Search Results for: Covid

International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (ICNMD) Went Digital for 2020

By John D. England, Wolfgang Grisold and Juan J. Vilchez

Wolfgang Grisold

John D. England, MD

John D. England, MD

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost everything, including international meetings. ICNMD 2020, which was scheduled to take place in Valencia, Spain, in July 2020, was cancelled because of global travel restrictions.

The unprecedented situation necessitated the development of new strategies for holding the meeting. The ICNMD team decided to provide a virtual (digital), brief, topic-focused update on neuromuscular diseases for 2020. Since many new diagnostic and therapeutic options are increasingly available, an interim update was deemed to be important. Specific examples for which new therapies are available include spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), hereditary ATTR (hATTR), amyloidosis, and myasthenia gravis. Many additional therapies are in various stages of development.

The challenge was to organize and dedicate speakers who could present time-sensitive information on myopathies, neuropathies, neuromuscular transmission, and motor neuron disease, as well as satisfy the requirements of an EACCME-accredited meeting. Time also was dedicated for excellent industry-sponsored presentations, similar to satellite symposia in face-to-face meetings.

With the help of professionals from International Conference Services Ltd, the development and fulfillment of ICNMDigital 2020 went extremely well. ICNMDigital achieved an impressive attendance of over 796 delegates from more than 58 countries. The program featured 27 speakers in 12 scientific sessions across four thematic days. In addition, several Industry-Supported Symposia were presented. Feedback from attendees was very positive, and most participants suggested that some form of virtual presentations remain a part of future meetings.

As validation of the sucess of the conference, we offer the following comments from participants:

“We hope that 2021 will give us the possibility to organize the live congress again in Valencia, and definitely we have learned that virtual sessions and hybrid constructions will be useful and necessary in the future.”

“ICNMDigital met the challenge to organize in a very short time frame an exciting congress with outstanding content. The technical staff was incredibly helpful to make it a successful and smooth experience. Two thumbs up for organizers and all people with hands on!” –Laurent Servais

“I was fortunate to be able to give a talk alongside Mary Reilly, one of the best inherited neuropathy researchers in the world. Her talk brought a great crowd and set us on the right track. Davide Pareyson was a wonderful moderator, and we had incredible questions from the audience. The virtual format worked well, and I think encouraged even more thoughtful questions, which is what helps everyone learn. The ICNMD conference pulled off a great conference given very difficult circumstances.” – Brian Callaghan

As a reminder, the live ICNMD 2021 meeting is scheduled for May 28-June 1, 2021 in Valencia, Spain. Faculty from ICNMDigital 2020 will again join with the addition of new experts/sessions addressing updates and breakthroughs in research. A special session on COVID-19 is planned. All previously accepted abstracts remain on the schedule for ICNMD 2021. In addition, the ICNMD 2021 website will reopen for new or updated abstract submissions. See www.icnmd.org for details.  •

 

 

Candidate Statements for Elected Trustee

Six candidates present their experience and vision for what they would bring to the role of elected WFN trustee. They are listed in alphabetical order.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Kailash Bhatia

Prof. Kailash Bhatia

I am honored to be nominated for the position of the WFN trustee. The Association of British Neurology (ABN) nominated me as an elected World Federation of Neurology (WFN) trustee, and I am privileged to be considered as one of the candidates for this post. I hope to be able to contribute to the accomplishment of the WFN mission — to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide — based on the background of my clinical, academic, and administrative expertise and the experience gained while being involved in clinical practice, research, and teaching in movement disorders and general neurology.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has made us again aware that disease knows no boundaries, and the world is a connected place, and that strategies for health care and education have to be worldwide. Given that my initial training in medicine and neurology was in India, and I subsequently trained further and specialised in my field of movement disorders in the U.K., I thus have the experience on both sides with regard to needs and requirements as well as expertise and assets in different parts of the world in neurology. I also have the desire to foster communications and collaborations for education and make equitable services possible everywhere. Neurology has been a passion all my life, and I had the privilege of having great mentors both in India and in the U.K.. In turn, I have been able to teach and train over 40 fellows from all over the world. They have in turn appraised me of the situation in their respective countries in neurology and will be contacts for development of new initiatives for education and the WFN projects worldwide.

