EAN News

Antonio Federico (AF): On January 29-30, there has been in Tubingen the Kick-Off Meeting of the EU Project Solve-RD. You and Prof. Olaf Riess are coordinating this project. Can you summarize the aim and the activities of this important project? Holm Graessner (HG): To obtain a molecularly confirmed diagnosis remains one of the largest challenges for rare disease patients. To jointly tackle this challenge a core group of four European Reference Networks including the European Reference Network for Rare Neurological Diseases has motivated, designed and put together the Solve-RD project which is the first ERN based H2020 funded research project. Solve-RD brings together 21 partners from 10 countries which will be running from 2018 to 2022.

We have the sad duty to communicate the death of Professor Eberhard Deisenhammer, a pioneer in neurology and a long-term secretary general and treasurer of the European Federation of Neurologic Societies.

In just a few months the EAN congress in Lisbon will take place, and we invite you all to visit the congress website and browse through the scientific programme with more than 90 sessions to choose from. Find the overview… Continue Reading

Dear Prof. Cras, I congratulate you for your election as Chair of the UEMS Section of Neurology. David B. Vodušek (DBV):  It is felt that many European neurologists may not be fully aware of the role of UEMS in general, and the distinctions between SN UEMS and EAN, would you offer your explanation to the readers of the EAN Pages? Patrick Cras (PC): Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes, also called European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), was founded in 1958, shortly after the founding of the European Common Market.  Those of us who feel inspired by the European project will agree that professional standard setting and continuing professional development has an international dimension.  

David B. Vodušek (DBV): UEMS-Union Européenne des Médecins Spécialistes/European Union of Medical Specialists has already a long experience with accreditation of international CME in Europe. Please inform about the situation of CME in European countries. What are the differences between CME and CPD? Nathalie Paulus (NP): One of the aims of the UEMS has always been to try and harmonise CME/CPD in Europe. In this respect the UEMS regularly conducts surveys in order to explore the state of play of CME/CPD in Europe. The latest survey dates back to 2014.

Thank you for hosting applicants of the EAN Clinical Fellowship. How would you evaluate this EAN educational opportunity? The EAN Clinical Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for young neurologists and trainees, to focus on a specific clinical field, and learn / share experience with centres specialised in that field. It is also rewarding for us to meet young, enthusiastic fellows.

João Cid dos Santos was a Portuguese surgeon (Lisbon 1907-1975) devoted to Vascular Surgery. After graduated at University of Lisbon - Faculty of Medicine in 1933 he moved to Strasbourg to practice vascular surgery with René Lerich.

Neurological diseases have a very different frequency. Neurological practice and brain research need to have this in mind. The global burden of disease study has shown that neurologic diseases are the leading cause group of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of all medical disease groups in 2015 with 10.2% of global DALYs. Table 1 shows the age-standardized rates of DALYs, deaths and the prevalence of the different neurologic diseases.1 In this schematic rare neurological diseases are mostly covered within the category ‘other neurological diseases’. The prevalence cannot be estimated based on the available data. However, the number of existing rare neurological diseases is very large. The current website of the NIH lists 1244 neurologic rare diseases which is the largest number among all rare disease groups and covers approximately 60% of rare diseases.2 These more than 1200 diseases produce more than 0.9% of the neurological DALYs world-wide which seems at first glance to be relatively small.

For February 2018, we have selected: Feneberg E, Oeckl P, Steinacker P, et al. Multicenter evaluation of neurofilaments in early symptom onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurology 2018;90:e22-30. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000004761. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating neurological disorder affecting motor neurons. The course of the disease is progressive with life span of 3 to 5 years from the onset of the symptoms.

Kyrgyzstan is a Central Asia country of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions, landlocked and extremely mountainous with almost 90% of its territory being 1500 m above sea level. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek.

As in the previous years, EANpages asked EAN committee members, panel chairs, and invited speakers  which session one should not miss at the upcoming congress in Lisbon 2018. Please find their answers below!

by Prof. Victor Oliveira, University of Lisboa, Portugal – Member of the Local Organising Committee for the 4th EAN Congress in Lisbon, Portugal Egas Moniz (1874-1955) was a Portuguese neurologist whose name is associated to the invention of angiography and… Continue Reading

David B. Vodušek (DBV): When looking back at your long and varied career, can you tell us what was crucial for you to choose neurology as your specialty, and headache as your primary research field of interest?  Jes Olesen (JO): Already as a medical student, I was interested in neurology. I thought at that time – and I still think so today – that the brain is by far the most interesting organ in a human being.