OUR SERVICES
East Portland Neurology (EPN) is a two physician, single specialty medical group located in Suite 2004 of Office Building 2, at the Adventist Medical Center. East Portland Neurology is independent of, but works in cooperation with the medical center, providing in-hospital consultations, electroencephalogram interpretation, and care for EPN’s own hospitalized patients. Most of our work involves seeing patients in our office for consultations and if needed the management of their chronic neurological diseases. East Portland Neurology has been in the same location since 1975. The doctors and the office staff of EPN try to treat each patient and their family with skill, friendliness, and compassion.
EPN’s two neurologists are Howard Taylor, M.D. and Harpreet Kaur, M.D. Our doctors are all Board Certified in Neurology. For a more detailed description of their backgrounds please see Our Physicians.
Neurologists are medical specialists who diagnose and/or care for diseases and disorders that affect the nervous system: the brain, the spinal cord, and the peripheral nerves. Neurologists do not perform surgery on the nervous system. When surgery is necessary it is done by neurosurgeons. Although there is a kinship between the fields of Neurology and Psychiatry---Sigmund Freud, the founder of Psychiatry, was originally a neurologist---neurologists are not primarily concerned with treating emotional disorders.
Diseases that a neurologist might commonly see include headaches, epilepsy and other disorders that cause alterations in awareness, Alzheimer’s Disease and other conditions affecting the mind, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, diseases that effect peripheral nerves such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and peripheral neuropathies, conditions that cause pain, and many other disorders that interfere with strength, sensation or movement. One of the more common problems that neurologists see and care for is stroke. Although all three of our neurologists see those affected by stroke, Dr. Howard Taylor has a special interest in stroke and manages Adventist Medical Center’s Stroke Unit.
Our Neurologists diagnose disorders using a variety of techniques. A visit begins with a comprehensive history of the problem and a careful neurologic exam. Sometimes the patient may be advised to have one or more tests to further clarify the nature of their problem. There are, of course, a huge number of other tests that might be indicated, but the tests that a neurologist is most likely to order are blood tests, computerized tomography scans (CTs) of the brain, magnetic resonance imaging studies (MRIs) of the brain and spine, and magnetic resonance angiograms (MRAs) of blood vessels in the head and neck. Our doctors are specially trained to perform electrical tests of the muscles (Electromyography or EMG) and nerves (Nerve Conduction Studies or NCS). These are thought of as an extension of the neurological exam and, if indicated, are sometimes done as part of your first visit. An electrical test of the brain (Electroencephalography, also known as an EEG or “brain wave test”) measures brain wave activity and is used to diagnose epilepsy. It is performed in our office by an EEG technician and then interpreted by one of our doctors. Most Lumbar Punctures are performed by our doctors in our office or in the hospital short stay unit and are utilized to diagnose some neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis. Because diseases in other bodily systems can effect the nervous system, it is sometimes necessary to refer a patient to another specialist for additional information. If a second opinion is needed we will confer with our neurology subspecialty colleagues at OHSU.
Treatments. Most Neurological diseases are treated with medications. Some patients benefit from Botox injections, physical, occupational, or speech therapy. If needed, patients are referred to a surgeon.
Click on the links below for more information about the following procedures:
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Electromyography (EMG)
Lumbar Puncture
Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies (MRIs)
Nerve Conduction Studies (NCS)
Botox injections
