Neurology

Mailing Address

Office: 2147 RCP
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: +1 319 356 8970
Email: enrique-leira@uiowa.edu

Education

MD, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (Spain),
MS, Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA,
Residency, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO,
Fellowship, Cerebrovascular Diseases, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA,

Appointments

Primary: Neurology

Research Interests

acute stroke, aviation, clinicometrics, rural stroke care, stroke monitoring, stroke treatment, telecommunication

Research Summary

Enrique Leira MD MS is an Assistant Professor in Neurology in the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa with a specialization in Cerebrovascular Diseases and Epidemiology. His research focus is acute stroke management, including evidence-based strategies to improve and accelerate stroke treatment in rural areas. There is an unnaceptable disparity in acute stroke practices between urban tertiary centers and those 25% patients living in rural areas. The gap will be further increased as rural patients continue to be excluded from time-dependent stroke trials due to distance/time from research centers. His research interests include novel strategies to enable participation of patients living in rural areas in acute trials testing stroke therapies, such as randomization before arrival to the University while they are being transported in a helicopter ambulance. Dr. Leira is also interested in designing novel forms of integrated physiological monitoring for stroke patients in order to modernize the current practice of performing gross "neurochecks" by nurses. The goal is to improve the beneficial effect of dedicated stroke units by detecting neurological deterioration in an objective, real time manner, without having to wake up the patient every few hours. He is a member of the Operator Performance laboratory in the College of Engineering. http://www.ccad.uiowa.edu/opl/. He also has an interest in aviation neurology, neurological emergencies in flight and developing real-time telecommunication solutions for the helicopter ambulances that transport stroke patients from small rural hospitals to large tertiary care centers.

Publications

• Leira, E, Ludwig, B, Gurol, M, Torner, J, Adams, H. The types of neurological deficits might not justify withholding treatment in patients with low total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores. Stroke 43(3):782-6, 2012. [PubMed]
• Leira, E, Kaldjian, L, Ludwig, B, Torner, J, Olalde, H, Hacke, W, Adams, H. Lack of international consensus on ethical aspects of acute stroke trials. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 21(3):200-4, 2012. [PubMed]
• Mikami, K, Jorge, R, Adams, H, Davis, P, Leira, E, Jang, M, Robinson, R. Effect of antidepressants on the course of disability following stroke. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 19(12):1007-15, 2011. [PubMed]
• Day, J, Policeni, B, Smoker, W, Dobre, M, Zhang, Y, Leira, E, Davis, P, Chen, S, Olalde, H, Adams, H. Previous statin use is not associated with an increased prevalence or degree of gradient-echo lesions in patients with acute ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Stroke 42(2):354-8, 2011. [PubMed]
• Gupta, V, Leira, E, Davis, P, Adams, HP. Level Of Consciousness And Gaze Paralysis In The Baseline NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Exam Are Independent Predictors Of Death After Ischemic Stroke. STROKE 42(3):E260-E260, MAR 2011.
• Cruz-Flores, S, Rabinstein, A, Biller, J, Elkind, MSV, Griffith, P, Gorelick, PB, Howard, G, Leira, EC, Morgenstern, LB, Ovbiagele, B, Peterson, E, Rosamond, W, Trimble, B, Valderrama, AL. Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Stroke Care: The American Experience A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. STROKE 42(7):2091-2116, JUL 2011.
• Cruz-Flores, S, Rabinstein, A, Biller, J, Elkind, M, Griffith, P, Gorelick, P, Howard, G, Leira, E, Morgenstern, L, Ovbiagele, B, Peterson, E, Rosamond, W, Trimble, B, Valderrama, A. Racial-ethnic disparities in stroke care: the American experience: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke 42(7):2091-116, 2011. [PubMed]
• Kim, J, Leira, E, Callison, R, Ludwig, B, Moritani, T, Magnotta, V, Madsen, M. Toward fully automated processing of dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion MRI for acute ischemic cerebral stroke. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 98(2):204-13, 2010. [PubMed]
• Day, JS, Leira, EC, Davis, PH, Torner, J, Chen, S, Adams, HP. Prior Use of Statins is Not Associated With an Increased Risk of Hemorrhagic Transformation of Acute Cerebral Infarction. STROKE 41(4):E377-E377, APR 2010.
• Chen, SH, Leira, EC, Davis, PH, Torner, JC, Day, JS, Adams, HP. Gaze Paralysis in the Baseline NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) Exam Is an Independent Predictor of Hemorrhagic Complications after Ischemic Stroke. NEUROLOGY 74(9):A195-A195, MAR 2 2010.