Staré Splavy, Hotel Bezděz, Czech Republic
May, 9-12, 2013
Our 14th course took place during the month of May, which was labelled by the European Union as European Month of the Brain to raise awareness of the importance of brain-related health care and research. Thus we were happy that the European Commission has listed the Spring School also among the official events of the European Month of the Brain. In fact our topics were much in concert with some especially supported themes of the European initiatives. The joint action for Alzheimer Cooperative Valuation in Europe set up in 2010 delivered already concrete recommendations on issues such as the early diagnosis of dementia. One of the course days was dedicated to dementia; this topic was presented from the histo-pathological point of view by Constantin Bouras, Cyprus; from the complicated view of differential diagnosis by Amos Korczyn, Israel and by approach of vascular cognitive deterioration by Pavel Kalvach, Czech Republic.
Claudio Bassetti (ENS President) and Heinz Reichmann (ENS Past President) enriched our faculty concurrently as honorary guests from the European Neurological Society. In their lectures they profoundly described neuropsychological and behavioural deficits accompanying neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.
The topic of headache, presented on the first day, was discussed by three speakers led by Jes Olesen, Denmark. He had been meritorious in the bloom of the EFNS – as its past president – and is also the founder of the European Brain Council. At the opening ceremony he has been awarded with the Medal of the Third Medical Faculty, Charles University in Prague. He lectured on Genetics and pathophysiology of headache disorders and in the afternoon on Migraine.
Jon Anker Zwart from Norway and Stefan Evers from Germany presented the topics of Medication overuse headache and Classification and Tension type headache, respectively.
One day was devoted to Gait disorders. These were demonstrated in different diagnoses indicated by surgery. Denis Kaech from Switzerland presented the surgical effectivity operating hydrocephalus, spinal cord compressions and various tumors and malformations. Joszef Opara from Poland reviewed possibilities of rehabilitation in improving gait disorders.
The course was attended by 118 neurologists from 31 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Participants from EFNS associate member societies were from Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.
We were happy to welcome our EFNS Head Office team, led by the Executive Director Elisabeth Müller together with Anja Sander and Julia Scheidl and also Eveline Sipido manager of our branch office in Florence.
The distinguished guests of our course on the last day were Alena Šteflová (director of the WHO office in Prague) lecturing on WHO priorities in brain and nerve diseases and Martin Pospíšil (Lundbeck) who familiarised the students with a time-proven educational system used at Lundbeck Neuroscience Foundation. Orsolya Györfi representing the European Association of Young Neurologists and Trainees informed our participants about available grants and programmes for continuing education. Prominent neurologists and neurological eponyms were honoured by Pavel Kalvach.
The cultural programme consisted of a visit to the castle of Mnichovo Hradiště: After a guided tour dinner was accompanied by a jazz concert of the Swiss group Rollin’ Fifties, led by Denis Kaech. It was a very joyful evening on the wings of music and dancing! In the afternoon of the last day a trip to Prague was organised.
From the educational point of view as well as in regards to the organisation, the Spring School was rated as excellent by the majority of attendees.
We were also proud that our speakers expressed their admiration for an active audience in the workshops; they were often astonished by witty questions and comments from our eager participants. Just in the sense of the introductory motto used at the opening:“Venerate doctos, homines, aeternitatis vasa!”
Carmen cantatum neurologicum_movie
Magda Dohnalová Pavel Kalvach
Magda Dohnalová works at the EFNS Branch Office Prague and ornganises the EFNS Spring School and EFNS Department-Department programme each year.
Pavel Kalvach is Professor of Neurology at the Department of Neurology at the 3rd Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, and is organising the EFNS Spring School (former EFNS Academy) since the beginning.
