Services
Leading the Charge Against Stroke and Neurological Disorders
Whether you or a loved one is dealing with a life-threatening stroke or a life-compromising neurological condition, Grady’s Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center can provide the precise, state-of-the-art care and diagnostics you need.
When you come to Grady, you will be seen by nationally recognized experts in stroke and other neurological disorders or diseases of the brain and nervous system, such as seizures, tremors, memory difficulties, headaches, and brain or spine abnormalities.
Facing these conditions can be frightening and confusing. At Grady, you never face them alone.
Why Choose Us
No one in Atlanta offers better, more comprehensive stroke and neurology care than Grady’s team of doctors, nurses, and technicians, who specialize in helping patients manage their disease to get the most out of life.
When we opened Grady’s Marcus Center in 2010, we were immediately recognized as one of the nation’s leading stroke centers. Since then, we have expanded our team of neuroscience experts to provide comprehensive care for virtually all neurological conditions. These medical providers are experts in neurology and the vascular system but, most importantly, they specialize in you and your needs. We will help you with the right treatment, the information you want about your disease, and the support you need to get through the experience.
Grady’s neurologists, vascular surgeons, and neurosurgeons work as a team to treat your neurological condition, no matter how acute. We can perform surgery to remove blood clots, alleviate pressure, reduce seizures, but also help patients manage their neurological disorders with other therapies.
We are only one of a handful of U.S. hospitals staffed by multidisciplinary neurological specialists from two medical schools. Our physicians are faculty members of Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine. They use Atlanta’s newest medical technology to diagnose and care for patients. And, because Grady has one of the region’s most active neuroscience research programs, we offer access to some of medicine’s most promising emerging therapies.
Because neurological disorders are often accompanied by other health concerns, Grady offers one more advantage: We’ve spent more than 125 years building the most comprehensive medical services in Atlanta, to deliver the best care possible.
What We Treat
Neurological disorders are diseases of the brain, spine, and the nerves that connect them. There are more than 600 diseases of the nervous system, such as brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke, as well as much less familiar ones. Most are treatable.
Grady is expert at helping neurology patients live full, satisfying lives. We have vast experience treating acute conditions like stroke and prescribing the medicines that will allow you to live with disorders whose symptoms can be disruptive. Here are some of the conditions we see most often:
A stroke is sometimes called a “brain attack.” It occurs when bloodflow is cut off to an area of the brain, depriving brain cells of oxygen. When this happens, brain cells begin to die, resulting in the loss of memory or muscle control affected by that part of the brain. A stroke victim needs immediate attention and treatment to minimize lasting damage or impairment. Learn more about stroke.
Blood clots are gel-like clumps of blood that can pose a serious threat if they block the flow of blood to an organ. Clots that form in the legs, lungs, or brain typically need prompt attention. While some blood clots can be treated with anti-coagulation medicine, some must be removed surgery. Typically, this surgery – called a thrombectomy – can be done using minimally invasive procedures that significantly reduce the discomfort and enable patients to heal more quickly.
Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by a violent blow to the head or a wound that penetrates the skull. Mild traumatic brain injuries, such as a bump to the head, can temporarily affect brain cells. A more serious brain injury, such as a concussion, can result in bruising the brain or bleeding in the brain. A serious brain injury can lead to permanent physical impairment or death. Brain injuries should get immediate medical attention.
Epilepsy, also known as a seizure disorder, is the fourth most common neurological disorder. It causes recurring seizures. These seizures may be related to a brain injury or a genetic tendency. Epilepsy is typically treated with medication, but surgical procedures have been helpful in extreme cases.
Recurring headaches are some the most common nervous system disorders, and have many causes. Headache disorders include migraines, tension-type headaches (TTH), cluster headaches (CH), and medication overuse headaches (MOH). We diagnose and treat headache disorders to enable our patients to resume their daily routines. Learn more about headaches.
Memory disorders are caused by damage to the parts of the brain that harms its ability to store, retain, and remember memories. Some memory disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease, can be progressive, while others can be immediate, resulting from a head injury.
Movement disorders are neurologic conditions that cause problems with movement. There are many different movement disorders. Some of the more common types include Parkinson’s disease, a disorder that slowly gets worse over time and causes tremors, slowness of movement, and can make walking difficult; Huntington’s disease, an inherited disease that causes nerve cells to waste away and can result in loss of control in voluntary movement; dystonia, which results in involuntary muscle contractions and can be painful; Tourette syndrome, which causes people to make sudden twitches, movements, or sounds; and tremor and essential tremor, which cause involuntary trembling or shaking.
Sleep disorders can take a toll by making you tired, throwing off your hormone levels, changing your mood, or increasing your weight. Everyone needs to get productive rest. Sleep disorders like snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy are common. We diagnose the problem, evaluate your condition, and recommend the most appropriate treatments to help you sleep better so you have the energy to tackle every day.
Care and Treatment
From treatment of complex strokes and aneurysms to epilepsy and neurointensive care, Grady’s Marcus Center offers comprehensive neuroscience services including:
Grady’s neurosurgical experts are unmatched in the Atlanta area. They provide neurosurgical care for patients suffering spinal cord or brain trauma, and provide care for acute stroke/neurological patients. Procedures include decompressive craniectomy, evacuation of intracranial hematoma, cranioplasty, shunt placements, clipping of aneurysms, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), resection of benign and malignant brain tumors as well as complex skull base tumors.
