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1. Name: Katherine Mortati, MD  
2. Title: Assistant Professor of Neurology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"Marijuana may have antiseizure benefits in some patients, but may also have seizure provoking effects in others. However, until more data is known, and certainly until legalization is more widespread, it is unlikely that marijuana will be proposed as an antiepileptic treatment for seizures." "Does Marijuana Help in Patients With Epilepsy?" FACES, Fall 2007
5. Credibility
Ranking:

 Key Experts
Physicians [We believe physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.]

6. Involvement:
  • Assistant Professor of Neurology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, May 2008-present
  • Epileptologist, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, May 2008-present
  • Neurologist, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Lenox Hill Hospital, 2005-2008
  • Assistant Professor of Neurology, NYU Medical Center, July 2005-Apr. 2008
  • Attending Epileptologist, NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, July 2005-Apr. 2008
  • Involved in the opening of the Women's Epilepsy Program at NYU
    • 7. Education:
  • MD, Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University School of Medicine, 1999
    • 8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
  • Fellowship, Clinical Neurophysiology and Epilepsy, Brigham & Women’s Hospital of Harvard University, 2003-2005
  • Neurology residency, Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University School of Medicine, 2003
    • 9. Contact Info:
    Phone: 718-270-2959 Fax: 718-270-6348
    E-Mail: Privacy requested
    Web Site: University profile
    10. Other: Select Publications:
  • "Marijuana: An Effective Antiepileptic Treatment in Partial Epilepsy? A Case Report and Review of the Literature," Reviews in Neurological Diseases, 2007
  • "Practical Strategies for Switching to Newer Antiepileptic Drugs," Reviews in Neurological Diseases, 2005
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