Amy Amara, MD, PhD

Professor, Neurology


FacultyPhoto
Medical School
  • MD, Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine (2005)
Graduate School
  • PhD, Medical College Of Georgia (2003)
Undergraduate School
  • BA, Agnes Scott College (GA) (1998)
Internship
  • University of Alabama Medical Center (Birmingham) Program (2006)
Residency
  • University of Alabama Medical Center (Birmingham) Program, Neurology
Fellowships
  • University of Alabama Medical Center (Birmingham) Program, Sleep Medicine (2011)
  • University of Alabama Medical Center (Birmingham) Program, Neurology (2012)
Languages
English
Department
Neurology

Professional Titles

  • Section Head
  • Professor

Publications

  • Memon AA, Catiul C, Irwin Z, Pilkington J, Memon RA, Joop A, Wood KH, Cutter G, Bamman M, Miocinovic S, Amara AW. Effects of exercise on sleep spindles in Parkinson's disease. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022;3:952289. PubMed PMID: 36188974
  • Kongsuk J, Perumean-Chaney SE, Knight DC, Brown CJ, Amara AW, Hurt CP. Development of Dynamic Measures to Assess Balance Confidence and State Anxiety While Walking at Increasing Speeds in Young and Older Adults. J Aging Phys Act. 2022 Dec 1;30(6):995-1002. PubMed PMID: 35339111
  • Shaban M, Amara AW. Resting-state electroencephalography based deep-learning for the detection of Parkinson's disease. PLoS One. 2022;17(2):e0263159. PubMed PMID: 35202420
  • Srivastava H, Joop A, Memon RA, Pilkington J, Wood KH, Natelson Love M, Amara AW. Taking the Time to Assess Cognition in Parkinson's Disease: The Clock Drawing Test. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022;12(2):713-722. PubMed PMID: 34864688
  • Feuerstein JS, Amara A. REM Behavior Disorder: Implications for PD Therapeutics. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2023 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37831394
  • Memon AA, Edney BS, Baumgartner AJ, Gardner AJ, Catiul C, Irwin ZT, Joop A, Miocinovic S, Amara AW. Effects of deep brain stimulation on quantitative sleep electroencephalogram during non-rapid eye movement in Parkinson's disease. Front Hum Neurosci. 2023;17:1269864. PubMed PMID: 37810765
  • Picillo M, LaFontant DE, Bressman S, Caspell-Garcia C, Coffey C, Cho HR, Burghardt EL, Dahodwala N, Saunders-Pullman R, Tanner CM, Amara AW. Sex-Related Longitudinal Change of Motor, Non-Motor, and Biological Features in Early Parkinson's Disease. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022;12(1):421-436. PubMed PMID: 34744052
  • Memon AA, Catiul C, Irwin Z, Pilkington J, Memon RA, Joop A, Wood KH, Cutter G, Miocinovic S, Amara AW. Quantitative sleep electroencephalogram and cognitive performance in Parkinson's disease with and without rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder. Front Neurol. 2023;14:1223974. PubMed PMID: 37745647
  • Parajuli M, Amara AW, Shaban M. Deep-learning detection of mild cognitive impairment from sleep electroencephalography for patients with Parkinson's disease. PLoS One. 2023;18(8):e0286506. PubMed PMID: 37535549
  • Memon AA, Bagley ME, Creed RB, Amara AW, Goldberg MS, McMahon LL. Basal Synaptic Transmission and Long-Term Plasticity at CA3-CA1 Synapses Are Unaffected in Young Adult PINK1-Deficient Rats. Front Neurosci. 2021;15:655901. PubMed PMID: 34483814
  • Cristini J, Potvin-Desrochers A, Seo F, MDPhD AD, Postuma RB, Rosa-Neto P, Carrier J, Amara AW, Steib S, Paquette C, Roig M. The Effect of Different Types of Exercise on Sleep Quality and Architecture in Parkinson Disease: A Single-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial Protocol. Phys Ther. 2023 Jun 24. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 37354450
  • 1. Tan, C, H Nawaz, SK Lagman, LJ Cloud, AW Amara, TJ Druzgal, BD Berman, N Mukhopadhyay, and MJ Barrett (2022) Cholinergic Nucleus 4 Degeneration and Cognitive Impairment in REM Sleep Behavior Disorder. Movement Disorders
  • Marras C, Arbatti L, Hosamath A, Amara A, Anderson KE, Chahine LM, Eberly S, Kinel D, Mantri S, Mathur S, Oakes D, Purks JL, Standaert DG, Tanner CM, Weintraub D, Shoulson I. What Patients Say: Large-Scale Analyses of Replies to the Parkinson's Disease Patient Report of Problems (PD-PROP). J Parkinsons Dis. 2023;13(5):757-767. PubMed PMID: 37334615
