Elliot Neurology Associates
Meet Our Physicians and Watch a Video
Getting the Most Out of Your Appointment
Some Of The Disorders We Treat
Welcome to Elliot Neurology Associates, a department of Elliot Hospital and a specialty practice within Elliot Health System. Neurologists are experts in treating a wide variety of neurological disorders. Neurology is a branch of medicine that deals with diagnosis and non surgical treatment and management of disorders of the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves and muscles.
Meet Our Physicians and Watch a Video
Our office hours are Monday through Friday 8am-5pm. After hours emergencies will be paged to the doctor on call.
Getting the Most Out of Your Appointment
- Please be sure to arrive 15 minutes early.
- Please have any relevant testing done at least one week prior to your appointment.
- Be sure to have referrals sent prior to your appointment. If you are not sure if a referral is required check with your insurance company or primary care doctor.
- Be sure to either bring any pertinent records to your visit or have faxed prior to at (603) 644-3391. Records that should be sent include MRI/Radiology reports, lab and blood work, EMG and EEG results or any other notes related to the reason for your visit.
- Please be sure to bring your insurance card to each visit.
- Co-Pay is due at the time of visit. For your convenience we accept cash, check and most major credit cards.
- Patients who do not have insurance are asked to pay a minimum of $75.00 the day of visit.
- Please bring a list of all your current medications including over the counter medications.
There is often a waiting list for appointments to see our physicians. If you need to cancel your appointment please call our office at (603)669-0859 and allow 48 hours notice so we may offer that appointment to another patient. Cancellations less than 24 hours before your appointment may be subject to a cancellation fee that is not payable by insurance.
Please allow 48 hours for all refill requests to be filled.
We treat patients referred by their primary physician for disorders that may relate to the central or peripheral nervous system such as Parkinson's Disease, Migraines, Alzheimer's Disease, Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromuscular Disorders, and Neuro-rehabilitation. We also provide neurodiagnostic testing in the office such as Electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS).
Electronic Medical Records System
Utilizing our state of the art Electronic Medical Record System, each physician has complete patient data (immunizations, allergies, lab results, etc.) at their fingertips to enable them to monitor your health needs more closely. If you call after hours, all physicians “on-call” can access this same information, thus providing excellent, all-inclusive care for our patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This robust Medical Record System also enables our office to electronically transmit prescriptions and refills directly to the pharmacy of your choice.
Click for a view of a map with directions
From points north: I-93 to 293 South to exit 4. Take a left on to Second Street. At the first set of lights, take a right onto South Main Street. Dartmouth Commons is immediately on your left.
From points south: I-93 North to 293 North to Exit 4. Stay left off exit and at light take left onto Second Street. At the first set of lights, take a right onto South Main Street. Dartmouth Commons is immediately on your left.
From points east: Route 101 West to Route 3 Exit in Bedford. Stay in the left lane; at light, turn left onto Route 3. At fourth light, bear left onto South Main Street. Dartmouth Commons is immediately on your left.
From points west: Route 101 East to Route 114 to Exit 3-Meetinghouse Road/South River Road. At the end of the exit, take a left onto Meetinghouse Road. At light, take a left onto South River Road/Route 3. Follow Route 3 to a fork/light. At light, bear left onto South Main Street. Dartmouth Commons is immediately on your left.
Contact information for insurance and billing questions: 1-866-890-8689
Please feel free to contact our office with any questions, comments or concerns.
Click here to contact the Office Manager
Are you accepting new patients?
Yes, our practice is gladly accepting new patients. Please call our office at 669-0859 for more information.
Can your doctors see children and adults?
Dr. Botsford will see children above the age of seven for seizures, migraine, attention deficit disorder, Asperger’s syndrome or autistic spectrum disorder questions.
How many physicians are at your practice?
We currently have three physicians in this practice: Mark Biletch, M.D., Daniel R. Botsford Jr., M.D. and Robert Thies, M.D.
How easy is it to schedule an appointment?
If you are looking to schedule a new patient consultation with us, and you already have a referral from your primary care provider, we can usually accommodate your request within a few weeks. We also strongly suggest that you make any follow up appointments with us before you leave your visit.
Do you accept most Insurance?
Our practice participates with most insurance companies. We can provide you with a list of participating insurance entities at your appointment. You may also click here for a complete listing of the insurances accepted at Elliot Physician Network offices.
Who will I see when I make my first appointment?
Your first consultation will be scheduled with the physician best suited to meet the needs of your visit. Except for emergencies, the physician who sees you in consultation will also be responsible for and deliver your follow up care.
What if my primary physician practices at a hospital other than the Elliot?
Our neurologists can see you, they will work with your primary care or other treating physicians, but they may not have access to information your physician(s) may already have acquired. Please ask them to send related records and laboratory data to our office before your visit. If you see another specialist for a problem you think may be related to your neurologic question, it might be desirable to have him or her also send records.
Will your doctors look at my x-rays or MR images?
If you have had x-rays or magnetic resonance imaging at some site other than an Elliot affiliated site, the most efficient way (and sometimes the only way) for us to personally interpret your images is to ask the facility to copy your images to a compact disc and bring this with you to your visit.
What is an EEG (electroencephalogram)?
Brain cells are like little battery-powered machines that turn on and off. When that happens, they release a small amount of electricity. An EEG can measure that electricity and your neurologist can tell if the cells are acting normally.
Does an EEG hurt?
No, but since electrodes are placed on your head with a clay like paste, it can sometimes mess up your hair. The paste washes out thoroughly with shampoo if plain water rinse with a washcloth does not remove it to your satisfaction.
What is a Nerve conduction test?
