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      EAN News

      Plans in progress for 30th Anniversary of the European Journal of Neurology (1994-2024)

      December 6, 2023

      Advocacy

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: Join or renew your membership now and celebrate 10 years of the EAN

      November 6, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: Advocacy for brain health gaining momentum across the neurological landscape

      October 1, 2023

      Executive Page Dear EAN members, dear friends, It is my pleasure to give you an update on behalf of the EAN Scientific Committee following a busy year since my appointment as chair. It has been a privilege to be so deeply involved in the scientific activities of the EAN and to work closely with an amazing community of people who are so dedicated to the advancement of neurology. One of the strongest threads within that community is the EAN’s group of Scientific Panels, which are often referred to as the organisation’s ‘scientific backbone’. The panels have a hand in everything the EAN does from a scientific point of view, including coordinating clinical research, disseminating good practice, assisting in planning the EAN annual congress, supporting the EAN’s educational efforts, and producing guidelines that assist neurologists in daily practice. All of this work requires a considerable amount of oversight, and this is why each panel is run by its own Management Group, elected by the panel members. Being a part of one of these Management Groups (PDF) is an opportunity to play a direct part in determining the direction of scientific progress within Europe, and I am excited to say that the call for applications to stand for election will be announced in September. All panel members and EAN individual members are eligible to apply to be candidates, with the vote being held among the existing panel members in autumn. I would like to urge every neurologist with a passion for the scientific future of their special area of interest to consider standing for election to the relevant Management Group and to look out for the call for applications later this month. I can tell you from personal experience that fulfilling a role such as this within the structure of the EAN is a fascinating and extremely rewarding experience. The chance to take on such a unique leadership position should not be missed! The most satisfying aspect of being involved in the EAN’s organisational structure is surely seeing all the hard work and planning come to fruition when a small idea evolves into a newly launched project. One such example is the 1st EAN Science School, taking place in Salzburg next March. The idea of the Science School is to offer early career neurologists with an interest in translational research a new avenue for learning about basic pathomechanisms of neurological disorders. Application for this very first edition, on ‘Pathophysiology of disorders of the nervous system’, closed last week and we have been delighted with the level of interest. It was a pleasure to be part of the task force in charge of planning this new project and I look forward to seeing it officially transferred to the hands of the Scientific Committee after a successful event and evaluation in spring. Of our ongoing activities, one of the most significant is the EAN Neuro-covid Registry, which aims to collate epidemiological data on neurological manifestations in patients with COVID-19 infection reported by neurologists in outpatient services, emergency rooms, and hospital departments. We currently have 1,542 patients entered in the database, from 35 centres across 23 countries. So far, 29 patients have been followed for 12 months and 387 have completed the 6-months follow up. This is a decent start, but I would like to strongly encourage EAN members and their institutions to get involved and contribute cases to what will become an invaluable resource for neurologists and clinicians to improve care for Covid-19 patients. Finally, I would like share a word on a forthcoming collaboration between EAN and the Human Brain Project in December, that I think will interest a lot of EAN members. The EAN-EBRAINS joint workshop on ‘The future of medical data sharing in clinical neurosciences’ will be a three-day virtual event that aims to discuss issues and challenges associated with data sharing in Europe, from ethics to data safety and privacy, including those specific to data federation, such as the development and validation of federated algorithms. The whole workshop is completely free of charge and registration is open until 25 November, so please check out the details and sign up! I wish you all a healthy and pleasant autumn and I look forward to updating you again. Best wishes Thomas Berger Chair of the EAN Scientific Committee

      Executive Page: Management Group elections are coming – run for office and help shape our future!

      September 1, 2023

      EAN News

      Plans in progress for 30th Anniversary of the European Journal of Neurology (1994-2024)

      December 6, 2023

      EAN News

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      EAN News

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      EAN News One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

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      November 22, 2023

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      October 19, 2023

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      African Academy of Neurology features in Special Studio Session at EAN 2023

      July 25, 2023

      EAN Congress news

      Find photos, facts, figures and reports in our EAN Congress Review

      July 24, 2023

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      Video Interview: Prof. Mary Reilly, Moritz Romberg lecturer at EAN 2023

      July 4, 2023

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      Video Interview: Mark Hallett, C. Brown-Séquard lecturer at EAN 2023

      July 3, 2023

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      Video Interview: Josep Dalmau, Camillo Golgi Lecturer at EAN 2023

      July 2, 2023

      Interviews

      Video Interview: Dementia & Cognitive Disorders Panel Co-Chairs

      September 8, 2022

  • Research
    • All Paper of the Month Research Highlights
      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Effects of oral anticoagulation in people with atrial fibrillation after spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (COCROACH)

      November 6, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – November 2023

      November 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Effects of oral anticoagulation in people with atrial fibrillation after spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (COCROACH)

      November 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Transdermal Nicotine Treatment and Progression of Early Parkinson’s Disease

      October 1, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Soluble Nogo-Receptor-Fc decoy (AXER-204) in patients with chronic cervical spinal cord injury in the USA

      September 1, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – November 2023

      November 6, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – October 2023

      October 1, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – September 2023

      September 1, 2023

  • Education
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      eLearning

      End 2023 with highlighted content on the eanCampus!