My main area of research has been in movement disorders in a translational way, merging clinical, genetic, and electrophysiology to understand pathophysiology. I have been honored to be the associate editor of Movement Disorders Journal and the current founding editor of Movement Disorders Clinical Practise Journal and have authored more than 600 papers in peer-reviewed international journals and several book chapters and books, including the BMA-award-winning Marsden’s Book of Movement Disorders, a large reference tome. I have led or participated in various international task forces for setting up new diagnostic guidelines for tremor, dystonia, and others.

It’s the endeavor of the WFN to develop cooperative strategies, and I can help promote these through my associations at senior levels with the European Academy of Neurology, ABN, and the International Movement Disorders Society.

I have been involved in spreading neurological education throughout the world, teaching in local symposia not just in Europe but also in India and the rest of Asia and also Africa on several occasions recognizing and tailoring to the available resources, which can vary — and these experiences will help me address specific needs and implement the charter of WFN.

It would be a tremendous privilege to be elected as trustee by the delegates of the WFN to implement the WFN strategy. My goals would be communication, education, and partnership and fostering new developments and collaboration with member societies and neurologists all around the world.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Mustapha El Alaoui-Faris

Prof. Mustapha El Alaoui-Faris

I am Mustapha El Alaoui-Faris, professor of neurology at the University of Mohamed-V and director of the Alzheimer’s Centre of Rabat. I graduated with an MD from Mohamed-V University and trained in neurology and psychiatry in Rabat and in neuropsychology in France. I have taught neurology and neuropsychology and taken care of patients since 1981. My main interests in neurology are dementia, neuropsychology, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and neuro-epidemiology. I pioneered the translation of “Neuropsychological Tests in Arabic” and established the first master’s degree on clinical neuropsychology in Morocco.

In 2008, I developed deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease at Rabat’s University, and in 2009, I led a national study on “Stroke Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Genetics in Morocco.” I am past president of the Moroccan Society of Neurology and of the Maghreb Federation of Neurology and current president of the Moroccan Foundation Against Neurological Diseases.

I am a founding member of the African Academy of Neurology (AFAN), for which I actively participate in the drafting the bylaws, and I also draft the bylaws of the Pan Arab Union of the Neurological Societies (PAUNS). I was a member of the WHO board for the “Revision of the International Classification of Diseases 10 (ICD 10) of the Nervous System” and the WHO Zika Committee.

My commitment for the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) started with the organization of the 20th World Congress of Neurology (WCN) held in Marrakech in November 2011, of which I was the president. This congress was a great success with more than 3,500 participants worldwide; several African neurologists were able to participate in the congress thanks to the scholarships of the Moroccan Society of Neurology.

Since 2011, I have been the WFN Moroccan delegate, and I was involved in different activities of the WFN. Among others, I was a member of the Educational and Grant Committees. In 2013, I established the first WFN Training Center in Rabat, where several African neurologists have been trained in clinical neurophysiology. In 2014, I initiated the WFN Applied Research Group (ARG) on “Neurology in Migrants,” whose scientific work will be published by Springer this year. In order to perfect the continuing education of Moroccan neurologists, I coordinate, since 2016, three annual sessions to work on the AAN Continuum books.

In the last years, I was actively involved in the organization of the 24th WCN held in October 2019 in Dubai, as a co-chair of the Teaching Course Committee and also by preparing the Tournament of Minds material. I am currently a member of the WFN Finance Committee.

In the Dubai Congress, I was honored to receive the prestigious WFN Medal for Service to International Neurology.

I will be honored, if I am elected as a WFN trustee, to participate in the development of neurology worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. I will also campaign for the needs in neurological care of migrants and ethnic minorities to be recognized as a priority by international health authorities.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Morris Freedman

Prof. Morris Freedman

I am honored to have served as WFN chair of the Membership Committee, Canadian delegate, Education Committee member, co-chair of the eLearning Task Force of the Education Committee together with Prof. Riadh Gouider, and trustee. I have also served as president of the Canadian Neurological Society, Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences, and Federation of National Specialty Societies of Canada. My clinical, research, and education foci are on dementia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been actively involved in providing virtual care to patients in long-term care facilities and acute care hospitals who are suffering from severe agitation and aggression associated with dementia. In many cases, this has prevented transfers to acute care hospitals. Thus, COVID-19 has taught us the power of virtual care for patients in need, including those who cannot attend an in-person visit. As a result, I have become a strong advocate for physician education and training in virtual assessment and management, especially as applied to dementia.

