms and slow the disease’s progression. Symptoms generally fall into two categories: cognitive and psychological.

Cognitive symptoms include:

  • Memory loss
  • Difficulty communicating
  • Planning or organizing
  • Confusion

Psychological symptoms include:

  • Personality changes
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Paranoia
  • Inappropriate behavior

How We Diagnose Your Dementia: Finding the reason for your dementia is a process. It involves a variety of cognitive and psychological tests. Your neurologist will work to reach an accurate diagnosis and design a treatment plan. In order to pinpoint your type of dementia, doctors will first look at your risk factors for dementia: your thorough health history, including your age and family illnesses. Then, they’ll look for signs of depression, diabetes, Down syndrome, sleep apnea, smoking or heavy alcohol use — all of which could influence dementia.

Our doctors will also test your memory, your language skills, your visual perception, and your ability to focus, reason and solve problems. They’re also likely to run CT and MRI scans to check for signs of stroke, tumors or bleeding in your brain. A PET scan can document your brain activity and tell doctors if the protein associated with Alzheimer’s (called amyloid) is present.

What We’ll Do for Your Dementia: Once we know exactly why you’re exhibiting symptoms, our physicians work on managing them. Almost always, they will prescribe medications to ease your symptoms. You’ll likely take a med such as Aricept — a cholinesterase inhibitor — that will boost your levels of the brain chemical that helps restore your memory and judgement skills. These medicines are common in treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lewy Body.

Other medicines regulate additional brain chemicals that affect your depression, ability to learn, and sleep. Beyond medications, we provide help that can improve your everyday life and independence:

Occupational therapy: Our therapists will teach you coping strategies, which can help you perform simple tasks such as laundry and making coffee. Their aim is to prevent falls and other accidents and prepare you for progression of the illness.

Modify your environment: Central Maine will do everything possible to make your home safer.  We can help you reduce clutter and noise, hide items such as knives and car keys, and make sure you are visited regularly.

Modify your tasks: We’ll look at everything you do during the day and find ways to make those tasks easier. You’ll have structure and routine in your day, which will help you learn to focus on small successes.

Epilepsy

People with epilepsy can rarely predict when they’re about to have a seizure. The good news is that with Central Maine Healthcare’s help seizures can be controlled. Our highly trained experts successfully treat people with epilepsy every day. Epilepsy can develop at any age. For your own safety, if you or someone in your family has seizures, get help right away.

What Causes Seizures? We know that seizures are triggered by sudden changes in your brain’s electrical activity, but what causes those electrical surges? Seizures often start after a head injury. They might also begin after a stroke or when a tumor develops. During a seizure, nerve cells either over-excite other cells, or stop them from sending the right messages to the rest of the body. Epilepsy is diagnosed when these seizures materialize repeatedly.

When you see a Central Maine neurologist about your seizures, you’ll undergo an EEG (electroencephalogram), which can “see” the electrical activity in your brain and, possibly, predict if you’ll keep having seizures. The EEG might find seizure-causing activity in just one part of your brain, or across the entire organ. We might use a process called “cortical mapping” to measure functions and activity in precise spots.

Our Team Approach to Treating Seizures: Because there are so many approaches to seizure control, the Neurology team at Central Maine will form a multidisciplinary team to treat your epilepsy. We’ll take care of your disorder from every possible angle, and professionals guiding your recovery might include nutritionists, neurologists, surgeons and other specialists.

Medications: This is the most widely used treatment. Anti-seizure drugs succeed in controlling seizures for seven out of 10 patients.

Diet: Research has found that a low carb, “keto” diet can control seizures in some people, so your doctor or nutritionist probably will recommend you cut your carbohydrates and focus on eating whole foods, including healthy fats.

Neuromodulation: Your neurologist might also prescribe a device that sends a small electric current to your nervous system. This electric stimulation, called “neuromodulation,” can prompt your brain to release chemicals that change the way your cells act.

Movement Disorders

About a million people in the U.S. live with Parkinson’s disease, and millions more suffer from other movement disorders. They affect every aspect of your life — your job, socializing, mobility, even relaxing with your family. But treatment for movement disorders has come a long way in the last decade, and Central Maine Healthcare is on the leading-edge of movement disorder treatment.

