The EAN congress quiz 2016 is online now until March 07, 2016:

The year 2016 is beginning in many places with wonderful progress for neurology. But we should not forget that many of our colleges are working under the hardest imaginable conditions. The war in the middle east taking currently place in Syria, Iraq and neighboring regions is the most brutal and unhuman war which this region has ever suffered. I am writing about Syria but the situation is similar in the neighboring countries. The United Nations estimated at the beginning of 2015 that 220,000 people had been killed in Syria, but other monitoring groups put the death toll much higher. The people living in this region are constantly exposed to violence from all sides, the educational system suffers vita minima and regular jobs are a fiction for most people. Besides all direct military actions people suffer from unexpected explosions or killings for no reasons when walking on the road. Children and women are subject to violence through many and mostly unthinkable ways. Particularly young men fear of getting arrested at military barriers for recruitment and getting killed after a few days in front lines. There is a strong movement to Turkey or Lebanon and meanwhile to Europe. While Syria had 22 Million inhabitants in 2011 before the war currently almost 10 Mio of them are refugees abroad or have moved from the rural areas to the safer cities. The economic situation is also catastrophic as the inflation is grossly affecting all parts of the Society. While 1 US $ equaled 60 Syrian pounds (SP) in the past it equals now 250SP. Black market economy is increasing the suffering in particular of the poorer population. Physicians working in government services earned 400-600$ in the past but are now just between 50-75$ due to inflation and therefore also their families suffer.

Philip Larkin is incoming President of EAPC (European Association of Palliative Care). David Vodušek (DV): The mission statement of EAPC states: “…EAPC strives to develop and promote palliative care in Europe through information, education and research using multi-professional collaboration, while engaging with stakeholders at all levels.” How would you translate this statement towards possible cooperation with EAN? Philip Larkin (PL): It may be helpful to explain initially how EAPC works. EAPC is a membership organisation and currently has 55 member associations across 31 countries and people are engaged in palliative care from a range of perspectives; specialist clinical practice, education, policy and of course research.

As in the previous year, Neuropenews asked EAN committee members, panel chairs, speakers etc. which session one should not miss at the upcoming congress in Copenhagen 2016. Please find their answers below!

Mads Ravnborg is President of the Danish Neurological Society - hosting the 2nd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is Co-chair of the EAN Programme Committee 2016. The interview was conducted by Philip Scheltens, who is also a member of the EAN Programme Committee. Philip Scheltens (PS): As President of the Danish Neurological Society (DNS), can you give us a brief history of the society, its activities and plans for the future? Mads Ravnborg (MR): The Neurological Society was founded in 1900 in Copenhagen, an event that heralded the formation of a neurologic specialty in Danish health care.

Globally, infectious diseases remain a major cause of disability and death. Infections involving the nervous system carry a high morbidity and mortality, particularly in developing countries where the burden of these diseases is great, diagnosis is difficult and limited resources… Continue Reading

For January 2016 we have selected: Buettner C, Rony-Reuven N, Bernstein C, et al. Simvastatin and vitamin D for migraine prevention: A randomized, controlled trial. Ann Neurol 2015 Sept 29;doi: 10.1002/ana.24534. Migraine is a worldwide primary headache disorder that can be highly disabling and with an important impact on quality of life. Migraine has been linked to an increased risk for vascular diseases by sharing the same ethiopathogenesis, related to alterations mediated by the endothelium.

Nearly a century ago – in 1920 – the renowned Danish physiologist August Krogh (1874-1949) received the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine for his work on the anatomy and physiology of the capillaries (1).

by Antonella Macerollo, P. Balicza, O. Györfi, L. Klingelhöfer, A. Macerollo, V. Papp, A. Sauerbier There has been the outstanding need to provide European junior colleagues with a platform for encouraging intercultural exchanges and support, and tackling upcoming challenges of… Continue Reading

Thanks to the support from the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) I was able to spend a research fellowship at the Stroke Research division, Institutes of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences (University of Glasgow, United Kingdom), in the research group led by Professor Kennedy R. Lees.

I was fortunate to receive a Fellowship from European Academy of Neurology in order to spend 6 months of my education at the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (JWMDRC), Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. This education was conducted in cooperation with the departments of neurology and clinical neurophysiology, Newcastle University and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust.

Report from Maria Paola Cabboi from Italy visiting the Laboratory of Histology of the Neurology Clinic, University of Würzburg, Germany under the supervision of Professor Claudia Sommer I attended the Laboratory of Histology of the Neurology Clinic of the University… Continue Reading

by David Oliver In the January issue  of the European Journal of Neurology, a Consensus review on the development of palliative care for patients with chronic and progressive neurological disease is published and we highlight this important article by offering… Continue Reading

Dear readers, As in 2015, our Scientific Panels are back with their article recommendations! In this issue, the Autonomic nervous system disorders , Higher cortical functions, Movement disorders, Neuroepidemiology & Sleep-wake disorders Scientific Panels invite you to read the following… Continue Reading

This year the EAN Spring School will take place from May 12th to May 15th, 2016 at the Hotel Bezděz in Staré Splavy, Czech Republic.