1st EAN-Day in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

November 7, 2017

In the middle of autumn, in the picturesque and colourful atmosphere of Moldavian nature, the neurological community of the country had the chance to organize and participate in one of the most important and valuable scientific event of the Society of Neurologists of the Republic of Moldova – the 6th Congress of Neurology and Neurosurgery and the 1st EAN-Day, dedicated to the Year of Nicolae Testemitanu.

Although it was a national event, with participants from the Republic of Moldova – 250 neurologists, neurosurgeons, researchers and resident doctors, the congress had an international resonance given the impressive number of international speakers – 25 speakers from 10 European countries (Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Israel, Romania, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Italy) and the presence of notorious neurological personalities at the congress, including –

Günther Deuschl, President of the European Academy of Neurology, Natan Bornstein, Vice President of the World Stroke Organization, Wolfgang Grisold, General Secretary of the World Federation of Neurologists, Eugen Trinka, Member of the Commission on European Affairs of the International League Against Epilepsy, Treasurer, President of the Austrian Chapter of the ILAE, Henry Houlden, Head of Neurogenetics Laboratory, Queen Square, University College London Hospitals, Dafin Mureșanu, President of the Romanian Society of Neurology, Tudor Lupescu, Founding member and Vice-President of the Romanian Society of Diabetic Neuropathy, Liviu Pendefunda, Founding member of the Society of Internal Medicine, Gerontology and Geriartry, Iasi, Corresponding member of the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences and of the Romanian Academy of Scientist, Ronen Leker, Professor of Neurology at Hadassah, University Medical Centre,
Jerusalem, Israel, Director of the Stroke Service and Cerebrovascular Disease Centre.

We have been honoured by the presence of an important number of speakers from neighbour countries Romania and Ukraine: Cristian Falup, Head of the Neurology Department of County Emergency Clinic Hospital from Brasov, Gabriela Radulian, President of the Society of Diabetic Neuropathy, from Romania, and Liliya Zviagina, Chief neurologist of Odessa Department of Health, neurologist and chief of the department of invasive diagnostic methods and treatments at Odessa regional medical centre, Tatiana Muratova, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Odessa National Medical University, from Ukraine

We would like to present our gratitude, for the involvement and support at all stages of organizing the event, to Anja Sander, Executive Director of the European Academy of Neurology, and to Julia Mayer – Teaching Course sub-Committee of the European Academy of Neurology, who have been open to questions, and have come up with ideas to improve both the organizing and conducting processes of the congress.
The congress was supported by the local authorities, including the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, the administration of the Institute of Emergency Medicine, and the administration of the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery from Moldova.

The start of the congress was given by a teaching course conducted by Professor Natan Bornstein, and Professor Henry Holden, on October 2nd. Professor Bornstein presented the latest updates in the ischemic stroke management topic, and Professor Henry Holden informed about the genetic approach of neurologic patient, emphasising movement disorders pathology.

The target participants were neurologists in training (resident-doctors and neurologists in the first years of activity), with a limited number of participants – 60 – the willing list being much longer and completed well before the event. The interactive way of presenting the information by the Professors with clinical approach of the topics, video-cases support, and the interested attitude of the participants ensured the teaching course’s success.

The amplitude of the Congress grew up on the October 3rd, when the congress sessions with all participants started.

The Congress focussed on several key-topics, including: cerebrovascular diseases, epilepsy, neurogenetics, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy, neurorehabilitation, vascular abnormalities in neurosurgical practice.
One of the novelties of the Congress from this year was the young researcher’s session. Neurologists / researchers in formation were encouraged to apply the abstract of their work, and the selected one were assigned to be presented, either during short-communication, either during e-poster sections. The Society of Neurologists of the Republic of the Moldova awarded the winners of the two sections, Dr. Eugen Gavriliuc and Dr. Natalia Ciobanu, with sponsorship for participation in the 2018 – EAN Congress.

In their works, the local speakers emphasised the most important neurological problems in our country, comparing national results, difficulties and progresses to the international situation. Therefore, Academician, Professor Stanislav Groppa presented the risk factors and peculiarities of primary prophylaxis of cerebro-vascular diseases in the Republic of Moldova; Professor Mihail Gavriliuc informed about the last updates of the ischemic spinal cord disturbances; Professor Oleg Pascal talked about the new rehabilitation technologies for neurological patients, and Professor Vitalie Lisnic presented new diagnosis and treatment approaches of neuropathic pain.
The official opening of the congress took place on October 4th, 2017. Inauguration ceremony of the Congress was attended by state officials, heads of education and research institutions, representatives of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova, neurologists and neurosurgeons from all over the country, guests from abroad and other guests.

The ceremony guests: Stela Grigoras, Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, Stanislav Groppa, Academician, President of the Congress, Ion Ababii, Academician, Rector of the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of the Republic of Moldova, Valentina Buliga, president of the Parliamentary Commission for Social Protection, Health and Family, Vitalie Lisnic, Professor, President of the Society of Neurologists of the Republic of Moldova, and Wolfgang Grisold, General Secretary of the World Federation of Neurologists, talked about the importance of such events in the country, their impact on the neurological health of the population, as well as the progresses and difficulties encountered in the field of activity.
Günther Deuschl, President of the European Academy of Neurology, said that neurological diseases are becoming increasingly important worldwide, being the second cause of disability among the population and increasing by this the number of deaths. For this reason, the European Academy of Neurology and the Society of Neurologists of the Republic of Moldova invest and support the public information campaigns on the impact of neurological diseases, because if they are not detected and treated on time, it influences human health.

Officially, 2017 year, in the Republic of Moldova, was declared the Year of Nicolae Testemitanu. In this context, Professor Mihail Ciocanu, the director of the Institute of Emergency Medicine, talked about the life and activity of the illustrious scientist Nicolae Testemitanu, about his reforms in the national health system, which influenced the modern medicine development in our country.

The Congress culminated on October 5th, 2017, with the premiere of the European Academy of Neurology Day, which was highly appreciated by the participants of the congress, based on the evaluation forms of the event. This part of the congress was supposed, and managed, to be a very interactive one, with practical information that could improve the approach and / or treatment of neurological diseases. The speakers of the day: Prof. Günther Deuschl, Prof. Helmuth Steinmetz and Prof. Sergiu Groppa, presented topics both in the morning and in the after lunch sessions (workshop session), discussing clinical cases and video demonstrations.

During the EAN-Day, Dr. Elena Costru-Tasnic, national representative of the EAN Residents and Research Fellow Section, talked about the education and networking opportunities for neurologists in formation.

Although the organization of such events is demanding, sometimes stressful, we can definitely say that we have already prepared some good ideas for the next edition of the congress: we hope to involve more participants, including from abroad, to invite more speakers, to diversify our agenda with more practical workshop activities and other moments that you are going to discover at the 7th edition of the Congress of Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Republic of Moldova in autumn 2019.
Greetings from Republic of Moldova!