HJAR Sep/Oct 2025

30 SEP / OCT 2025  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs UAMS Performs Epilepsy Surgery as Part of FDA- Approved Clinical Trial Surgeons from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have performed the first transplantation in Arkansas of interneuron cell therapy, called NRTX-1001, into a patient with non-lesional epilepsy as part of an FDA-approved clinical trial underway at multiple locations across the United States. Four months later, the 33-year-old patient, who has had seizures daily since the age of 12, reports a significant reduction in all three types of seizures he has experienced for more than half his life. “This treatment has the potential to change the landscape of epilepsy care,” said Sisira Yadala, MD, in a press release. Yadala, a neurologist who directs the UAMS Division of Epilepsy and the UAMS Level 4 Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, is the princi- pal investigator for the study at UAMS. She said Tyler Priddy of Hot Springs was the 19th patient enrolled in the study and the first with non- lesional epilepsy to undergo the treatment. Non-lesional epilepsy refers to the absence of any structural abnormalities, as detected on brain scans, and accounts for roughly 20% to 40% of all epilepsy cases. In Priddy’s surgery, interneurons were injected “into a normal appearing hippocampus,” said Viktoras Palys, MD, a neurosurgeon at UAMS. Palys and Brooke Elberson, MD, chief neuro- surgery resident at UAMS, performed Priddy’s five-hour surgery on Feb. 12 as part of a FDA- approved clinical trial using human inhibitory interneuron cell therapy. “The hope is that these transplanted interneu- rons help restore inhibitory chemical balance in seizure-prone brain regions, potentially reducing or eliminating seizures in people who have epi- lepsy,” said Palys, surgical director of the epilepsy center, in the press release. “Results will take several months, as the trans- planted cells need time to integrate into the brain network and be recognized as the brain’s own,” Palys said. “Early results of this open label trial have shown promise. The next step is a double- blind, randomized trial that the sponsor company, Neurona, plans to start at the end of 2025.” While the current trial is focused on transplanting interneurons into the hippocampus, ultimately, the technique could pave the way for cell implantation into various brain regions where seizures originate, offering a minimally invasive, potentially curative treatment for epilepsy that could eliminate the need for anti-seizure medi- cations, brain tissue removal, or bulky stimula- tors that require periodic battery replacements. In the three months since his surgery, Priddy said he has only had one tonic clonic or grand mal seizure. Before the surgery, he had a tonic clonic seizure every two or three weeks. Priddy also has a history of focal seizures, which he said cause him to “black out” or drift away, usually for a few minutes. They involve just one area of the brain but can move into other areas and lead to full-blown tonic clonic seizures. He said his focal seizures have decreased from at least twice a week to once every two weeks. Meanwhile, his “aura” seizures, during which he retains consciousness but experiences fleet- ing sensory or visual changes, have decreased to about one every other day. Those seizures used to happen twice a day. The phase I/II study is being conducted for Neurona Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biother- apeutics company. It is evaluating NRTX-1001, an investigational nerve cell therapy, in patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Richard Chastain, MD, Joins UAMS Health FamilyMedical Center in Fayetteville Richard B. Chastain, MD, joined the Univer- sity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a family medicine physician at the UAMS Health Family Medical Center in Fayetteville. Chastain is an alumnus of the UAMS North- west Regional Campus’s family medicine resi- dency program. Most recently, Chastain served as the sole pro- vider in the Transition of Care Clinic at CHI St. Vin- cent in Hot Springs, where he also held a faculty appointment with CHI St. Vincent’s internal medi- cine residency program. At the Transition of Care Clinic, he led efforts to support patients recently discharged from hospital care, creating a smooth and effective return to primary care settings. His dedication to excellence earned him the CHI St. Vincent Service Hero Award in July 2024. Chastain earned a medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean and holds bachelor’s degrees in both medical technology and biology from UAMS and Henderson State University, respectively. He is board-certified in family medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine and is an active member of the Ameri- can Academy of Family Physicians, the Arkansas Academy of Family Physicians, and the Arkansas Medical Society. In addition to his clinical work, Chastain has a background in medical education, having trained and mentored medical students and res- idents, developed curriculum, and served on both clinical competency and program evalua- tion committees. Chastain is now accepting new patients at the UAMS Health Family Medical Center, located on the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus at 1125 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville. APHA Joins Others to Sue HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Vaccine Changes The American Public Health Association (APHA), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Physicians (ACP), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Massachusetts Pub- lic Health Alliance (MPHA), Society for Maternal- Fetal Medicine (SMFM), and a pregnant physi- cian, are suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy for his actions changing COVID-19 vac- cine recommendations for children and pregnant people, for dismissing 17 members of the Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Richard B. Chastain, MD