A review of the history and development of neurology in Hungary.
By Prof. László Csiba
László Csiba
The development of neurology in Hungary dates back more than 150 years. In 1882, the first Department of Neurology and Psychiatry was established at the Medical Faculty of the University of Budapest, laying the foundation for the independent evolution of the discipline.
Following this, the growth of neurology accelerated, with internationally renowned neurologists working in Hungary. These include Prof. Károly Schaffer (associated with Tay-Sachs-Schaffer disease) and Prof. József Mátyás Baló (associated with Baló concentric sclerosis).
Several other outstanding neurologists of Hungarian origin also contributed significantly to the field. These include Nobel laureate Róbert Bárány, who worked in Vienna, and György Békési, who conducted groundbreaking research on hearing in the United States and was also awarded the Nobel Prize.
The complete separation of neurology and psychiatry in Hungary took place only in the second half of the 20th century. Prior to that, the Hungarian Society of Neurology and Psychiatry had united the scientific and postgraduate activities of neurologists and psychiatrists in the early 20th century. After the formal split in 1992, this work was continued by the Hungarian Neurological Society. Neurological training in Hungary consists of a 60-month program.
The Hungarian Neurological Society currently has 562 members and includes 17 affiliated societies focusing on specific subfields of neurology. These are:
- Béla Horányi Clinical Neuroscience Society
- Hungarian Epilepsy League
- Hungarian Headache Society
- Hungarian Neuroimmunological Society
- Hungarian Neuropathological Society
- Hungarian Neuroradiological Society
- Hungarian Neuroscience Society
- Hungarian Neurosonological Society
- Hungarian Neurosurgical Society
- Hungarian Pain Society
- Hungarian Scientific Parkinson Society
- Hungarian Society of Clinical Neurogenetics
- Hungarian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
- Hungarian Society of Pediatric Neurology
- Hungarian Society of Sleep Diagnostics and Therapy
- Hungarian Stroke Society
- Neuro-Ophthalmology Section of the Hungarian Ophthalmology Society
As an umbrella organization, the main task of the Hungarian Neurological Society is to provide a platform for continuing medical education and professional exchange of information. The society also seeks to foster cooperation between the specialties and member societies within the field of neurology.
The society maintains its own website, which serves both as a platform for the dissemination of guidelines and for postgraduate education. In 2024, we organized the 39th National Neurological Conference, with more than 400 participants.
In Hungary (population: 9.8 million), there are 56 neurology departments with a total of 2,680 neurological beds. Stroke patients are treated in 39 dedicated stroke units, where more than 3,500 intravenous thrombolysis and more than 1,000 mechanical thrombectomies are performed annually.
Competency examinations are available in electrophysiology, neurointervention, and vascular neurology.
Continuing medical education is conducted both in person and online. Fifty credit points must be earned over a five-year period from accredited courses to maintain board certification.
Every two years, the Hungarian Neurological Society organizes an international conference where all affiliated societies host their own sessions to present developments in diagnostics and therapy in their respective fields.
The society is also committed to educating the public and advocating for appropriate funding for neurological diseases with health care policymakers.
The Hungarian Neurological Society maintains intensive international relations. Thanks to these efforts, Budapest hosted the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Congress in 2023, which attracted more than 8,000 participants.
The society has vibrant relations with the neurological societies of Central European countries, including the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia. Every year, we organize a three-day neurology training conference in Romania specifically for Hungarian neurologists living beyond Hungary’s borders.
In Hungary, neuroimmunological patients (including approximately 6,000–7,000 people with multiple sclerosis) receive immunomodulatory treatment at dedicated multiple sclerosis centers. The treatment of extrapyramidal disorders and epilepsy is also concentrated in specialty centers, which benefit from priority funding for both pharmaceutical and instrumental therapies. •
Prof. László Csiba is a neurologist and professor in the department of neurology at the University of Debrecen in Hungary.
