Bruno Eymard, chair of the local organising committee of the 2017 WMS pre-congress course
Bendikt Schoser and Antonio Toscano, co-chairs of the EAN Scientific Panel on Muscle and Neuromuscular junction disorders
Marianne de Visser, chair of the WMS pre-congress course program committee and member of the Executive Committee of EURO-NMD, EAN Treasurer
EURO-NMD provides the best care to patients with neuromuscular diseases
Neuromuscular diseases are truly rare diseases and only few of them are amenable to treatment. Most of the neuromuscular diseases are chronic and patients have to live with the consequences for the rest of their lives. Patients are entitled to the correct diagnosis in a timely manner. Once the diagnosis made, patients and their families can be informed about prognosis, mode of inheritance, and management options.
In order to provide the best care to patients with rare diseases the European Commission required that all EU-countries established European Reference Networks (ERNs). On March 10, in Vilnius, Lithuania, there was a kick-off meeting for all 24 approved ERNs and amongst them the ERN on Rare Neuromuscular Diseases (EURO-NMD).
EURO-NMD encompasses sixty-one multidisciplinary excellence centres across Europe. EURO-NMD’s mission is “To inspire hope and improve the lives of patients with Neuromuscular Diseases, providing the best care to every patient through combined clinical practice, education and research.”
For that purpose, EURO-NMD has set itself a goal for education: to increase awareness and knowledge about the diagnosis and care for patients with neuromuscular diseases. The first priority will be to map existing educational and training programs. Many countries already offer education at the national level, as part of the neurological curriculum and organised by neurological societies or independently by universities or local neuromuscular organisations. Some countries offer neuromuscular fellowships at the end of the neurological training period.
EAN cares about neuromuscular disorders
EAN plays an important role in continuous development of knowledge and practical skills within the various areas of the neuromuscular field through various teaching activities. The EAN Scientific Panels on “Muscle & Neuromuscular junction disorders”, “Neuropathies” and “ALS” are invited to suggest topics for the Teaching Courses during the annual congress, which subsequently are assessed by the Teaching Course sub-Committee chaired by Professor Claudia Sommer. EAN has other teaching activities in which neuromuscular diseases are addressed, e.g., during the regional courses in Eastern European countries, the Spring School, and recently new initiatives were born: to support countries which have less resources with the organisation of a neuromuscular course. Macedonia and Poland have volunteered for the two-day course in which most lectures will be given by Macedonian and Polish neurologists supported by EAN panel members.
Teaching course organised by World Muscle Society
In the previous EAN Pages issue, Professor Dubowitz informed the readership about the World Muscle Society (WMS) which stimulates exchange of scientific information through its annual congress and promotes international collaborative research for more than 22 years. Some years after the foundation of WMS it was recognized that there is a need for increasing knowledge and practical skills of young health care professionals (neurologists, paediatricians, geneticists) dealing with neuromuscular diseases. For that purpose, a pre-congress teaching course was set up 15 years ago and is now well established. The emphasis of this course is on the clinical approach of patients who present with symptoms of weakness and the interpretation of ancillary investigations including, EMG, muscle biopsy and genetics. The course is entirely practical and case reports are presented on video to highlight key clinical concepts.
The course also creates the opportunity to meet with the neuromuscular experts and with colleagues from all over the world.
This year the course takes place from 2-3 October 2017 at the Institute of Myology in Paris, France.
For further information and registration see: http://www.wms2017.com/course/
Please read the interview with Bruno Eymard in the past issue of EANpages here
