Newswise — MAYWOOD, Ill. -- For the 10th time in 13 years, a team of neurologists called the All Stars has won a popular competition called Neurobowl® that's modeled after TV quiz shows.
Neurobowl was one of the highlights of the 2011 annual meeting in Hawaii of the American Academy of Neurology.
Like a quiz show, Neurobowl awards points for answering questions quickly and accurately, and subtracts points for wrong answers. The tougher the question, the higher the point value.
Panelists are asked to diagnose perplexing neurological conditions, based on symptoms, video clips, X-rays, etc. Every so often, the host will toss out a pop culture question with a medical angle. For example: On the old TV doctor show, who played the title role of Dr. Ben Casey? (Answer: Vince Edwards.)
The 2011 All Stars include Dr. José Biller, chairman of the Department of Neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine; Dr. Nancy Newman of Emory University; Dr. Marc Patterson of the Mayo Clinic; Dr. James Russell of the Lahey Clinic near Boston; and team captain Dr. Anthony Lang of the University of Toronto. Each All Star has a different strength. Lang is strong in movement disorders, Newman in neuro-ophthalmology, Patterson in pediatric neurology, Russell in neuromuscular disease and Biller in stroke.
AANnews®, the neurology academy’s newsletter, has reported that Neurobowl competitors are among "the best and brightest in neurology."
But the All Stars don't take themselves too seriously. Last year, the team wore baseball uniforms to the competition. This year, they wore grass skirts and loud Hawaiian shirts.
"You need to have a good sense of humor and remain collegial," Biller said. "It's entertainment."
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