      December 2, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      EAN Spring School 2024 – Apply NOW until 31 January 2024

      December 1, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      EAN Autumn School 2023: Report

      November 30, 2023

      eLearning

      Call for Applications: e-Learning Platform Associate Editors

      November 7, 2023

      eLearning

      End 2023 with highlighted content on the eanCampus!

      December 2, 2023

      eLearning

      Call for Applications: e-Learning Platform Associate Editors

      November 7, 2023

      eLearning

      Kick off the new season with highlights on the eanCampus

      October 13, 2023

      eLearning

      World Brain Day with the European Academy of Neurology

      July 21, 2023

      Student Corner

      Student Teaser Fellowship reports 2022 – Pisa, London, & Lausanne

      September 13, 2023

      Student Corner Illustration of a vertical pencil point on a blue background, with a yellow light bulb above it

      Student Corner: My EAN Congress experience

      September 5, 2023

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      Student Teaser Fellowship reports 2022 – Rotterdam, London, & Paris

      August 22, 2023

      Student Corner

      Student Teaser Fellowship winners 2023

      June 28, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      EAN Spring School 2024 – Apply NOW until 31 January 2024

      December 1, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      EAN Autumn School 2023: Report

      November 30, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group

      September 16, 2023

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      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne

      September 15, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group

      September 16, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne

      September 15, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Department of Neuromuscular Diseases Institute, University College London

      September 14, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Student Teaser Fellowship reports 2022 – Pisa, London, & Lausanne

      September 13, 2023

  • Other News
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      December 1, 2023

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      November 7, 2023

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      Brain community launches Call to Action during Brain Health & Research Day at UNGA78

      October 19, 2023

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      Brain Innovation Days 2023: Meet the speakers!

      October 2, 2023

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      EAN Head Office Profiles: Ulla & Piyapat

      December 1, 2023

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      August 28, 2023

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      August 3, 2023

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      October 19, 2023

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      Brain Innovation Days 2023: Meet the speakers!

      October 2, 2023

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      Brain Innovation Days: Discover the early programme and register today!

      July 21, 2023

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      Join the community’s calls for a European Brain Research and Innovation Plan

      July 21, 2023

      News in general

      WHO’s Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders (IGAP) published in all six UN languages

      August 3, 2023

      News in general

      WHO recognises the public health need for effective and affordable treatments for multiple sclerosis

      August 3, 2023

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      Brain Innovation Days: Discover the early programme and register today!

      July 21, 2023

      News in general

      Join the community’s calls for a European Brain Research and Innovation Plan

      July 21, 2023

      Surveys

      Neurorehabilitation Across Europe after Ischemic and Traumatic Brain Injuries: a survey to increase knowledge on brain-injury-specific neurorehabilitation

      July 14, 2023

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      ILAE survey on genetic testing in the epilepsies

      July 14, 2023

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      March 3, 2023

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  • EAN News
    • All Executive Page EAN News EAN Congress news Interviews
      EAN News

      Plans in progress for 30th Anniversary of the European Journal of Neurology (1994-2024)

      December 6, 2023

      Advocacy

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: Join or renew your membership now and celebrate 10 years of the EAN

      November 6, 2023

      Executive Page

      Executive Page: Advocacy for brain health gaining momentum across the neurological landscape

