Newsroom Hospital for Special Surgery

He Suddenly Shuffled When He Walked. Why?

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 10:53:00 -0400

The New York Times covered a patient story, where the individual was experiencing difficulty walking without shuffling. After visiting various medical professionals with no success identifying the correct diagnosis, the patient came to HSS.

The patient saw Alexander Shtilbans, MD, PhD, neurologist at HSS, who diagnosed him with normal pressure hydrocephalus after reviewing imaging of his head and spine. Dr. Shtilbans then referred the patient to a neurosurgeon to receive further treatment to resolve.

Since receiving treatment, the patient no longer feels heaviness in his legs; going from barely being able to complete a single lap around the pool in his yard to walking two or three miles a day.

Read the full article at nytimes.com. A subscription is required to access.

Beloved Met's hard-nosed play has turned into a hard life: from beanings to Parkinson's

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 07:00:00 -0500

New York Post reporter Ken Davidoff writes a feature story on former New York Met, Ron Hunt, covering his career and current battle with Parkinson's.

He reports that Hunt is the modern-day major league leader in getting hit by a pitch with a total of 243 over his 12 season career.

"If we're looking specifically at head injuries in athletes, the data is showing that, per year [of playing], there's a 20 to 30 percent increased risk overall [of getting Parkinson's]," said Alexander Shtilbans MD, PhD, MS, neurologist at HSS.

Dr. Shtilbans explains that the disease progresses to the point where people cannot walk and also impacts their memory and speech.

Read the full article at NYPost.com. This also appeared in the November 16, 2018 print edition.