David N. Alexander, MD - Neurology

Dr. David Alexander reviews medical content for Healthwise, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. Dr. Alexander specializes in neurological rehabilitation. He is a Professor of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is Medical Director of the UCLA Neurological Rehabilitation and Research Unit at the Reed Neurological Research Center in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Alexander served as an expert panel member and author of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) Clinical Practice Guideline titled "Post-Stroke Rehabilitation."

Board Certifications

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology—1985

American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, subspecialty certification in spinal cord medicine—2001

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, subspecialty of vascular neurology—2005

Healthwise Knowledgebase Topics Reviewed

Stroke

Transient Ischemic Attacks

Multiple Sclerosis

Education

M.D.: University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, 1979

Medical Internship: University Hospital, Boston, MA, 1979–1980

Residency: Neurological Institute of New York at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, 1980–1983

Academic Appointments

University of California, Los Angeles:

• Clinical Instructor in Neurology, 1983–1984
• Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology, 1985–1993
• Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology, 1994–present
• Attending Staff Physician, Department of Neurology, 2002–present
• Professor of Neurology, 2008–present

Hospital Affiliations

Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, 1983–2004

UCLA Medical Center, Neuropsychiatric Institute, 1984–present

Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center, 2004–2007

Professional Affiliations

American Academy of Neurology

American Heart Association Stroke Council

American Society of Neuroimaging

American Society of Neurorehabilitation

American Spinal Injury Association

Marilyn Hilton MS Achievement Center at UCLA

National Stroke Association's Rehabilitation and Recovery Advisory Board Member

Section Editor, Rehabilitation and Recovery section, Stroke

Selected Publications

1. Co-Chair, Writing Committee for Veteran's Administration/Department of Defense Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke, Update, in progress, 2008.
2. Alexander DN (2007). Paraplegia caused by invasive spinal aspergillosis. Neurology, 69(2): 222–223.
3. Alexander DN, Cen S, Sullivan J, Bhavnani G, MA X, Azen SP, for the AAP Study Group (2004). Effects of acupuncture treatment on post-stroke motor recovery and physical function: A pilot study. Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 18(4): 259–267.
4. Miller D, Alexander DN. Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA) for Acute Ischemic Stroke, An update guideline, National Guideline Clearinghouse at http://www.guideline.gov. Accepted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on March 12, 2003.
5. Alexander DN (1998). Geriatric neurorehabilitation, Neurologic Clinics of North America, 16(3): 713–732.
6. Simpson DM, Alexander DN, O'Brien CF, et al. (1996). Botulism toxin type A in the treatment of spasticity: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Neurology, 46(5): 1306–1310.
7. Alexander DN (1995). Recovering After a Stroke: Patient and Family Guide, Consumer Guide No. 16. (AHCPR Pub. No 95-0664). Rockville MD: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
8. Gresham GE, Alexander D, Bishop DS, Giulani C, Goldberg D, Holland A, Kelly-Hayes M, Linn RT, Roth EJ, Stason WB, Trombly CA (1997). American Heart Association Prevention Conference IV: Prevention and rehabilitation of stroke. Stroke, 28(7): 1522–1526.
9. Schnider A, Hanlon RE, Alexander DN, Benson DF (1997). Ideomotor apraxia: Behavioral dimensions and neuroanatomical basis. Brain and Language, 58(1): 125–136.
10. Gresham GE, Duncan PW, Stason WB, et al. (1995). Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: Assessment, Referral, and Patient Management. Quick Reference Guide for Clinicians (AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0664). Rockville MD: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
11. Schnider A, Benson DF, Alexander DN, et al. (1994). Nonverbal environmental sound recognition after unilateral hemispheric stroke. Brain, 117(2): 281–287.

Selected Textbooks

Alexander DN (1996). Neurorehabilitation. In Practical Neurology of the Elderly. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Alexander DN, Lennihan L (2009). Neurologic rehabilitation. In Merritt's Textbook of Neurology, 12th edition, Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Financial Disclosure

No financial report received from reviewer.

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