Ari Beriner

Sample Division 2

Research Interests

Neuromuscular

Dr. Ari Breiner is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology at the University of Toronto. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University in 2005 and completed a Neurology residency at McGill University and the University of Toronto (2005-2010). He performed fellowships in Neuromuscular Disorders and EMG at Columbia University (2010-11) and the University of Toronto (2012-14), and a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research at the University of Toronto (2014).

Dr. Breiner performs clinical evaluations, electrophysiological studies, and percutaneous muscle biopsy at the Toronto Western and General Hospitals. His academic interests are in the areas of neuromuscular disorders, and in particular peripheral neuropathy. He has been involved in a number of observational studies in diabetic and inflammatory polyneuropathy. He is also interested in exploring the role of ultrasound and MRI imaging in the management of polyneuropathy.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Alabdali M, Barnett C, Katzberg H, Breiner A, Bril V. Intravenous immunoglobulin as treatment for myasthenia gravis: current evidence and outcomes. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2014 Dec 1;10(12):1659-65. Coauthor or Collaborator.
Lysy Z, Lovblom LE, Halpern EM, Ngo M, Ng E, Orszag A, Breiner A, Bril V, Perkins BA. Measurement of cooling detection thresholds for identification of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy in type 1 diabetes. PLoS One. 2014 Sep 12;9(9):e106995. Coauthor or Collaborator.
Maxwell SK, Kokokyi S, Breiner A, Ebadi H, Bril V, Katzberg HD. Characteristics of muscle cramps in patients with polyneuropathy. Neuromuscul Disord. 2014 Aug 1;24(8):671-6. [Epub ahead of print]. Coauthor or Collaborator.
Breiner A, Barnett C, Bril V. INCAT disability score: a critical analysis of its measurement properties. Muscle Nerve. 2014 Aug 1;50(2):164-9. [Epub ahead of print]. Principal Author.
Breiner A, Brannagan TH 3rd. Comparison of sensitivity and specificity among 15 criteria for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Muscle Nerve. 2014 Jul 1;50(1):40-6.
Breiner A, Lovblom LE, Perkins BA, Bril V. Does the prevailing hypothesis that small-fiber dysfunction precedes large-fiber dysfunction apply to type 1 diabetic patients? Diabetes Care. 2014 May;37(5):1418-24. Coauthor or Collaborator.
Dunnigan SK, Ebadi H, Breiner A, Katzberg HD, Barnett C, Perkins BA, Bril V. The characteristics of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in patients with and without diabetes--an observational study. PLoS One. 2014 Feb 19;9(2):e89344.
Dunnigan SK, Ebadi H, Breiner A, Katzberg HD, Lovblom LE, Perkins BA, Bril V. Comparison of diabetes patients with “demyelinating” diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy to those diagnosed with CIDP. Brain Behav. 2013 Nov;3(6):656-63.
Dunnigan SK, Ebadi H, Breiner A, Katzberg HD, Lovblom LE, Perkins BA, Bril V. Conduction slowing in diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy. Diabetes Care. 2013 Nov;36(11):3684-90.

Abstracts

Breiner A, Young J, Anderson L, Bril V, Tu K. A Novel Method for Identifying Myasthenia Gravis in Administrative Health Records by Linking to Primary Care Electronic Medical Records. Muscle & Nerve. 2013;48(Suppl 1):S8.
Breiner A, Brannagan TH. Sensitivity and Specificity Among 15 Published Criteria for Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP). Muscle & Nerve. 2011;44(4):658.
Breiner A, Dubinski W, Gray B, Munoz DG. A Patient with Polycythemia Vera, Multiple Sclerosis, and Rosai-Dorfman with Central Nervous System Involvement: Possible Mechanism. Neurology. 2011.
Breiner A, Giacomini PS, Thanasoullis G, Durcan L. Stroke as Presenting Feature of Chagas Disease: A Canadian First. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. 2006;33(Suppl 1):S81.

Letters to Editor

Breiner A, Lovblom LE, Perkins BA, Bril V. Response to comment on breiner et Al. Does the prevailing hypothesis that small-fiber dysfunction precedes large-fiber dysfunction apply to type 1 diabetic patients? Diabetes care 2014;37:1418-1424. Diabetes Care. 2014 Nov 1;37(11):e242. Principal Author.
Breiner A, Dubinski W, Gray B, Munoz DG. A 63 year old woman with white matter lesions and pachymeningeal inflammation. Brain Pathol. 2013 Mar;23(2):225-8.

Book Chapters

Breiner A. Denervation. In: Aminoff MD and Daroff RD, editor(s). Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences. 2nd Edition. Academic Press; 2014.
Breiner A, Weimer LH. Neuropathies Associated with Monoclonal Gammopathy. 2011. Available from: http://www.medlink.com.

Grants

PEER-REVIEWED GRANTS

FUNDED

2015 Feb - 2017 Feb Co-Principal Investigator. Treatment with Gamunex 10% Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) for Patients with Demyelination and Diabetes Mellitus: A Cross-Over Pilot Study. Grifols Therapeutics, Inc. Investigator Sponsored Research. PI: Breiner, Ari and Bril, Vera. Collaborator(s): Katzberg, Hans.
Pilot study for evaluation of patients with a history of diabetes mellitus and demyelination on nerve conduction studies (possible CIDP). This blinded cross-over study will test IVIg versus placebo.

2015 Jan - 2015 Dec Principal Investigator. Estimating the Disease Burden of Myasthenia Gravis in Ontario Using Administrative Health Data. Division of Neurology, University of Toronto. New Iniatives Program. Collaborator(s): Bril, Vera Katzberg, Hans Tu, Karen.
This project uses administrative health data algorithms (previously validated) to estimate unadjusted and adjusted prevalence and yearly incidence of Myasthenia Gravis in Ontario. Conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).