Taimur Kouser

All Publications

• Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy: shared neuropathology guides current and future treatment strategies. Frontiers in neurology Lu, O., Kouser, T., Skylar-Scott, I. A. 2023; 14: 1241339

  Abstract

  Epilepsy is a cause of profound disability in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The risk of being diagnosed with AD increases the risk for epilepsy, and in parallel, a history of epilepsy increases the likelihood of the development of AD. This bi-directional relationship may be due to underlying shared pathophysiologic hallmarks, including decreased cerebrospinal fluid amyloid beta 42 (Aβ42), increased hyperphosphorylated tau protein, and hippocampal hyperexcitability. Additionally, there are practical treatment considerations in patients with co-morbid AD and epilepsy-namely, there is a higher risk of seizures associated with medications commonly prescribed for Alzheimer's disease patients, including antidepressants and antipsychotics such as trazodone, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and first-generation neuroleptics. Anti-amyloid antibodies like aducanumab and lecanemab present new and unique considerations in patients with co-morbid AD and epilepsy given the risk of seizures associated with amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) seen with this drug class. Finally, we identify and detail five active studies, including two clinical trials of levetiracetam in the respective treatment of cognition and neuropsychiatric features of AD, a study characterizing the prevalence of epilepsy in AD via prolonged EEG monitoring, a study characterizing AD biomarkers in late-onset epilepsy, and a study evaluating hyperexcitability in AD. These ongoing trials may guide future clinical decision-making and the development of novel therapeutics.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fneur.2023.1241339

  View details for PubMedID 37936917

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10626492

• Addressing Religious and Spiritual Diversity in Moral Injury Care: Five Perspectives Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry Pyne, J. M., Currier, J., Hinkson Jr., K. D., Usset, T. J., Abeita, L. A., Dordal, P., Kouser, T., Awaad, R., Weber, M. C., Griffith, B. J. 2023
• Addressing Mental Health Through Community Partnerships in a Muslim Community. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) Awaad, R., Obaid, E., Kouser, T., Ali, S. 2022: appips202100505

  Abstract

  The mental health of American Muslims remains significantly understudied and unaddressed, despite known obstacles to Muslims' utilization of mental health services, such as stigma and institutional mistrust. Since the inception of the Stanford Muslim Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Lab in 2014, partnerships across the Bay Area were formed among key Muslim community establishments to address obstacles to good mental health. Through a community-centered approach, diverse stakeholders engaged to identify and address the community's most pressing mental health challenges. Successful outcomes of this approach include facilitated research and mental health initiatives to support the Bay Area Muslim community.

  View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ps.202100505

  View details for PubMedID 36065581

• Health-Related Digital Autonomy: An Important, But Unfinished Step AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS Kouser, T., Ward, J. 2021; 21 (7): 31-33

  View details for DOI 10.1080/15265161.2021.1926591

  View details for Web of Science ID 000664039800009

  View details for PubMedID 34152916

• The Need for Deen: Muslim Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic Journal of the British Islamic Medical Association Awaad, R., Kouser, T., Raza, L., Umarji, O. 2021