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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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      EAN 2024 – Abstract submission and registration OPEN!

      November 22, 2023

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      Burden of Sleep/Wake Disorders Project at EAN Congress 2023

      October 19, 2023

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

      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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      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

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      Video Interview: Dementia & Cognitive Disorders Panel Co-Chairs

      September 8, 2022

  • Research
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      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

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      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

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      Kick off the new season with highlights on the eanCampus

      October 13, 2023

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      World Brain Day with the European Academy of Neurology

      July 21, 2023

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      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

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      June 28, 2023

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      EAN Spring School 2024 – Apply NOW until 31 January 2024

      December 1, 2023

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      EAN Autumn School 2023: Report

      November 30, 2023

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      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

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      December 1, 2023

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      November 7, 2023

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      October 19, 2023

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      October 2, 2023

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      December 1, 2023

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      August 28, 2023

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      Celebrating 20 Years of Excellence: Anja Sander, EAN’s Executive Director!

      August 3, 2023

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      October 19, 2023

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      October 2, 2023

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      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

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      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

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      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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      COVID-19 and neurology: a survey of previous and continued restrictions on clinical practice, professional education and neuroeconomics

      March 3, 2023

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      December 5, 2022

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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

      Research Highlights of the Month – December 2023

      December 1, 2023

      EAN Congress news

      EAN 2024 – Abstract submission and registration OPEN!

      November 22, 2023

      EAN Congress news

      Burden of Sleep/Wake Disorders Project at EAN Congress 2023

      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

      Interviews

      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
    • All eLearning Student Corner Resident and Research Fellows Fellowship reports
      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

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      Call for Applications: e-Learning Platform Associate Editors

      November 7, 2023

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      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

      Student Corner

      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

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      EAN Autumn School 2023: Report

      November 30, 2023

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      Research Fellowship Report 2022 – Oxford Autoimmune Neurology Group

      September 16, 2023

      Resident and Research Fellows

      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 5, 2022

EAN NewsEAN Congress newsTop Articles

Neurological News from Portugal VI: Neurosciences at the Campus of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon

June 1, 2018

by J Alexandre Ribeiro, Instituto de Farmacologia e Neurociências, Faculdade de Medicina e Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

The year of 1949 was a celebrating year for Neurosciences in Portugal, since our professor of Neurology Egas Moniz was awarded the Nobel Prize of Medicine and Physiology, an important recognition of his neuroscience research. This was a mark that very much inspired the interest of our medical school on neurosciences. One might say the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) gave rise to a pleiad of investigators who latter won celebrity in neurosciences research. Just to mention the most internationally known: Fernando Lopes da Silva, who in consequence of absence of democracy in the country moved initially to England and after to Holland where he did an outstanding career in the area of epilepsy. Also António Damásio, who created the still productive Language Laboratory at the Neurology Department of our Medical School, where he got his PhD, moved to the United States (USA) and became widely known due to his research on the importance of emotions in decision making and thus in our every day’s life. So, one could say that the tradition exists and atmosphere has been created to attract many of the potential neuroscientists to do studies on Neurosciences at the campus of the Faculty of Medicine, which encompassed FMUL itself and the University Hospital, Hospital de Santa Maria (HSM).

An important step was about creating the necessary conditions, namely the financial support and equipment, which really only took place much later. As a consistent strategy, it only started in 1990, due to the Science programme supported by the Portuguese science financing agency, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT). It was the basis to provide facilities to upgrade laboratories and to make them appropriate to perform updated research in neurosciences. Also the arrival of human resources from the Gulbenkian Institute of Science (IGC), from England and from USA, among other countries, were decisive in the creation of the atmosphere for Neurosciences to have success. At that time, it was possible to create in the region of Lisbon a Center for Neurosciences, encompassing both clinical and basic neuroscientists from the Faculty of Sciences (FCUL) and Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL), IGC and NOVA University of Lisbon. This Center for Neurosciences of Lisbon created by the first time conditions for neuroscientists in different institutions and different backgrounds to meet and discuss logistic issues and scientific research. In this integrated structure it was possible to apply for expensive equipment, as confocal microscopy, patch clamp set ups, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, to study the brain and its diseases. These conditions allowed FMUL campus, according the web of science (WOS), to increase its number of publications in Neurosciences; from 1990 to 2003 a total of 303 papers (abstracts excluded) were published (average per/year = 21.6 publications).

