Members of the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Columbia University are dedicated to giving the highest level of care to children and families afflicted by disorders of the nervous system by combining the best available technology with compassionate care.

Pediatric neurologists at Columbia have a long history of caring for children with inborn errors of metabolism that involve the nervous system. Bernard Sachs, the founder of the child neurology division at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, described Tay-Sachs disease, and current faculty are in the forefront of knowledge concerning mitochondrial diseases, glucose transporter deficiency, lysosomal storage diseases, neuromuscular disorders, disorders of nervous system development and congenital disorders of glycosylation.

The Colleen Giblin Research Laboratories for Pediatric Neurology, a unique training and scientific resource, and the Giblin Foundation, were established in 1985 by the Giblin family in memory of Colleen, their daughter, who succumbed to a brain tumor, and constitute the main –but not the only- basic research enterprise of the Division of Pediatric Neurology.

The Pediatric Epilepsy Center at Children's Hospital of New York utilizes sophisticated diagnostic techniques, including video-encephalography (EEG) monitoring, biochemical and imaging modalities, to investigate children with seizure disorders. Some children benefit from surgery, which is guided by sophisticated brain mapping techniques. In all cases, therapy is tailored to the individual child, and options may include the full range of anti-epileptic medications, the ketogenic diet and vagus nerve stimulation. The Center is a major referral program for area neurologists for the treatment of intractable seizures.

An experienced multidisciplinary team, including neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists and neuro-oncologists, manages children with brain and spinal cord tumors. Many children have the opportunity to participate in trials of new therapies.

The Pediatric Muscular Dystrophy Association Program offers special expertise in neuromuscular disorders, and provides access to the expertise of physiatrists, orthopedists, pulmonologists, psychologists and therapists who work collaboratively with the coordinating neurologist. A specialized clinic has been established for the care of children with spinal muscular atrophy, with the generous support of the SMA Foundation.

Our neurologists also investigate and manage cerebral palsy, developmental delay, autistic spectrum disorders, movement disorders, and chronic headache. They participate in the treatment of children with head and spinal trauma in collaboration with our pediatric neurosurgeons.

The Division prides itself on its tradition of care for children and families, beginning with Bernard Sach. These ideals and practice of humanistic medicine have been promoted nationally and internationally by Arnold P. Gold, MD, through the programs of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.


Notable achievements

1934: Bernard Sachs establishes a Pediatric Neurology service at the Neurological Institute of New York

1964: Sidney Carter is awarded the first Child Neurology Training Grant by the National Institutes of Health

1984: Darryl De Vivo, Salvatore Di Mauro and colleagues describe mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS)

1988: Darryl De Vivo, Salvatore Di Mauro and colleagues link deletions of mitochondrial DNA to human disease

1991: Darryl De Vivo and colleagues describe glucose 1 (GLUT-1) transporter deficiency

1999: Marc Patterson and colleagues report the first successful treatment of a child with a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG 1b) in North America.

2000: Marc Patterson and colleagues describe dolichol phosphate mannose synthase 1 (DPM 1) deficiency (CDG 1e)

2001: Darryl De Vivo, Salvatore Di Mauro and colleagues describe familial cerebellar ataxia with muscle Coenzyme Q10 deficiency

2002: Marc Patterson and colleagues initiate the first study of glucosylceramide synthase inhibition in a human neurodegenerative disease (Niemann-Pick disease, type C)

2003: Opening of the new Children’s Hospital

Affiliated Hospitals

• Children's Hospital of New York at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center