I am pleased that the Canadian Neurological Society has nominated me for election as a WFN trustee. I am proud that Canada developed a WFN Department Visit program for young neurologists from Central and South America through the efforts of Prof. Guy Rouleau, director of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Canadian delegate to the WFN, and that the Canadian Open Neuroscience Platform, which has its base at the Montreal Neurological Institute, is well positioned to serve as an integrator and facilitator of education worldwide.

Achievements

I have taken an active international leadership role in neurological education. I have advanced international e-learning with a focus on dementia through weekly videoconferencing of behavioral neurology rounds that bring together health care professionals from across the globe within a virtual classroom. The goal is to develop greater international communication and knowledge transfer in dementia. I was awarded the prestigious Colin Wolf Award from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, for this initiative. The international rounds are now recorded and can be accessed through a link on the WFN website. More recently, I have facilitated expansion of international rounds to include general neurology.

An important development modeled on the international behavioral neurology videoconference rounds was the Neurology International Residents Videoconference and Exchange (NIRVE) that promotes international collaboration among neurology trainees.

Goals

My major goal in education through e-learning is directly related to the mission of the WFN to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide. I will work hard to achieve this goal through innovative virtual programs. This will involve both developing and developed countries with a view to transferring knowledge in both directions with all participants as equal partners.

I have a vision, a clear sense of direction, and the focus to facilitate knowledge transfer for enhancing brain health globally. This will require extensive collaboration involving many people with diverse needs, and across many countries. Those who know me say that I am an excellent team player and organizer, qualities that are essential for success in promoting education in neurology worldwide.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Beomseok Jeon

Prof. Beomseok Jeon

It is an honor and privilege to be considered for the position of elected trustee by the World Federation of Neurology (WFN). I am a professor of neurology at Seoul National University Hospital in Korea. My participation in WFN dates back to 2008, when I became the Korean delegate to WFN, and I now serve as the president of the Asian Oceanian Association of Neurology (AOAN).

A WFN trustee bears responsibilities requiring serious time, effort, and thorough understanding of the Federation’s workings. More fundamentally, a trustee must be committed to the WFN mission “to foster quality neurology and brain health worldwide.” Having served WFN in various capacities, I am fully prepared to carry out the duties of the position and overcome challenges in a pragmatic manner based on my experiences in various scientific, financial, organizing, and steering committees. I currently serve as the international executive committee member of the Movement Disorder Society and am an active contributor to other numerous international societies and journals. Moreover, my years with WFN have strengthened my belief in its core values. If elected as the trustee, I would like to help WFN realize its mission by pursuing the following objectives.

First, prioritize the development of educational programs. Through MDS, I have extensive firsthand experience lecturing in underserved regions as well as in establishing educational programs that cater to the specific needs of such regions. I also have years of experience through WFN, having been on the scientific and organizing committees of  the World Congress of Neurology. With awareness and appreciation for the scope of WFN’s educational activities, I believe we can further develop training programs to improve the quality of brain health care worldwide.

Second, expand collaborations with compatible academic organizations. We can be even more productive and increase WFN’s impact by taking advantage of the Global Neurology Alliance to identify and partner with other brain-related research institutions around the world.

Last, reinforce our support for under-resourced parts of the world in accordance with WFN’s avowed ideals. This means focusing on training and education so that people in underserved regions can receive better treatment for neurological disorders. I would like to offer my experiences with medical infrastructures in such regions to act as a bridge between WFN and regions in need.

What unites my experience as a neurological researcher, educator, editor, and administrative executive is my belief in the importance of brain health for all. I have had the pleasure of working with like-minded colleagues from around the world through WFN and hope we can achieve more in the years ahead. I am confident that I can fulfill the responsibilities of trustee and ask for your support.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Chandrashekhar Meshram

Prof. Chandrashekhar Meshram

I am grateful to the Indian Academy of Neurology and the WFN for considering me worthy for the position of elected trustee.

Services to the WFN

My involvement with the WFN began in 2009 as the national delegate. The WFN balances its thinking and action very well, and I found that I have the experience, enthusiasm, and passion to work in such a milieu. I have served for three terms as a member of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and for two terms as a member of the Scientific Program Committee. The tropical neurology subsection had been dormant for many years, and I took the challenge to resurrect it by successfully organizing the first International Tropical Neurology Conference in India in 2017. I was then given the responsibility to take it further as president of the Tropical and Geographical Neurology Specialty Group (TGNSG). I was co-chair for INTROPICON II held in Brazil. TGNSG now is one of the most vibrant specialty groups of WFN. I am co-editor for a special issue of JNS on tropical neurology. I am also involved in activities of the Global Neurology Alliance and the Environmental Neurology Specialty Group.

