UW Medicine neurologists diagnose and treat problems with the brain, spine and nerves. Our team also includes neurologists who subspecialize in specific conditions, including headache, epilepsy and MS.
Neurosciences Institute
We offer lifesaving and life-changing care for conditions that affect the brain, spine and nervous system.
Neurosciences Institute
We offer lifesaving and life-changing care for conditions that affect the brain, spine and nervous system.
Helping you restore brain and spine health
Whether you’re concerned about new neurological symptoms or want to find a better way to manage your condition, the neurosciences team at UW Medicine can help you find answers (or relief).
Leaders in neurological care
UW Medicine is home to one of the largest and most experienced groups of neurologists and neurosurgeons in the Pacific Northwest. They provide the best neurological care across four hospitals – UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and the VA Puget Sound.
Many of our team members are fellowship-trained in specific conditions or treatments, such as epilepsy and seizures, migraines, brain tumor surgery or deep brain stimulation. This gives us a high level of experience that is not available at every other health organization — making it easier for you to get the right care, right away.
Neurological conditions we treat
Our neurologists and neurosurgeons diagnose and treat all types of brain, spine and nervous system disorders (500+), no matter how rare or challenging. We’ll carefully evaluate your symptoms and health history, in order to provide an accurate diagnosis. And you’ll have access to a broad range of subspecialists, such as neuro-ophthalmologists and neurorehabilitation experts. Get care for a full range of neurological issues, including:
Brain aneurysms
We use advanced procedures like endovascular coiling to treat ruptured and unruptured aneurysms. Our neurosurgeons are committed to walking you through the journey and staying with you as you go through treatment.
Brain tumors
We treat benign, cancerous and metastatic tumors with proton therapy, surgery and more with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, an independent, nonprofit organization.
Epilepsy and seizures
Our Level IV epilepsy center treats seizures via medical and surgical intervention, rehabilitation and vocational counseling services. Specialists offer laser ablation and vagus nerve stimulation for hard-to-treat seizures.
Headaches and migraines
We’re home to one of the state’s few board-certified headache medicine doctors. We’ll help you find relief that may include non-medication therapies, nerve stimulating devices, and more.
Memory and brain wellness
Memory and brain wellness
We help people (and their caregivers) with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, with what to expect and how to cope.
Movement disorders
We offer expert care, including deep brain stimulation, for conditions like Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Multiple sclerosis
Our MS-trained specialists will help you get your symptoms under control and live well with MS at the region’s only comprehensive MS center.
Pituitary and skull base tumors
Our team of neurosurgeons and neuroendocrinologists offer advanced treatments for pituitary tumors, other skull base tumors, and pituitary gland and hypothalamus disorders.
Stroke care
Stroke can happen to anyone. Count on us for stroke prevention, emergency treatment or the rehabilitation you need to recover.
The UW Medicine difference in neuroscience care
At UW Medicine, you have access to services that can make all the difference in your long-term health and quality of life. Because we use the latest tools and technology, we can diagnose even the most subtle or easy-to-miss symptoms. And we can treat many serious or life-threatening conditions safely and less invasively. Our services include:
- Innovative diagnostic tests: When standard diagnostic procedures aren’t enough to identify your condition, you can count on UW Medicine for advanced options. With a cerebral angiogram, we can see how well blood is flowing through the blood vessels in your brain. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans can show us the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease or brain tumors. And services like intracranial EEG and inpatient epilepsy monitoring can help us pinpoint where in your brain seizures occur.
- Genetic testing and counseling: Many neurological conditions, including muscular dystrophy and Huntington’s disease, are caused by abnormal or missing genes. Our neurogenetics experts can confirm whether you have one of these genetic conditions. Our full spectrum of genetic support helps you and your provider make tailored treatment decisions.
- Minimally invasive treatment options: We offer procedures that make it possible to treat some neurological conditions without open brain surgery. For example, we offer advanced aneurysm treatments (which prevents an aneurysm from rupturing) and emergent thrombectomy (which treats stroke by removing a blood clot from the brain). We can also improve movement disorder symptoms with deep brain stimulation and improve seizures with a variety of neural stimulators.
- More treatments for brain tumors: From radiation to surgery, we have the treatments you need to remove, shrink or destroy brain tumors and skull based tumors. We are one of the few sites in the world that offers a range of capabilities including Gamma Knife radiosurgery, proton beam therapy, and other types of targeted radiation therapy. Our vast experience and advanced surgical techniques (including endonasal surgery, which lets us remove pituitary tumors through the nose) have made us one of the top tumor surgery programs in the nation.
Our neuroscience specialists
Our neurosciences team provides care across four hospitals with the most advanced facilities and modern resources.
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Neurology
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Neurosurgery
UW Medicine neurosurgeons provide advanced treatments for people with sudden or chronic conditions. Treatments include minimally invasive procedures to repair brain aneurysms or remove brain tumors or blood clots.
Innovative research and excellent training
In addition to outstanding care, our neurologists are also involved in medical education and clinical research.
The UW School of Medicine ranks No. 2 in the nation in federal research funding. This allows us to conduct clinical and scientific research related to new neurological discoveries and safer, more effective treatments. As our patient, you can enroll in clinical trials that let you try promising new therapies before they’re widely available.
Help others by supporting medical care and research
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Muscular Dystrophy Association awards Legacy Award to Jeffrey Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Chamberlain, Ph.D., a leading professor in gene therapy focused on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) at the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Washington, will receive the 2024 Legacy Award for Achievement in Research for his achievements in translational research.
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Lecanemab Is a New Drug to Slow Alzheimer’s Disease
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a new medication called lecanemab, or Leqembi, that helps slow cognitive decline in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. “This is a really exciting moment, not just for behavioral neurology but for the field of medicine as well,” says Dr. Michael Rosenbloom, a neurologist at the Memory and Brain Wellness Center.