What Are Movement Disorders? If you don’t have a movement disorder, you’ve seen it in others — their heads and limbs jerk or twist in an unnatural way, it may be difficult to understand their speech, and they may not be able to walk.

Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressing disorder of the nervous system. People with Parkinson’s may not be diagnosed until years after their first symptoms appear. In addition to tremors, people with Parkinson’s also develop problems with their balance, limbs stiffening and slower movements.

Dystonia isn’t as well-known as Parkinson’s, but more than 300,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed to date. The muscle contractions with dystonia are different from other movement disorders, in that they cause twisting, repetitive movements. Dystonia can affect the whole body or just one limb.

Other movement disorders include:

  • Cervical dystonia, causing twisting contractions of the neck muscles
  • Ataxia, when the parts of the brain that control body movements don’t function correctly
  • Chorea, marked by brief, irregular movements in the face, mouth, trunk and limbs
  • Huntington’s disease, bringing uncontrolled movements, impaired thinking ability and psychiatric disorders
  • Restless leg syndrome, when you have an urge to move your legs at night
  • Tremors, rhythmic shaking of your hands, head and other body parts
  • Wilson’s disease, a rare illness caused by copper build-up in your body, causing neurological problems

Treating Movement Disorders: Your movement disorder may be more easily controlled than you think. Your doctor’s first prescription is likely to be L-Dopa, an amino acid closely related to the brain chemical dopamine and the gold standard for treating Parkinson’s and dystonia, both of which respond to dopamine. Your neurologist at Central Maine also might inject you with Botox®. Botox® temporarily paralyzes muscle activity, making it useful in controlling contractions, especially neck spasms.

Increasingly, surgeons are turning to Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a surgery in which electrodes are implanted in the brain. The electrodes produce electrical charges that regulate your brain’s abnormal impulses, controlled by a pacemaker-like device implanted in your chest. A tiny wire connects the “pacemaker” to the electrodes in your brain. DBS is a revolutionary new procedure whose use will go far beyond treating movement disorders; researchers are studying the possibilities of DBS for stroke recovery and dementia, among other conditions.

Central Maine Healthcare can help you minimize and control your tremors and contractions, so you can return to work and regular daily life.

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease. That means your immune system, which is supposed to protect your from “foreign” invaders (bacteria, viruses, even allergens) instead turns traitor and breaks down your immunity. Those invaders get into your body, and the protective covering that surrounds your nerve cells becomes inflamed, destroying the cells’ ability to work correctly. That’s when you start seeing symptoms of MS.

Central Maine’s neurologists bring on the latest research and techniques to treating your symptoms. When your MS is treated early, you can expect a normal life expectancy, symptom-free — but you must take action.

Diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis: MS is one of the most difficult illnesses to diagnose because its symptoms are almost universal. Anyone can get MS, though women are more likely, and while the typical age at the onset is 20 to 40 years old, it can begin at any age. Diagnosis also is tricky because MS symptoms appear in degrees, from mild (numb limbs, for example) to severe cases with paralysis and blindness. Other symptoms include:

  • Blurred or double vision
  • Blindness in one eye
  • Red/green color distortion
  • Muscle weakness in limbs, causing balance and coordination problems
  • Prickling, numbing feelings in arms and legs
  • Pain in limbs
  • Trouble speaking
  • Tremors
  • Dizziness
  • Hearing loss
  • Depression
  • Difficulty concentrating, and problems with memory and judgement

Some symptoms happen briefly and pass, while others persist. People with MS can be symptom free and then suffer a relapse or flare-up, or the disease can be a steady progression. There’s just no such thing as a “normal” case of MS.

There also is no standard test for MS. Your neurologist and other caregivers will test you based on your current symptoms, and those they think you’re likely to develop. They may give you a neurological exam, blood analysis, brain and spine imaging, lumbar puncture test (known as a “spinal tap”). They also may prescribe an MRI scan, because 90 percent of people with MS show changes in their brain or spinal cord, and other tests that measure magnetic fields of your cells and the electrical activity in your muscles.

Treating You for a Speedy Recovery: There’s no cure for MS, but there is recovery from flare-ups, and that’s our goal when we treat MS at Central Maine. We aim to manage your symptoms, and your treatment will reflect your experience. For instance, we might prescribe a corticosteroid medication such as prednisone to reduce the inflammation in your nerves. We often turn to a host of meds that might slow the worsening of the disease, or help block the immune system’s attack on myelin, that protective covering around your nerves.

If your MS is newly diagnosed or especially severe, we might recommend a plasma exchange. This innovative procedure involves removing your plasma, mixing it with a protein solution, then putting it back into your body. Depending on your symptoms, we might also prescribe meds to combat your fatigue, resolve depression or help control your bowel or bladder. We also prescribe Interferon, a drug that can reduce the severity and frequency of your relapses.

A healthy lifestyle is important, too, in keeping MS symptoms under control. You’ll work with a physical therapist on stretching and strengthening exercises, and you’ll learn to use devices that make daily tasks easier. If you’re feeling stiff or experiencing spasms, we’ll teach you muscle relaxation exercises.

For such a wide range of symptoms, our neurologists will collaborate with as many colleagues as necessary to tame them and get you living a normal, productive life. For most MS patients, there’s no reason not to work full-time and resume all the activities they enjoy.

Stroke

There are 7 million stroke survivors in America today. Central Maine Healthcare treats more than 200 stroke patients each year, mostly through our Emergency Department where we can quickly evaluate and treat your condition. Once you’ve had a stroke or heart disease, your risk of stroking escalates.

If you or a family member are at risk for a stroke, we can help you make sure there are no strokes in your future.

Neurology

Neurology, simply put, is the branch of medicine that treats disorders of the nervous system. That encompasses the brain, brain stem, nerves and spinal cord. The largest part of the field is the central nervous system, where we find control of our most basic behaviors—movements, speech, understanding and balance.

Central Maine Neurology

Central Maine’s Department of Neurology treats adults for disorders such as stroke, epilepsy, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s, dementia, cognitive disorders and more. If it’s a disorder of your brain or spinal cord, we treat it in Neurology.

Our neurologists and other doctors are specialists in epilepsy, movement disorders and other neurological disorders. Not all of the illnesses we treat are unusual or extreme; if you’re experiencing headaches or lower back pain, we will evaluate you to be sure you have an accurate diagnosis and a solid treatment plan. If your condition is more serious, such as multiple sclerosis or head and neck cancer, we have the expertise to treat those illnesses, too.

Neurology will closely coordinate your treatment, working side by side with physical therapists, speech therapists and other clinicians to make sure your personalized treatment plan is perfectly suited to your condition and preferences.

Neurosciences

If you have a neurological disorder, we can help.

Symptoms of neurological disorders aren’t easy to navigate, but we’re here to help. Our board-certified neuroscience team is trained to diagnose and treat the full range of diseases linked to the brain, spine, muscles and nerves.

We treat the full range of neurological conditions ranging from movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease to chronic back pain and stroke. We’re proud that our efforts to prevent and treat stroke rapidly have resulted in certification as a Primary Stroke Center by the Joint Commission.

Among the reasons we are certified is the comprehensive and holistic nature of our care. In addition to a partnership with MGH and full suite of technology, we have a team including neurologists, orthopedic surgeons and specialists from other related fields. Specialized nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, social work and other vitally important supportive services are also key components of our world-class neuroscience services.

Contact Us

Central Maine Neurology
10 Minot Avenue, Auburn, Maine 04210
Phone: (207) 795-2927

Learn About Neurological Disorders

There’s one sure way to speed up your recovery, and that’s to learn as much as possible about your disorder.

Central Maine Healthcare sponsors a series of free, informal classes each quarter, specially designed to inform patients and caregivers about how getting stronger and reaching your personal wellness goals. Whether your issue is back pain, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy or another neuro illness, we’ll make sure you have all the information you need to move forward and live as independently as possible.

Central Maine Healthcare also maintains an extensive online health library, where you and your can access the latest medical and rehab information related to your condition. You can use out interactive tools to create lists of questions you can ask your neurologist, use our checklists to evaluate your own progress, and learn as you go so you can make confident decisions about your healthcare.

Support Groups

If you are looking for a support group, please contact Central Maine Neurology at (207) 795-2927 and we will assist you in finding a support group.