The World Brain Day initiative of WFN is highly praiseworthy. The public education campaign is close to my heart due to its importance in prevention and timely treatment of neurological disorders. I have been actively organizing World Brain Day activities. I have published a book of paintings by children about their perception of the brain. Taking inspiration from WFN, we started National Brain Week for public education in India. I have been the national convener of it for the last five years. In addition, for the last 20 years, I have been organizing public education activities on the occasion of World Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, Rabies, Stroke, Autism, and Environment Days. I have published about 300 articles in various publications. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of public awareness in disease control and prevention.

The global burden of neurological diseases is massive, and there is a shortage of neurologists to deal with it. Therefore, for the last 12 years, through WFN Continuum activity and other CMEs, I have been organizing educational programs for neuroscientists and general physicians, so that they become more confident in handling neurological problems.

Goals

The core mission of the WFN, fostering quality neurology and brain health worldwide, fascinates me. There is a glaring inequality in neurology care and education worldwide. The developing and underdeveloped countries lag behind in both these aspects, and WFN is making every attempt to help them catch up. I have experienced this firsthand, and I am committed to addressing it. We need to focus on the management and long-term care of diseases in settings with poor resources where the lack of manpower and funding remain as major obstacles. This has been brought into sharp focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to emphasize to all countries that health, and especially brain health, is a priority and needs higher attention and budgetary allocation. Public participation and health education is important in improving the outcome of patients with neurological diseases and, as mentioned earlier, I have participated in this enthusiastically.

The WFN Executive Committee needs representation from developing countries. This need and a passion to work for the WFN are my reason for standing for the post of an elected trustee. I would be grateful for your support.

Candidate Statement for Elected WFN Trustee: Prof. Mohammad Wasay

Prof. Mohammad Wasay

I am currently a professor of neurology at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan; past president of the Pakistan Society of Neurology and Pakistan Stroke Society; president of the Neurology Awareness and Research Foundation; editor of the Pakistan Journal of Neurological Sciences; chief editor of Jahan e Aasab (a neurology public awareness magazine), and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for Pakistan Health and Research Council (PMRC) and the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Science and Technology. I have also served as director of the World Stroke Organization (WSO) and currently serve as a fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences and the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and secretary of the Environmental Neurology Speciality Group (ENSG) of the WFN.

I have worked with WFN for more than a decade as an active neurology advocate and researcher from South Asia. I was trained at the Palatucci Forum and then received an Advocacy Leader of the Year Award by the American Academy of Neurology for my global advocacy contributions. I served as chair of the World Federation of Neurology Advocacy Committee for four years. This committee was instrumental in starting and organizing World Brain Day activities and promoting brain health across the globe. We organized many advocacy workshops during the Asian Oceanian Association of Neurology conferences, the Asian Pacific Stroke Conference, and the World Congress of Neurology.

I started the Afghan neurology initiative, secured funding from the American Academy of Neurology and the French Medical Institute in Kabul, Afghanistan, and trained three neurologists from Afghanistan at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. These trained neurologists have started neurology training programs, education, and research in Afghanistan and established the Afghan Neurology Association (AFNA). We are working at Aga Khan University to establish a network of neurology training and research in Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. We established an Asian stroke network with more than 20 centers in 10 Asian countries. This network has published many multicenter and multinational studies related to stroke in young and Asian women, stroke in pregnancy, and cerebral venous thrombosis in Asia.

I have trained more than 40 neurologists under my supervision. Some of my trainees are now heads of departments and program directors not only in Pakistan but in the Middle East, United States, Canada, and the U.K.. I have published more than 170 papers in peer-reviewed medical journals with impressive publications metrics (IF: 466; citations=4276, H- index 33 and I10 index 85) for a clinical neurologist in a developing third world country. I have received many awards, including the Teacher Recognition Award by the American Academy of Neurology, a gold medal from the Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences, a gold medal from the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and Research, and productivity awards by the Pakistan Council of Science and Technology. I have received 27 research and training grants (intramural and extramural) as principal investigator and co-principal investigator. I have been an invited speaker at more than 120 conferences in 70 countries.

The growing burden of neurological diseases in the world has established WFN as an important stakeholder in global health. We plan to establish brain health as a top agenda for WHO and the United Nations. There is an inequity in neurology training and care across the globe. South Asia, Central Asia, and Africa should be a center point for our future interventions. As a trustee, I could play a valuable role in promoting both of these agendas. Our advocacy committee and ENSG could play an important role in establishing WFN as a key player in global health.