One decade elapsed between the birth of the Center for Neuroscience of Lisbon and the emergence of the idea of Associated Laboratories. Aiming to boost research in Portugal, the Minister of Science at the time, Mariano Gago, promoted the creation of research structures in order to joint research groups that had been evaluated as very good or excellent. The idea was to enlarge the critical mass to discuss and produce science with further impact in scientific training. This gave rise to the Associated Laboratories into Portugal. The one created in FMUL campus in 2002, was called Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM). Indeed, IMM was created to joint efforts of basic and clinically oriented research centers of FMUL, who have been evaluated as very good or excellent. Among them were the clinical and basic neuroscience research groups. This lead to profound changes in the Center for Neurosciences of Lisbon. From one hand, the group that in the 90’s was at IGC had already moved to FMUL (leading to the creation of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at FMUL) due to changes in the scientific policy of the Gulbenkian Foundation. On the other hand, the FCUL group created a center at its school, and the same occurred in part with the group at the Nova Medical School. The FMUL component of the Center for Neurosciences of Lisbon, thus encompassed the Laboratory of Neurosciences, and the Neurology Department (Clínica Universitária de Neurologia). The idea of the professors of the Clinical Neurosciences at the time was that the investigators recently arrived from IGC (Laboratory of Neurosciences) together with the neurology researchers (Clínica Universitaria de Neurologia), could create a sort of Research Brain Center incorporating basic, clinical and translational research. However, with the emerging idea of IMM, the decision was to joint efforts with other research areas of excellence at FMUL. Neuroscience research groups (basic and clinically oriented) thus constituted a strong pillar of this Associated Laboratory. Initially the Neurosciences cluster at IMM was composed of two Units, the Basic and Functional Neurosciences Unit and the Clinical Neurosciences Unit. These two Units then split into three, with the more integrative functional neurosciences splitting from basic neurosciences. Besides these, several other groups were joined IMM, some become independent neuroscience groups within IMM, others leave to join other research centers, some groups with a main focus in other areas as immunology, biochemistry or molecular biology gained interest in neurosciences resulting in joint research projects. All this reflects the dynamism of Neurosciences at IMM and at FMUL.

IMM gained further coherence in 2004 with the inauguration of a new building at FMUL, the Edifício Egas Moniz. This facilitated the localization of all the basic research centers of the FMUL. At this time also, the Laboratory of Neurosciences merged with the Institute of Pharmacology, constituting the Institute of Pharmacology and Neurosciences, devoted to neurosciences and neuropharmacology, located at the Egas Moniz Building. The Autonomic Nervous System Unit, at the Institute of Physiology, later merged with the Movement Disorders Unit, also located at the Edifício Egas Moniz. The Clinical Unit mostly remained at the Hospital building and was dedicated to stroke, language, sleep, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, memory and Alzheimer’s disease. The group interested on Alzheimer’s Disease and memory dysfunction is located at the Egas Moniz building. These frequent reorganizations, reflect a vivid structure and are related to challenges in some of the shared financed projects and interests of the group leaders.

Since the turn of the millennium, the critical mass, staff, post-docs, PhDs and MS students in Neurosciences were significantly increased in number and in qualified formation to participate in advanced research. Nowadays, there are at least three weekly research seminars/scientific sessions. Lectures by invited neuroscientists, either from other Portuguese research centers or from abroad, are frequent. This increase in critical mass was instrumental to increase competiveness and success in science. From the 303 publications in Neurosciences/Neurology (WOS) in the 14 years (between 1990 and 2003, see above) we jumped to 832 publications (abstracts excluded) in the last 14 years (2004-2017; average per/year = 59.4 publications). A yearly analysis reveals a continuous grow, the number of publications attaining a value of 171 (WOS, abstracts excluded) in 2017 (an average of one paper every two days). The impact of the publications that have been published in the research area of Neurosciences/Neurology (WOS) at the FMUL campus is also high. In the last 14 years (2004-2017), the number of quotations of all papers published in this research area overpassed 24000, being close to 4000 in 2017.

The increase in the scientific research in Neurosciences at FMUL paralleled with the increase in the post-graduation capacity. By the turn of the Millenium, FMUL implemented a Master and later also a PhD programme in Neurosciences, which were registered at the platform created by the Federation of European Neuroscience Schools (FENS). Also a FCT PhD programme in Integrative Neurosciences denominated NeurULisboa, was awarded with FCT fellowships.

Perhaps inspired in the Center for Neurosciences of Lisbon and following the tradition of inter-institutional relationship, the Mind-Brain College financially supported by the newly merged University of Lisbon was created in 2014. The College aims to promote interdisciplinary interactions between all groups with interest in Mind or Brain Research at the University of Lisbon, developing efforts to decrease the gap between our knowledge of the Mind and of the Brain. Acknowledging that the most efficient promoters of boundaries crossing are the youngest, the College is an umbrella of several PhD Programmes related to Cognitive Sciences or Neuroscience at the University of Lisbon. Research groups from the Faculty of Medicine (Neurosciences/Neurology and Psychiatry), Faculty of Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Cognitive Philosophy and linguistics), Faculty of Law (Neurolaw), Engineering (Instituto Superior Técnico) and Institute of Social Sciences, meet regularly to implement cross-interaction activities.

In conclusion, there exists now and going at the University of Lisbon a competitive research and impact of both Clinical and Basic Neurosciences, which now overflows to other related areas. To this one can add that the critical mass in Neurosciences all over Portugal is also, being one of the most robust research areas within the Health Sciences, according to the number of publications listed in the WOS. When the seed is good, the soil fertile and the care with it intense, the crop grows. In Neurosciences in Lisbon and also in other towns in Portugal we are lucky since we had several farmers.

Neurological News from Portugal VI: Neurosciences at the Campus of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon was last modified: November 13th, 2018 by Editor
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