  • 4. Dhanwani, R, J Rodrigues Lima-Junior, A Sethi, J Pham, G Williams, April Frazier, Y Xu, AW Amara, D G Standaert, J Goldman, I Litvan, R Alcalay, B Peters, D Sulzer, CS Lindestam Arlehamn, and A Sette (2022) Transcriptional analysis of peripheral memory T cells reveals Parkinson’s disease-specific gene signatures. npj Parkinson’s Disease. 8:30. PMID: 35314697
  • Memon AA, Catiul C, Irwin Z, Pilkington J, Memon RA, Joop A, Wood KH, Cutter G, Miocinovic S, Amara AW. Quantitative Sleep Electroencephalogram in Parkinson's Disease: A Case-Control Study. J Parkinsons Dis. 2023;13(3):351-365. PubMed PMID: 37066921
  • Yacoubian TA, Fang YD, Gerstenecker A, Amara A, Stover N, Ruffrage L, Collette C, Kennedy R, Zhang Y, Hong H, Qin H, McConathy J, Benveniste EN, Standaert DG. Brain and Systemic Inflammation in De Novo Parkinson's Disease. Mov Disord. 2023 May;38(5):743-754. PubMed PMID: 36853618
  • Tan C, Nawaz H, Lageman SK, Cloud LJ, Amara AW, Newman BT, Druzgal TJ, Berman BD, Mukhopadhyay N, Barrett MJ. Cholinergic Nucleus 4 Degeneration and Cognitive Impairment in Isolated Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder. Mov Disord. 2023 Mar;38(3):474-479. PubMed PMID: 36598142
  • Williams GP, Muskat K, Frazier A, Xu Y, Mateus J, Grifoni A, da Silva Antunes R, Weiskopf D, Amara AW, Standaert DG, Goldman JG, Litvan I, Alcalay RN, Sulzer D, Lindestam Arlehamn CS, Sette A. Unaltered T cell responses to common antigens in individuals with Parkinson's disease. J Neurol Sci. 2023 Jan 15;444:120510. PubMed PMID: 36495691
  • Memon AA, Catiul C, Irwin Z, Pilkington J, Memon RA, Joop A, Wood KH, Cutter G, Bamman M, Miocinovic S, Amara AW. Effects of exercise on sleep spindles in Parkinson's disease. Front Rehabil Sci. 2022;3:952289. PubMed PMID: 36188974
  • Mansuri Z, Reddy A, Vadukapuram R, Trivedi C, Amara A. Pimavanserin in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease Psychosis: Meta-analysis and Meta-regression of Randomized Clinical Trials. Innov Clin Neurosci. 2022 Jan-Mar;19(1-3):46-51. PubMed PMID: 35382074
  • Kongsuk J, Perumean-Chaney SE, Knight DC, Brown CJ, Amara AW, Hurt CP. Development of Dynamic Measures to Assess Balance Confidence and State Anxiety While Walking at Increasing Speeds in Young and Older Adults. J Aging Phys Act. 2022 Dec 1;30(6):995-1002. PubMed PMID: 35339111
  • Dhanwani R, Lima-Junior JR, Sethi A, Pham J, Williams G, Frazier A, Xu Y, Amara AW, Standaert DG, Goldman JG, Litvan I, Alcalay RN, Peters B, Sulzer D, Arlehamn CSL, Sette A. Transcriptional analysis of peripheral memory T cells reveals Parkinson's disease-specific gene signatures. NPJ Parkinsons Dis. 2022 Mar 21;8(1):30. PubMed PMID: 35314697
  • Shaban M, Amara AW. Resting-state electroencephalography based deep-learning for the detection of Parkinson's disease. PLoS One. 2022;17(2):e0263159. PubMed PMID: 35202420
  • Srivastava H, Joop A, Memon RA, Pilkington J, Wood KH, Natelson Love M, Amara AW. Taking the Time to Assess Cognition in Parkinson's Disease: The Clock Drawing Test. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022;12(2):713-722. PubMed PMID: 34864688
  • Picillo M, LaFontant DE, Bressman S, Caspell-Garcia C, Coffey C, Cho HR, Burghardt EL, Dahodwala N, Saunders-Pullman R, Tanner CM, Amara AW. Sex-Related Longitudinal Change of Motor, Non-Motor, and Biological Features in Early Parkinson's Disease. J Parkinsons Dis. 2022;12(1):421-436. PubMed PMID: 34744052
  • Wood, KH, R Nenert, AM Miften, GW Kent, M Sleyster, RA Memon, A Joop, J Pilkington, AA Memon, RN Wilson, C Caiul, J Szaflarski, and AW Amara. (2024) DTI-ALPS-index is associated with disease progression in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders. Epub. PMID: 38988232
  • Mueller, C, R Nenert, C Catiul, J Pilkington, JP Szaflarski, and AW Amara. (2024) Brain metabolites are associated with sleep architecture and cognitive functioning in older adults. Brain Communications. In press
  • Mueller, C, A Thomas, AW Amara, J DeWolfe, SJ Thomas. (2024) Effects of exercise on sleep in patients with epilepsy: A systematic review. Epilepsy and Behavior Reports. 26:100675. PMID: 38779424
  • Amara AW, Catiul C, Videnovic A. Let there be light for Parkinson's disease... but only at the right time. Sleep. 2024 Aug 14;47(8). PubMed PMID: 38880971
  • Mueller, C, R Nenert, C Catiul, J Pilkington, JP Szaflarski, AW Amara. (2024) Relationship between sleep, physical fitness, brain microstructure, and cognition in healthy older adults: A pilot study. Brain Research. 1839:149016. PMID: 38768934
