Welcome to the March edition of the President’s Corner, our eanNews series, in which I answer your questions about the EAN and its many activities.
This time, we asked for your questions about the EAN’s activities in the realm of brain health and advocacy via our social media channels, and we received some very interesting ones, touching on some very important topics. You can find my answers to those (plus an extra one about the excellent eanCampus) below.
Please look out for posts appealing for your questions for next month’s President’s Corner, or feel free to submit them at any time via email.
As always, I look forward to receiving and answering your questions!
Best wishes
Elena Moro, EAN President
How do environmental factors like pollution affect brain health, and is EAN studying this or considering it within the Brain Health Mission?
Environmental factors like air pollution, heavy metals, pesticides, and climate change have been identified as contributors to brain health issues and risk factors for developing neurological disorders in several published studies. Noise pollution and chronic stress from environmental factors can also play a role in some neurodegenerative diseases, likely through chronic brain inflammation mechanisms.
While the EAN’s Brain Health Mission primarily focuses on preventing neurological diseases through early detection, lifestyle interventions, and healthcare system improvements, environmental risk factors are increasingly being recognised within this framework. For instance, the EAN Brain Health Strategy identifies environmental factors among those which must be addressed by policymakers within the ‘plan’ section of its ‘determinants of brain health’ infographic.
Moreover, we have established the EAN Task Force on Environmental Influences in Neurology, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to addressing the intersection of neurology and the environment by exploring its social, environmental, and economic dimensions. The task force is preparing paper on climate change in neurology, which will provide all clinicians and healthcare stakeholders with a comprehensive overview and basic concepts to better understand climate change, its impact on different neurological disorders and more generally in neurology.
Are patient organisations involved in EAN’s advocacy efforts, or is it more coming from the medical and research side?
Organisations representing people living with neurological disorders are crucial partners in our advocacy activities, helping to ensure our efforts are aligned with the interests of the people at the centre of everything we do. The first of the five pillars of the EAN Brain Health Strategy includes patient organisations as one of several types with whom we work to contribute to a global and international brain health approach.
The EAN works with many patient organisations, who have representatives on our Scientific Panels and are involved in other important initiatives such as our Guidelines Production Group. We have often worked closely with the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), which represents the interests of 21 pan-European neurology patient groups.
How much influence does EAN really have when it comes to shaping health policies related to neurology?
At a European level, the EAN is very active, particularly as a founding member of the European Brain Council (EBC). With our EBC partners we aim to influence research at EU level, especially via the European Partnership (EP) on Brain Health, which the European Commission plans on launching in 2025/2026 in its 2nd Strategic Programme of Horizon Europe, with the aim of further coordinating and structuring the area of brain health research in Europe. Our annual European Brain Health Summit (this year on 19 March) also supports our collaborative efforts along with EBC and members of the EAN-founded Brain Health Mission.
Former EAN President Claudio Bassetti attended a hearing of the SANT public health committee last October on the burden of neurological disorders, and at a national level the EAN is keen to support national societies’ own efforts to advocate. We are also making efforts to have brain health included as a priority on the G7 agenda.
Can you please tell more about EAN campus learning platform?
The eanCampus is our award winning online learning platform, which boasts more than 2,000 pieces of peer-reviewed content, including webcasts, interactive modules and cases, exams, and guidelines, and our podcast eanCast: Weekly Neurology. Live events such as webinars and masterclasses are also held on a regular basis, providing insights into dedicated topics and opportunities to interact with the faculty.
The platform is free to use for all EAN Individual Members, and, in January 2025, we were delighted to be able to also extend access to most eanCampus content to all EAN Associate Members (members of national neurological societies who are institutional members of the EAN).
Each month, the eanCampus offers a selection of content that is also available to non-members who have a myEAN account, providing a great opportunity to try it out. You can usually find more information about that via regular eanCampus updates on eanNews.
Whatever your skill level, and whatever your career stage, you will find something in the eanCampus that will help you consolidate and extend your knowledge. Give it a try!