      October 1, 2023

      Executive Page Dear EAN members, dear friends, It is my pleasure to give you an update on behalf of the EAN Scientific Committee following a busy year since my appointment as chair. It has been a privilege to be so deeply involved in the scientific activities of the EAN and to work closely with an amazing community of people who are so dedicated to the advancement of neurology. One of the strongest threads within that community is the EAN’s group of Scientific Panels, which are often referred to as the organisation’s ‘scientific backbone’. The panels have a hand in everything the EAN does from a scientific point of view, including coordinating clinical research, disseminating good practice, assisting in planning the EAN annual congress, supporting the EAN’s educational efforts, and producing guidelines that assist neurologists in daily practice. All of this work requires a considerable amount of oversight, and this is why each panel is run by its own Management Group, elected by the panel members. Being a part of one of these Management Groups (PDF) is an opportunity to play a direct part in determining the direction of scientific progress within Europe, and I am excited to say that the call for applications to stand for election will be announced in September. All panel members and EAN individual members are eligible to apply to be candidates, with the vote being held among the existing panel members in autumn. I would like to urge every neurologist with a passion for the scientific future of their special area of interest to consider standing for election to the relevant Management Group and to look out for the call for applications later this month. I can tell you from personal experience that fulfilling a role such as this within the structure of the EAN is a fascinating and extremely rewarding experience. The chance to take on such a unique leadership position should not be missed! The most satisfying aspect of being involved in the EAN’s organisational structure is surely seeing all the hard work and planning come to fruition when a small idea evolves into a newly launched project. One such example is the 1st EAN Science School, taking place in Salzburg next March. The idea of the Science School is to offer early career neurologists with an interest in translational research a new avenue for learning about basic pathomechanisms of neurological disorders. Application for this very first edition, on ‘Pathophysiology of disorders of the nervous system’, closed last week and we have been delighted with the level of interest. It was a pleasure to be part of the task force in charge of planning this new project and I look forward to seeing it officially transferred to the hands of the Scientific Committee after a successful event and evaluation in spring. Of our ongoing activities, one of the most significant is the EAN Neuro-covid Registry, which aims to collate epidemiological data on neurological manifestations in patients with COVID-19 infection reported by neurologists in outpatient services, emergency rooms, and hospital departments. We currently have 1,542 patients entered in the database, from 35 centres across 23 countries. So far, 29 patients have been followed for 12 months and 387 have completed the 6-months follow up. This is a decent start, but I would like to strongly encourage EAN members and their institutions to get involved and contribute cases to what will become an invaluable resource for neurologists and clinicians to improve care for Covid-19 patients. Finally, I would like share a word on a forthcoming collaboration between EAN and the Human Brain Project in December, that I think will interest a lot of EAN members. The EAN-EBRAINS joint workshop on ‘The future of medical data sharing in clinical neurosciences’ will be a three-day virtual event that aims to discuss issues and challenges associated with data sharing in Europe, from ethics to data safety and privacy, including those specific to data federation, such as the development and validation of federated algorithms. The whole workshop is completely free of charge and registration is open until 25 November, so please check out the details and sign up! I wish you all a healthy and pleasant autumn and I look forward to updating you again. Best wishes Thomas Berger Chair of the EAN Scientific Committee

      Executive Page: Management Group elections are coming – run for office and help shape our future!

      September 1, 2023

      EAN News

      Plans in progress for 30th Anniversary of the European Journal of Neurology (1994-2024)

      December 6, 2023

      EAN News

      Executive Page: European neurology united as ever heading into milestone year

      December 6, 2023

      EAN News

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      EAN News One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

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      December 1, 2023

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      November 22, 2023

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      October 19, 2023

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      July 25, 2023

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      Find photos, facts, figures and reports in our EAN Congress Review

      July 24, 2023

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      July 3, 2023

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      Video Interview: Josep Dalmau, Camillo Golgi Lecturer at EAN 2023

      July 2, 2023

      Interviews

      Video Interview: Dementia & Cognitive Disorders Panel Co-Chairs

      September 8, 2022

  • Research
    • All Paper of the Month Research Highlights
      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

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      December 1, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Effects of oral anticoagulation in people with atrial fibrillation after spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (COCROACH)

      November 6, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

      Research Highlights of the Month – November 2023

      November 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Apixaban for Stroke Prevention in Subclinical Atrial Fibrillation

      December 4, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Effects of oral anticoagulation in people with atrial fibrillation after spontaneous intracranial haemorrhage (COCROACH)

      November 6, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Transdermal Nicotine Treatment and Progression of Early Parkinson’s Disease

      October 1, 2023

      Paper of the Month

      Research Paper of the Month: Soluble Nogo-Receptor-Fc decoy (AXER-204) in patients with chronic cervical spinal cord injury in the USA

      September 1, 2023

      Research Highlights One glowing light bulb that stands out from unlit or dim lamps on a blue background

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      December 1, 2023

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      November 6, 2023

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      October 1, 2023

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  • Education
    • All eLearning Student Corner Resident and Research Fellows Fellowship reports
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      End 2023 with highlighted content on the eanCampus!

      December 2, 2023

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      EAN Spring School 2024 – Apply NOW until 31 January 2024

      December 1, 2023

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      November 30, 2023

      eLearning

      Call for Applications: e-Learning Platform Associate Editors

      November 7, 2023

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      End 2023 with highlighted content on the eanCampus!