If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke and need immediate medical attention, go to your local Emergency Department and they can transfer you to the stroke center. You can also go directly to the Grady Emergency Department, and they will take you directly to the stroke center.
In addition, Grady provides:
- Advanced care for patients with strokes and aneurysms
- Neurointensive care using the latest technology and most advanced monitoring systems
- Epilepsy care and treatment
- A center on aging with an emphasis on stroke awareness and education
- A global health program designed to inspire and extend excellence in neurological care, research, and teaching
Outpatient Services
In addition to services and treatments performed on hospitalized patients, Grady offers extensive outpatient care programs.
Staffed by clinicians from Emory and Morehouse schools of medicine, the clinic is often the starting point for patients with neurological conditions. It treats conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, motor neuron disease, restless leg syndrome, myopathy, myasthenia, ulnar neuropathy, vertigo, and other diseases of the brain and spinal cord.
This fully functional, accredited neurodiagnostic laboratory employs the latest diagnostic equipment to determine a patient’s condition. The lab performs nerve condition studies (electrical testing of nerve function), EMG (test of muscle and nerve function), EEG (brainwave testing), carotid doppler (ultrasound of the carotid arteries to evaluate blood flow), and transcranial doppler (ultrasound to evaluate intracerebral blood flow). These tests determine the exact cause of each patient’s symptoms and results help to formulate individualized treatment plans.
Grady is Atlanta’s regional Memory Assessment Center and is one of just five such centers in Georgia. Grady’s memory clinic focuses on neurological memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease that involve damage to parts of the brain, compromising its ability to store, retain, and recall memories. Our multidisciplinary team of medical providers includes specialists in neurology, neuro-psychology, nursing, and social work who work together to improve quality of life and extend care at home. We work with patients and their loved ones.
The clinic helps people to manage or resolve their disruptive sleep behaviors. Sleep disorders like snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleep deprivation, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy are common and can make you tired, throw off your hormone levels, change your mood, or increase your weight. We diagnose the problem and recommend the most appropriate treatments to help you sleep better so you have the energy to tackle every day.
The clinic treats patients with epilepsy, the fourth most common neurological disorder, known as a seizure disorder. The cause of seizures may be related to a prior brain injury, genetic tendency, or other abnormality. Epilepsy is typically treated with medication, but surgical procedures and implants have been helpful in extreme cases. Our providers have extensive training in epilepsy and continue to offer our patients the newest treatments.
The clinic diagnoses and treats migraine and other head pain. It uses a combination of therapies to alleviate pain so you can resume your daily routines. Recurring headaches are among the most common nervous system disorders, and have many causes. Headache disorders include migraines, tension-type headaches (TTH), cluster headaches (CH), and medication overuse headaches (MOH). Our center often uses Botox and emerging therapies to treat chronic migraines.
The clinic addresses the needs of patients after they have experienced a brain or spine injury or illness. Patients with spinal cord injuries, spasticity post stroke, traumatic brain injury, or other neurological condition need the help of a physiatrist and multi-disciplinary team to prevent disabilities and maximize mobility. The clinic often treats patients with upper and lower limb spasticity after a stroke with Botox injections. Patients also have access to our outpatient rehabilitation therapy services.
Uniquely trained neurologists care for patients living with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, chorea, tics, and tremors. The clinic offers state-of-the-art treatment of movement disorders, including the use of Botox for cervical dystonia.
If you suddenly experience a stroke symptom that disappears in a few minutes, you may have suffered from a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini-stroke. The TIA clinic offers patients who experience low-risk TIAs a combination of medical care and lifestyle interventions to reduce continued stroke risk. Grady’s TIA Clinic was designed to help patients understand the causes and modify risk factors to prevent a future event.
The clinic treats brain abnormalities, such as tumors, arteriovenous malformations, congenitally small blood vessels, brain aneurysm, carotid artery stenosis, or pituitary tumors. Experienced neurosurgeons routinely use minimally invasive procedures to correct these abnormalities.
The clinic surgically corrects spinal cord conditions, including fractures, disk degeneration, spinal cord tumors, and other diseases of the spine. The spine team performs surgeries such as anterior cervical discectomy/fusion, corpectomy, laminectomy, posterior fusion, resection of spine and spinal cord tumors, and offers minimally invasive options for spine procedures. Epidural steroid injections are also available at the center to provide pain relief and identify the precise area creating the pain.
Internationally acclaimed neuroendovascular experts in this clinic treat patients with brain aneurysms (a weak or ruptured area of a brain artery), arteriovenous malformation (similar to an aneurysm but at risk of bleeding or causing a stroke), or disease of the neck blood vessels that supply the brain. The clinic can treat these conditions non-invasively or using minimally invasive procedures. Clinicians routinely treat brain aneurysms, open blockages, and care for patients with other conditions.
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive disease that occurs when a person’s immune system damages the myelin (protective layer) that covers nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord, disrupting communication between the nerves of the central nervous system. This causes symptoms such as muscle weakness, loss of coordination, tingling sensations, difficulty thinking, and difficulties with memory. The multidisciplinary clinic provides treatments, including those requiring infusion.