Advanced Platform Technology Center

APT Researcher Awarded Career Development Award From Dystonia Coalition

Aasef Shaikh, MD, PhD, a researcher with the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (LSCVAMC) and with Case Western Reserve University, has been awarded the prestigious Career Development Award from the Dystonia Coalition. He is one of only three clinician-researchers to receive this annual award. 
 
Dr. Shaikh will use the grant to study the physiology of head tremor in cervical dystonia. Head tremor is clinically apparent in up to two-thirds of patients with essential tremor and up to one-third with cervical dystonia. Head tremor is difficult to conceal, often embarrassing for the affected individuals, and challenging to treat.  In addition, there is a lack of clear diagnostic guidelines to discriminate among these possibilities. 
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“Our investigations will address current controversies in the clinical classification of these head tremors,” says Dr. Shaikh. “Quantitative analysis will also allow us to predict the pathogenesis of head tremor. Our outcomes will also lead to future investigations for novel therapeutic strategies for head tremor.”
 
Dr. Shaikh’s expertise and research interests are in the following topics: Ataxia, Deep Brain Stimulation, Eye Movement Disorders, Movement Disorders, Parkinson's Disease, Dystonia, Huntington's Disease, Vertigo, Botulinum Toxin Injections, Tremor, Cerebellar Disorders, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. 
 
The Dystonia Coalition is a cooperative project between medical researchers and patient advocacy groups. Its mission is to advance the pace of clinical and translational research in the dystonias to find better treatments and a cure. It is supported by the Office of Rare Diseases and The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the NIH. 
 
About the APT Center:  The APT Center is one of 17 designated Centers in the Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  Established in 2005 as a collaboration between the LSCDVAMC and CWRU, the APT Center focuses on applying the most recent advancements in microelectronics, material science, microfabrication, wireless communication and mechanical design to the pressing medical needs of disabled veterans, and translating them into viable clinical options.  Investigators, project staff and support specialists associated with the Center concentrate their professional effort on translational research in the areas of: Prosthetics and Orthotics, Health Monitoring and Maintenance, Neural Interfacing, and Emerging Enabling Technologies.   For additional information about the APT Center, please follow the link: http://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov/