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.

In 2016, the EAN president Günther Deuschl and ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS) president Xavier Montalban have decided to join the forces of the two societies, and prepare a common guideline for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). In view of the recent increase of medications approved for relapsing- and progressive MS, evidence-based guidance is needed to ensure standardized treatment of MS patients throughout Europe.

Effect of high-frequency subthalamic neurostimulation on gait and freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis (pages 18–26) Schlenstedt, A. Shalash, M. Muthuraman, D. Falk, K. Witt and G. Deuschl Version of Record online: 20 OCT 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/ene.13167

Learn from Horizon 2020 to address unmet medical need in Europe Viewpoint: BioMed Alliance Board member Prof. Ulrich Jaeger argues that EU funding is crucial in allowing medical researchers across member states to collaborate in the development of new treatments.… Continue Reading

        Highlights from the European Parliament meeting ‘Ensuring equitable access to high-quality treatment in brain, mind and pain disorders – Case-Studies from across Europe’ on 22 November, 2017. A meeting of the Members of the European Parliament… Continue Reading

    by Anna Sauerbier     World’s Brain Initiatives Move Forward Together http://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/follow-hbp/news/worlds-brain-initiatives-move-forward-together/ New trial shows Huntington’s drug could slow progress of disease http://eurohuntington.org/2017/12/11/2328/ New scientific yardstick to help early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/new-scientific-yardstick-help-early-diagnosis-alzheimers-disease Neurologists urge doctors to… Continue Reading

I completed Dr. DB Gupta/EAN research experience fellowship 2016 in the Epilepsy center (Epilepsihospitalet) Filadelfia, Dianalund, Denmark under Professor Sandor Beniczky. It was my first ever visit to abroad which gave me the learning experience of all the processes apart from successful completion of the project.

The chief of the neurology department at Unna Evangelical Hospital, Prof. Zaza Katsarava ( Professor of Neurology at the University of Essen) kindly accepted my attendance  at his department. The Evangelical Hospital in Unna is a multiprofile hospital, with a 75 bed inpatient department of Neurology.

It has been a great honour for me to be awarded with the EAN Research fellowship. The EAN Research Experience Fellowship allowed me to spend more than one year at the Oxford University, in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG). It has been a life changing experience for me.

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!