From the Editors

By Steven L. Lewis, MD, Editor, and Walter Struhal, MD, Co-Editor

We would like to welcome all neurologists from around the globe to this issue of World Neurology, and at the start would like to again wish you, your families, and your patients all the best of health and safety at this time.

Steven L. Lewis, MD, Walter Struhal, MD

Much of this issue is devoted to an update on COVID-19. We are honored that the cover story on this issue is written by Drs. Avindra Nath and B. Jeanne Billioux from the Section of Infections of the Nervous System at the United States National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). They provide an up-to-the moment summary of the evolving knowledge about the interface of COVID-19 on neurology and our patients. In the President’s column, Dr. William Carroll reminds us of the importance of the pandemic on our patients and the role the WFN plays in, among other important aspects, advocating for maintaining the highest standard of care for neurological patients worldwide. Dr. Carroll also updates us on the enhancements to the WFN website as a clearinghouse for accurate and up-to-date information about neurological involvement in COVID-19 as well as its effects on neurological societies and neurological patients and services worldwide.

Dr. John England, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurological Sciences (JNS), provides his Editor’s Update on the journal, informing us of the efforts to invite and expeditiously publish the accepted papers in JNS relating to the neurological aspects of COVID-19. This issue also features an obituary, reprinted from JNS, of Prof. Alberto Portera-Sánchez, a pioneer of Spanish neurology and former vice president of the WFN, along with additional heartfelt words from Vladamir Hachinski, former president of the WFN.

Drs. Tissa Wijeratne, Claudia Trenkwalder, president of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society (IPMDS), Wolfgang Grisold, and Dr. Carroll, announce and update us on the efforts and ongoing plans for this year’s World Brain Day. This year’s World Brain Day focuses on ending Parkinson’s disease as a collaborative effort between the WFN and the IPMDS. Drs. Dafin Muresanu, Selevan Ovidiu, Cristian Andriescu, and Stefan Strilciuc, describe the history of neurological meetings in Transylvania, particularly the annual international events organized by the Society for the Study of Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity (SSNN).

With this issue, we are also pleased to introduce a new column, written by WFN Secretary-General Wolfgang Grisold, who will update us with each issue about the many Committees of the WFN and their critical roles, beginning with the Standards and Evaluation Committee.

This issue also features a number of reports from the recipients of Junior Traveling Fellowships (JTFs) to attend the World Congress of Neurology (WCN) in October 2019 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. These heartfelt reports are reminders of the wonderful “in person” congress that so recently occurred (and yet now seems so distant for many reasons). Equally importantly, these reports serve as a reminder of the upcoming WCN 2021 we are so actively planning and looking forward to attending in Rome, Italy in October 2021.

Finally, as Dr. Carroll reminds us in his column, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the WFN Council of Delegates (COD) remains scheduled for Sept. 9, 2020 during the ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS meeting in Washington. We look forward to seeing all of the delegates at this meeting, whether it is virtual or in person.

We hope you enjoy this issue of World Neurology, and look forward to receiving your contributions, especially updating all of our colleagues on how the current pandemic has (or has not) affected neurologists, our societies, and our patients around the globe. •

 

 

 

 

Message From the WFN President About World Brain Day 2020

World Brain Day is July 22, 2020. This year, we are excited to announce that the World Federation of Neurology is partnering with the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease.

There are more than 7 million people of all age groups with Parkinson’s disease worldwide, and the illness affects many more than this number through its impact on families and caregivers.

Parkinson’s is a chronic, neurodegenerative whole-body disease that affects movement and almost all aspects of brain function. Its prevalence continues to rise at an alarming rate, making the actions of today vital to improving the lives of those who have been and will be diagnosed.

In order to meet our goal to diagnose earlier, treat more efficiently, and improve the lives of those living with this disease and of their caregivers, additional resources are needed to help better understand and treat Parkinson’s.

COVID-19 is a dramatic reminder that health care is a global issue. Let us remember that Parkinson’s disease is also a daily challenge faced by all ages and people, mainly by the elderly.

We hope you’ll join us and help spread the word by following the World Federation of Neurology on Twitter and Facebook.