  • Purks, JL, L Arbatti, A Hosamath, AW Amara, KE Anderson, LM Chahine, S Eberly, D Kinel, S Mantri, S Mathur, D Oakes, DG Standaert, D Weintraub, I Shoulson, and C Marras. (2024) Cognitive Symptoms in Cross-Sectional Parkinson Disease Cohort evaluated by Human-in-the-Loop Machine Learning & Natural Language Processing. Neurology: Clinical Practice. 14:e200334. PMID: 38962394. PMC11221914
  • Mantri, S, JL Purks, D Kinel, L Arbatti, A Hosamath, A Allen, AW Amara, K Anderson, LM Chahine, S Eberly, S Mathur, DG Standaert, D Oakes, D Weintraub, I Shoulson, and C Marras. (2024) In Their Own Words: Fears Expressed by People with Parkinson’s Disease in an Online Symptom Database. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease. 14:865. PMID: 38669556. PMCID: PMC11191490
  • Weintraub, D, C Marras, AW Amara, KE Anderson, LM Chahine, S Eberly, A Hosamath, D Kinel, S Mantri, S Mathur, D Oaks, JL Purks, DG Standaert, I Shoulson, and L Arbatti. (2024) Association between Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Incident Functional Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease. Movement Disorders. 39:706. PMID: 38318953
  • Memon, A, EB George, T Nazir, Y Sunkara, C Catiul, and AW Amara. (2024) Heart rate variability during sleep in synucleinopathies: A review. Frontiers in Neurology. 14:1323454. PMID: 38239321. PMCID: PMC10794570
  • Chahine, LM, L Arbatti, A Hosamath, AW Amara, KE Anderson, J Purks, S Eberly, D Kinel, S Mantri, S Mathur, D Oakes, DG Standaert, D Weintraub, I Shoulson, and C Marras. (2023). Internal Tremor in People with Parkinson’s Disease: Demographic Characteristics and Comorbid Symptoms. Clinical Parkinsonism and Related Disorders. 9:100229. PMID: 38045566; PMCID: PMC10689282
  • Memon, AA, K Gelman, J Melott, M Fullard, C Catiul, S Miocinovic, and AW Amara. (2023) A systematic review of health disparities research in deep brain stimulation surgery for Parkinson's disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Section: Brain Imaging and Stimulation. 17:1269401. PMID: 37964803. PMCID: PMC10641459
  • Feuerstein, J and AW Amara. (2023) REM Behavior Disorder: Implications for PD Therapeutics. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports; Section: Movement Disorders. 23:727. PMID: 37831394.
  • Memon, AA, BS Edney, AJ Baumgartner, AJ Gardner, C Catiul, Z Irwin, A Joop, S Miocinovic, AW Amara. (2023) Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation on Quantitative Sleep Electroencephalogram during Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep in Parkinson’s Disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Section: Brain Imaging and Stimulation. 17:1269864. PMID: 37810765. PMCID: PMC10551142
  • Miften, AM, KH Wood, R Nenert, JR Andrefsky, ML Sleyster, K Wolfe, GW Kent, RN Wilson, RA Memon, A Joop, J Pilkington, A Memon, C Catiul, J Szaflarski, and AW Amara. (2024) Lower Glymphatic Function is Associated with Disease Progression in Parkinson’s Disease. American Neurological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA. Abstract of Distinction

Professional Memberships

  • American Neurological Association, Fellow
  • Movement Disorders Society, Member
  • American Academy of Neurology, Member
  • American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Member

Practice Locations

UCHealth Neurosciences Center - Anschutz Medical Campus
1635 Aurora Ct
4th Floor
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-2080

Hospital Affiliation
  • University of Colorado Hospital

Center Affiliations

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Neurology, Board Certification (2009, 2019)
  • Sleep Medicine, Board Certification (2011, 2021)
  • Movement Disorders, Specialized Training (2012)
Conditions & Treatments
  • Brain and Nervous System
  • Brain and Nervous System - Movement Disorders
  • Brain and Nervous System - Parkinson's Disease
  • Brain and Nervous System - Sleep Disorders
Clinical Interests
I have a broad range of clinical interests within Movement Disorders and Sleep Medicine. I treat Parkinson's disease and other forms of Parkinsonism, tremor, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and others.

Care Philosophy
My goals are to provide compassionate care, to listen, and to establish treatment plans tailored to the needs of the individual.

Public Speaking
Yes