Nerves are living cables that connect your brain and spinal cord to your body. They carry signals electrochemically. At many places nerves pass close to the skin. Muscles are living battery-powered machines. Muscles are commonly near the skin. A neurologist can test muscles and nerves with a special computerized machine that measures the electricity of the nerves and muscles and tells how nearly normal the nerve or muscle is.
Does a Nerve Conductions Test hurt?
Most people find it uncomfortable but most do not find it painful. Our physicians have all had special training to do the testing in the least troubling manner possible. Results can be sent to your requesting physician usually the same day.
List of some of the disorders we treat with a brief description.
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures that are caused by abnormal cerebral nerve cell activity. There is a distinction between a patient who has one seizure and a patient who has epilepsy. Epilepsy can be classified as either idiopathic or symptomatic.
Many abnormalities of the nervous system can result in seizure activity. Seizures can also occur in the normal nervous system when its metabolic balance is disturbed. The cause (etiology) of epilepsy may be not clearly known (idiopathic) or related to a particular disease state. About 35% of all cases of epilepsy have no clearly definable cause.
Strokes, or brain attacks, are a major cause of death and permanent disability. They occur when blood flow to a region of the brain is obstructed and may result in death of brain tissue.
There are two main types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic stroke is caused by blockage in an artery that supplies blood to the brain, resulting in a deficiency in blood flow (ischemia). Hemorrhagic stroke is caused by the bleeding of ruptured blood vessels (hemorrhage) in the brain.
During ischemic stroke, diminished blood flow initiates a series of events (called ischemic cascade) that may result in additional, delayed damage to brain cells. Early medical intervention can halt this process and reduce the risk for irreversible complications.
Headache is a term used to describe aching or pain that occurs in one or more areas of the head, face, mouth, or neck. Headache can be chronic, recurrent, or occasional. The pain can be mild or severe enough to disrupt daily activities. Headaches involve the network of nerve fibers in the tissues, muscles, and blood vessels located in the head and at the base of the skull.
A migraine headache is a throbbing or pulsating headache that is often one sided (unilateral) and associated with nausea; vomiting; sensitivity to light, sound, and smells; sleep disruption; and depression. Attacks are often recurrent and tend to become less severe as the migraine sufferer ages.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory, chronic, degenerative disorder that affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Myelin, the fatty substance that surrounds and insulates nerves and facilitates the conduction of nerve impulses is the initial target of inflammatory destruction in multiple sclerosis.
MS is characterized by intermittent damage to myelin , called demyelination. Demyelination causes scarring and hardening (sclerosis) of nerve tissue in the spinal cord, brain, and optic nerves. Demyelination slows conduction of nerve impulses, which results in weakness, numbness, pain, and vision loss.
Because different nerves are affected at different times, MS symptoms often worsen (exacerbate), improve, and develop in different areas of the body. Early symptoms of the disorder may include vision changes (e.g., blurred vision, blind spots), numbness, dizziness, and muscle weakness.
MS can progress steadily or cause acute attacks (exacerbations) followed by partial or complete reduction in symptoms (remission). Most patients with the disease have a normal lifespan.
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder. Tremors, rigidity, slow movement (bradykinesia), poor balance, and difficulty walking (called parkinsonian gait) are characteristic primary symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Idiopathic Parkinson's disease is the most common form of parkinsonism, which is a group of movement disorders that have similar features and symptoms. Parkinson's disease also is called idiopathic Parkinson's because the cause for the condition is unknown. In the other forms of parkinsonism, a cause is known or suspected.
Parkinson's results from the degeneration of nuclei in a number of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the brainstem. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that stimulates motor neurons, which are nerve cells that control the muscles. When dopamine production is depleted, the motor system nerves are unable to control movement and coordination.
Parkinson's disease patients have lost 80% or more of their dopamine-producing cells by the time symptoms appear. In searching for a cause for Parkinson's disease, most of the attention has focused on areas of the brain called the substantia nigra and the locus coeruleus
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive disorder in which brain cells (neurons) deteriorate, resulting in the loss of cognitive functions, primarily memory, judgment and reasoning, movement coordination, and pattern recognition. In advanced stages of the disease, all memory and mental functioning may be lost.
The condition predominantly affects the cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which lose mass and shrink (atrophy) as the disease advances.
Movement disorders are neurological conditions that affect the speed, fluency, quality, and ease of movement. Abnormal fluency or speed of movement (dyskinesia) may involve excessive or involuntary movement (hyperkinesia) or slowed or absent voluntary movement (hypokinesia).
Movement disorders include the following conditions:
- Ataxia (lack of coordination, often producing jerky movements)
- Dystonia (causes involuntary movement and prolonged muscle contraction)
- Huntington's disease (also called chronic progressive chorea)
- Multiple system atrophies (e.g., Shy-Drager syndrome)
- Myoclonus (rapid, brief, irregular movement)
- Parkinson's disease
- Progressive supranuclear palsy (rare disorder that affects purposeful movement)
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and reflex sympathetic dystrophy/periodic limb movement disorder (RSD/PLMD)
- Tics (involuntary muscle contractions)
- Tourette's syndrome
- Tremor (e.g., essential tremor, resting tremor)
- Wilson disease (inherited disorder that causes neurological and psychiatric symptoms and liver disease)
Common dystonias include spasmodic torticollis, which affects muscles of the head, face, and neck, and blepharospasm, which causes involuntary closing of the eyelids.
Neuromuscular disease is a very broad term that encompasses many diseases and ailments that either directly, via intrinsic muscle pathology, or indirectly, via nerve pathology, impair the functioning of the muscles.
Neuromuscular diseases are those that affect the muscles and/or their nervous control. In general, problems with nervous control can cause either spasticity or some degree of paralysis, depending on the location and the nature of the problem.
