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by Catharina G. Faber Neuromuscular Centre the Netherlands The field of neuromuscular diseases in the Netherlands is characterized by a longstanding tradition of collaboration between seven neuromuscular centres of the university hospitals. This collaboration has been formalised since 1993, when… Continue Reading

2 years ago I have already highlighted the work of the European Affairs sub-Committee of the European Academy of Neurology. This is to more closely introduce the partners of EAN at this in Brussels. It is important that our members know about activities of our Society on a European level.

For March 2017, we have selected: Timm FP, Houle TT, Grabitz SD, et al.  Migraine and risk of perioperative ischemic stroke and hospital readmission: hospital based registry study. BMJ 2017 Jan 10;356:i6635. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i6635. A higher risk of ischemic stroke has been found in patients with migraine, especially in those with migraine with aura.

It is unknown which of his many books James Parkinson (1755-1825) has considered the most important one. His 500 pages ‘Medical Admonitions’ for lay people, his ‘Chemical Pocket Book’ covering interesting facts on modern chemistry of the late 18th century, the ‘Hospital Pupil’ on the educational standards of physician education, his collection of minerals and fossils  ‘Organic Remains of a Former World’ or any other of his many contributions. History has clearly shown that his most important contribution was his 1817 ‘Essay on the Shaking Palsy’ which celebrates its 200th birthday this year.

For February 2017, we have selected: Grool AM, Aglipay M., Momoli F., et al., for the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada Concussion Team.  Association between early participation in physical activity following acute concussion and persistent postconcussive symptoms in children and adolescents. JAMA 2017:316;2504-2514. Practical recommendations in the management of concussion in pediatric patients have stressed the need of physical and cognitive rest starting immediately after the injury.

Hungary is a unitary parliamentary republic in the Central Europe. It covers an area of 93,030 square kilometres, situated in the Carpathian Basin. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian. Hungary's capital and largest metropolis is Budapest.

For January 2017, we have selected: Patel M, Agarwal K, Arshad Q, et al. Intratympanic methylprednisolone versus gentamicin in patients with unilateral Ménière’s disease: a randomized double-blind, comparative effectiveness trial. Lancet Neurol 2016;388:2753-2762. Disabling vertigo attacks and hearing loss are characteristics of Ménière’s disease. In patients with severe and frequent vertigo spells, intratympanic injections of gentamicin have proved to be effective, but at the price of permanent vestibular damage and hearing loss.

Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасы), is located at the center of the Eurasia continent. On the north and west sides, Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, on the east with China, and on the south with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan is a huge country, being at the 9th place in the world for its size.

The objective of the “Clinical Fellowship Programme” is to provide a well- defined clinical observational experience in a department with recognised expertise in a specific field.
With this programme, neurologists that are still in the process of training, or recently… Continue Reading

European institutions are sometimes discredited and put into questions. This is particularly true in these times of populistic political movements which try to steer the wheel of European unification backwards. Reasons given by opponents are that ‘European efforts are considered too slow, too burocratic and too inflexible’. ‘There are too many cooks preparing the meal’. Sometimes we hear this also from scientists. The logical conclusion is to spend the money at home in their own countries. The latter view is sometimes even expressed by people who in principle share the European perspective. Populistic politicians go so far to even question the whole EU project. In this respect medical research community can make an argument and a big contribution to the understanding why the EU is important.

Moldova (official name – Republic of Moldova) – it’s a beautiful country located in the southern-western extreme of the Eastern-European plain, in the Europe’s heart.

For December 2016 we have selected: Gonzales-Bermejo J, Morélot-Panzini C, Tanguy M-L, et al.  Early diaphragm pacing in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (RespiStimALS): a randomized controlled triple-blind trial. Lancet Neurol 2016:15;1217-1227. The main cause of death in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is related to respiratory failure. It has been hypothesized that diaphragm pacing (a technique that induces diaphragm contraction through the stimulation of the phrenic nerve) could slow the progression of respiratory muscle weakness, and increase alveolar ventilation and lung compliance in ALS patients.

It is a great pleasure to introduce the recipients of the Research Fellowship 2017 (in alphabetical order):

…and register to the EAN congress in Amsterdam 2017. It is not only that you can save more than 100€ if you register now, but you will be able to cover the big five neurological diseases, as well as rare… Continue Reading

EAN pages strives to present one country every month to the readers of the EAN pages. We have seen presentations from Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, and Ireland so far and I would draw your attention to these wonderful articles in our newsblog. This month we have Latvia and in December it will be Moldovia. The country where the EAN congresses take place (so far Germany and Denmark) are even presented in a series of articles covering special aspects of the development of local neurology. The top neurologists from these countries take their time to present important aspects of their country like Denmark did before the Copenhagen congress in 2016. In a series of seven articles they have presented the state of the art and research in their country concerning basic MS research, pain, dementia, clinical MS research, cerebral blood flow research, clinical neurophysiology and headache. The care structures for patients and how research is helping to develop new treatments and new innovations are outlined and one can learn from their success. Whenever I read their presentations it reminds me to the rich history of neurology in Europe. All the different countries were able to show their particular contribution to the field and the achievements they have reached to provide better patient care.