by Antonio Federico
The members of the Scientific Committee (SC) at present are:
- Antonio Federico (Chair)
- Claudio Bassetti, Alexandre Bisdorff, Michael Brainin, Christian Enzinger, Maurizio Leone, Jera Kruja, Maurizio Leone, Celia Oreja-Guevar, Evzen Růžička, Anthony H.V. Schapira, Antonio Toscano
Meeting of the Scientific Committee, December 19. 2014: Alexandre Bisdorff, Christian Enzinger, Jera Kruja, Michael Brainin, Maurizio Leone, Antonio Federico, Celia Oreja-Guevara, Evzen Růžička, Antonio Toscano
Duties: According to the bylaws of the EAN the SC develops recommendations for policies and activities related to all issues of a scientific nature involving the EAN. Furthermore, it is responsible for the activities and maintenance of SSP that cover all major areas of clinical neurology.
Development of Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment
As the Scientific Committee is responsible for the production of guidelines, the work of the Guideline Production Group (GPG) is significant. The EAN GPG is chaired by the SC Chair, Antonio Federico and further consists of:
- Maurizio Leone (Member of the EAN SC)
- Magdalena Keindl (Statistician, Donau University Krems)
- Lucia Cernicka (EAN Head Office, Administration)
The GPG holds a telephone conference each month and addresses each guideline in progress individually. Moreover, the GPG is following activities of guideline Task forces, reviews proposals and comments and provides them with administrative as well as technical assistance.
The GPG recently developed a new Guideline flowchart, as well as a practical paper on guideline production. The respective documents are about to be published in the European Journal of Neurology.
One guideline has been finalised and sent to the Journal as EFNS-EAN guideline: Concomitant use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in Alzheimer’s disease” (Task force chair: Professor Reinhold Schmidt). We expect next two consensus reviews (Task forces of Dr Oliver and of Dr Taba) to follow.
The Guideline production group considers important to improve production of guidelines in the future, by
- Enabling task force members to communicate via teleconferences which will be organised by the EAN Head Office;
- Establishing a 1-month fellowship programme for young neurologists, selected at European level by a particular Tack force. Fellows will assist the Task force with a literature search and will be further involved in its work. Fellows may be offered to be co-authors of guidelines.
- Establishing a “Task force on Developing EAN Guidelines”
Subspecialty Scientific Panels (SSPs)
New rules have been established for the work of the SSPs.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
SSPs will support the Committees and the Board of the EAN in the development and activities of the Society by:
- Suggesting educational and congress activities.
- Stimulating and contributing to the production of consensus documents/guidelines.
- Creating research networks and thereby facilitating research/funding at the European level.
- Contributing to the collection of data regarding neurological care across Europe and its harmonisation.
- Entertaining relations with subspecialty societies and patient associations.
- Contributing to the activities of the Working Group on Rare Neurologic Diseases.
TASKS:
- SSP members will hold at least two teleconferences each year and will have one face-to-face meeting during the Annual EAN Congress.
- The Chairpersons of the SSPs will hold at least 2 teleconferences and one meeting with the SC per year.
- A summary of the SSP activities will be forwarded to the Scientific Committee (SC) before every EAN Meeting.
- The SSP will provide at least two “breaking news” (layman) reports which will be communicated to the general public via the special EAN web page dedicated to each SSP and published in Neuropenews.
- The SSP will recommend the best article of the month to the SC (reported on the special EAN SSP webpage).
- The national delegates will inform their National Societies about the activities of the SSP.
FORMATION AND RULES:
SSPs will be formed by:
- Members who are nominated by the European National Neurological Societies, on the basis of their scientific background in the area of the given Panel. Individual members who can apply directly. They have to confirm their interest after end of first term.
Depending on fields of interest/subspecialties documented in the CV it is possible to be member on more than one SSP. However, SSP members can only be nominated for one Managing Committee (please find the details below).
The Managing Committees are responsible for the activity of the SSPs. Rules are currently discussed and will be published as soon as approved.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
- It is encouraged that SSP members become full or corresponding individual members of the EAN.
- Invitation to young specialists and basic/translation researchers to apply for SSP membership is recommended.
- The administration of the Scientific Committee and the SSPs is done by the EAN Head Office in Vienna.
Rare Neurological Diseases (RND)
Rare Neurological Diseases play an important role in modern neurology either from the scientific, medical or social point of view. Albeit the majority of SSPs are familial with these conditions, no joint action is present at the level of the SC and the Board.
We plan to establish a Task Force on Rare Neurological Diseases, in which chairpersons of the different SSPs will participate as well as other panel members if interested.
The aims of the Task Force will be:
- To reduce the rare neurological diseases (RND) list through specification of the main symptoms and diagnostic criteria and production of guidelines for diagnosis.
- To review facilities for diagnosis of RND in Europe (to produce a list of available facilities and their addresses), indicating the main centres interested in different disorders where genetic, biochemical and other laboratory tests are possible.
- To analyse attitudes of European neurologists toward RND.
- To stimulate number of registries for RND, data bank and bio banks (These are the main aims of the EU, within the research projects in the Biomed Programme).
- To create European Networks for RND for diagnosis and research.
- To act as information service on Rare Neurological Diseases within the EAN, that will be able, with the help of different experts present in the Working Group, to answer questions from patients, families and doctors (online). New data, new findings, research funds, treatment methods shall be presented to the general public. There will be also space for discussion on rare diseases.
With this activity, the EAN recognises the primary role of neurologists in the care of these disorders, the necessity to improve the level of the organisation of the Neurological Units in Europe and to increase a number of neurologists dealing with care of RND Moreover, relationship with Patient Associations will be stimulated.
Other activities
- EAN position letter to the European Parliament President and Members against Stop Use animals for research
- Information letter on manipulation of peer review process
Publications
As already mentioned the practical paper on guideline production, produced by the GPG, has been submitted to European Journal of Neurology.