      December 2, 2023

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      Student Teaser Fellowship reports 2022 – Pisa, London, & Lausanne

      September 13, 2023

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      September 5, 2023

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      August 22, 2023

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      June 28, 2023

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      September 16, 2023

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      September 15, 2023

      Fellowship reports

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      September 16, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne

      September 15, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Department of Neuromuscular Diseases Institute, University College London

      September 14, 2023

      Fellowship reports

      Student Teaser Fellowship reports 2022 – Pisa, London, & Lausanne

      September 13, 2023

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      July 21, 2023

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      December 5, 2022

Forum

Forum: EFNS review on the role of muscle biopsy in the investigation of myalgia

June 1, 2013

The Editors have – together with the Scientific Committee – decided that new EFNS review papers will be presented in the Forum of NEUROPENEWS. The new EFNS review on the role of muscle biopsy in the investigation of myalgia on behalf of the EFNS Scientist Panel on Muscle disorders is published as Early View Article on the website of the European Journal of Neurology, and we highlight this important article by offering you the abstract. We also asked the first author, Professor Kyriakides, for a short statement.

Abstract:

Background: Myalgia, defined as any pain perceived in muscle, is very common in the general population and a frequent cause for referral to neurologists, rheumatologists and internists in general. It is however only rarely due to primary muscle disease and often referred from ligaments, joints, bones, the peripheral and central nervous system. A muscle biopsy should only be performed if this is likely to be diagnostically useful. At present no ‘guidelines’ exist.
Methods: An EFNS panel of muscle specialists was set to review relevant studies from PubMed dating as far back as 1/1/1990. Only Class IV studies were available and therefore the recommendations arrived at are ‘best practice recommendations’ based on information harvested from the literature search and expert opinion.
Results: Muscle cramps should be recognized while drugs, infections, metabolic/ endocrinological and rheumatological causes of myalgia should be identified from the history and examination and pertinent laboratory tests. A muscle biopsy is more likely to be diagnostically useful if myalgia is exertional and if one or more of the following apply: i) there is myoglobinuria, (ii) there is a second wind phenomenon, (iii) there is muscle weakness, (iv) there is muscle hypertrophy /atrophy, (v) there is hyperCKemia (>2–3× normal), and (vi) there is a myopathic EMG.
Conclusions: Patients presenting with myalgia can be recommended to have a biopsy based on careful history and examination and on simple laboratory screening.

T. Kyriakides, C. Angelini, J. Schaefer, T. Mongini, G. Siciliano, S. Sacconi, J. Joseph, J.M. Burgunder, L. Bindoff, J. Vissing, M. de Visser and D. Hilton-Jones; European Journal of Neurology, Early View Article / Article first published online: 30 APR 2013

Theodoros Kyriakides


Introduction by Theodoros Kyriakides:

Diffuse persistent myalgia (defined as any pain perceived in muscle) may have an incidence as high as 10% in the general population and certainly it is one of the common symptoms presenting to neurologists, rheumatologists and internists in general. The indications for muscle biopsy in elucidating the cause of myalgia, particularly if isolated, is a particularly difficult issue since the associated morbidity of an invasive procedure needs to be balanced with the likelihood of a diagnostically useful result.

An EFNS Task Force was set up to address this problem and met for the first time in September 2011. At the time it was appreciated that, due to the nature of the subject matter, it was unlikely that  the literature included anything better than Class IV studies. Therefore, evidence based guidelines were not possible, which paradoxically, made the need for ”best practice guidelines” more important. The Task Force deliberately included neurologists with a special interest in myology (all members of the EFNS muscle panel) and one experienced rheumatologist. It was decided to adopt a pragmatic approach to identify patients suitable for muscle biopsy and to screen relevant publications in the Medline database from 1/1/1990 onwards.

The literature was interrogated in three main directions, one pertaining to common well recognized non-neuromuscular entities associated with myalgia (biopsy unlikely to be useful), one pertaining to well recognized neuromuscular entities known to be associated with myalgia (biopsy probably useful) and lastly one pertaining to isolated myalgia (biopsy potentially useful). The non-neuromuscular category was further subdivided into drug related, rheumatological, infectious and metabolic/endocrine causes to facilitate dismissal for the need of biopsy. The neuromuscular category was further subdivided into primary neurogenic entities (muscle biopsy less likely to be informative) and primary myopathic entities (muscle biopsy more likely to be informative).

A set of clinical and laboratory criteria were harvested from the literature and expert opinion to triage patients from the neuromuscular and isolated myalgia categories towards biopsy. Clinical criteria include the presence/absence of: muscle weakness, muscle atrophy/hypertrophy, cramps and the temporal relation of myalgia to exercise. Laboratory criteria include the level of hyperCKemia and the nerve conduction and electromyography findings.

The Task Force finalised their recommendations in November 2012 taking care to make them user-friendly by the non-neuromuscular specialist.

Theodoros Kyriakides is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Neurology at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics and Chair of the Task Force, which developed the above EFNS review paper.

Forum: EFNS review on the role of muscle biopsy in the investigation of myalgia was last modified: May 24th, 2013 by Editor
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