EAN News

Created in 1983, the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe. It speaks on behalf of the 80,000 European psychiatrists, as well as the 44 national associations of psychiatrists in Europe. The association aims to promote European psychiatry in the clinical, research and training fields. Its main lines of action include: joint training of psychiatrists to facilitate the creation of a European identity for the profession; sharing of knowledge and best clinical practices in Europe and worldwide; collaboration with European partner organisations and the development of lobbying with European institutions to improve psychiatric and mental health care in Europe. A highlight of EPA's activities is the annual organisation of the European Congress of Psychiatry. Its last edition was held in Warsaw in April 2019 and brought together 4300 professionals in the sector.

We would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s Investigator Award. The chosen winners  presented their work at the 5th EAN Congress in Oslo this Summer. The Investigator Award consists of a free registration to the 6th EAN Congress in Paris 2020 and an award certificate.

Online voting for the EAN Scientific Panel Management Group members will begin on 8 October and continue through to 22 October.

The Scientific Committee is fully committed to a great mission: To increase and share the best clinical knowledge and the cutting-edge information from translational research in all neurological fields. Main actions are i) to facilitate exchanges and synergies with the Scientific Panels ii) to support the Guideline Production Group (update and diffusion of expertise and best clinical practice), iii) to interact positively with other scientific societies with reciprocal exchanges and liaise with the European Affairs sub-Committee to increase the awareness of Neurology in Europe.

The next examination of the European Board of Neurology (EBN) will take place on Friday, 22 May 2020 at the EAN Congress in Paris.

I am happy to share with you that Prof. Franz Fazekas’s health has greatly improved.  We are in regular contact with him and his wife and expect (and wish) further recovery. Unfortunately, his current condition does not allow him to resume his function as President of our Society. As a consequence, the board has decided to ask me to take over his duties from September 1, 2019. To support the board and in accord with our bylaws, Prof. D. Vodusek, who already served in the EAN board, was appointed as member at large (until the next elections in Paris). I am very thankful to the entire board, the office, and particularly to Prof. G. Deuschl for their trust, support and advice in this delicate transition period.

This month’s selected paper is a working group report that addresses a recently described disorder, limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), which is emerging as an important cause of cognitive impairment in the elderly. The group make recommendations for standardised neuropathological evaluation and identify research avenues to better understand this evolving new disease phenotype.

Sweden, population 10 million, is the largest of the Nordic countries. The population is concentrated to the southern large-city areas, including the capital Stockholm (population 2 million) and the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö. Geographically, Sweden is the third largest country in the EU. The northern parts of the country extend above the artic circle, but the climate is relatively mild (average temperature about 0°C in January and 21°C in July) on account of the Gulf Stream carrying warmer Caribbean water to the region.!

The Scientific Committee is fully committed to a great mission: To increase and share the best clinical knowledge and the cutting-edge information from translational research in all neurological fields. Main actions are i) to facilitate exchanges and synergies with the Scientific Panels ii) to support the Guideline Production Group (update and diffusion of expertise and best clinical practice), iii) to interact positively with other scientific societies with reciprocal exchanges and liaise with the European Affairs sub-Committee to increase the awareness of Neurology in Europe.

The EAN-Day in Estonia was organised in the 31st of May, 2019, in the Laulasmaa Conference Centre near Tallinn, next to the Annual Congress of the Estonian Ludvig Puusepp Society of Neurologists and Neurosurgeons. Three speakers from different European countries were invited, supported by the EAN , to lecture in topics by local needs: Professor Jean-Marc Leger an expert on peripheral neuropathies, from the University Hospital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France; Professor Nils Erik Gilhus from the Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway, whose field in myasthenia; and Professor Alessandro Padovani from Brescia, Italy, to lecture on different aspects of dementias.

 “SILENTLY LOSING THE BRAIN – The enigma of small vessel disease” Come to Copenhagen for the next Brain Prize Meeting in November 2019. With international keynote speakers, including the 2019 prize winners, the Lundbeck Foundation Brain Prize Meeting aims to bring a broad range of researchers to discuss why small vessel disease has emerged as a major contributor to dementia, migraine and stroke worldwide.

Founded in1996, the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and registered charity. The Institute uses an evidence-based approach to advocate for equitable, sex- and gender-sensitivity in health policy, research, promotion, treatment and care.  It also promotes biomedical and socio-economic research that addresses sex and gender-based differences to ensure access to quality treatment and care for women across their lifespan. 

It is my pleasure to introduce the backbone of our society, the Scientific Panels, to you in my role as the Scientific Committee Chair. EAN Scientific Panels cover a wide range of subspecialties and play a significant role in the EAN everyday activities. These member-led groups are a perfect opportunity to network with colleagues