Prof. William Carroll
WFN President

World Brain Day 2020 Moves to End Parkinson’s Disease

A World Federation of Neurology and International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society Collaboration

By Tissa Wijeratne, MD, Wolfgang Grisold,MD, Claudia Trenkwalder, MD, William Carroll, MD

World Brain Day was launched in 2014. Since then, the WFN, jointly with other international societies such as International League Against Epilepsy, World Stroke Organization, and the International Headache Society, chooses a topic with a view to drive home the importance of brain health and promote better neurological care globally.

World Brain Day 2020 Key Messages

World Brain Day 2020 is a joint collaboration between the World Federation of Neurology and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society (IPMDS).

Get on board today. Spread the news through mainstream media, social media platforms, national, and international meetings throughout the year.

Arrange virtual education and advocacy activities around the World Brain Day “Move Together to End Parkinson’s Disease” campaign in your community, hospital, village, city, or region throughout the year.

For ongoing support, contact Prof. Tissa Wijeratne, World Brain Day chair, at Tissa.Wijeratne@wfneurology.org.

Access the educational and promotional material created by the WFN and IPMDS to help you advocate for your patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Move Together to End Parkinson’s Disease

Based on this background, the WFN chose the topic of Parkinson’s disease jointly with the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society (IPMDS) as the topic for World Brain Day 2020. As in preceding World Brain Day events, the aim of World Brain Day 2020 is to alert not only its member societies, but also the public on critical neurological issues. The member societies of the WFN will receive a “toolkit” of templates for press releases and also educational PowerPoint presentation sets to assist in their local activity to promote World Brain Day and advocate for patients with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.

Local press conferences and press coverage, including print, electronic, radio, TV, and YouTube are strongly encouraged to reach the public.

Let us spread the key messages from World Brain Day 2020 “Move Together to End Parkinson’s Disease” through mainstream media, social media platforms, and local, regional, national, and international meetings throughout the year. Please see and share our new logo, the web banners, social media images, and other educational material in your country. We invite our readers to rally around World Brain Day 2020 “Move Together to End Parkinson’s Disease.”

Please make the World Brain Day 2020 campaign an important priority. The educational and promotional material from the WFN and IPMDS collaboration will help you to be the best advocates for your patients with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers. •

Prof. Tissa Wijeratne is chair of World Brain Day and chair of neurology at Western Health in Melbourne, Australia.

Prof. Claudia Trenkwalder is president of the IPMDS and professor for Movement Disorders at University Medical Center in Goettingen, Germany and medical director of Paracelsus-Elena Klinik, the largest hospital for Parkinson and Movement Disorders in Kassel, Germany.

 

About Parkinson’s Disease

Prevalence: Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative brain disease that affects more than 7 million people of all ages worldwide, and its prevalence continues to increase.

Disability: Parkinson’s disease is a whole-body disease that affects the mind, movement, and almost all aspects of brain function, with symptoms worsening over time.

Standard of Care: Access to quality neurological care, life-changing treatments, and essential medication is unavailable in many parts of the world.

Research: Additional resources are needed to help unlock the cause, onset, progression, and treatment of this disease across all ages.

Advocacy: It’s important to work together to diagnose earlier, treat more effectively, and improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.

The 2016 Global Burden of Disease of Parkinson’s disease studied its global burden between 1996 and 2016 to identify trends and to enable necessary public health, scientific, and medical responses in 20181. Over the past generation, the global burden of Parkinson’s disease has more than doubled with potential longer disease duration and environmental factors1. We can expect that the trend will continue in the next few decades with the possibility of 12 million patients with Parkinson’s disease worldwide by about 20502.

The comorbid diagnosis itself has not emerged as a specific risk factor for poor outcomes of COVID-193. The hidden sorrows (potential medication supply issues, disruption to research, and clinical trials), and emerging opportunities (telemedicine, how the pandemic influences the course of Parkinson’s disease, and taking advantages of technology, such as wearable technology) have been visible during the COVID-19 pandemic3,4.

Parkinson’s disease is a complex disease process of the human brain that results in a broad spectrum of clinical features encompassing all aspects of human function. These primarily motor dysfunctions as well as non-motor symptoms can significantly limit the patient’s ability to take part in typical day-to-day activities with poor quality of life

It is indeed essential to understand the caregiving aspects and burden in Parkinson’s disease. Findings from a published meta-analysis indicate that motor symptoms and dependence in activities of daily living have a moderate relationship with caregiver distress5. Non-motor symptoms such as impaired cognitive function, including hallucinations, confusion, and affective disorders such as depression and anxiety, have a significant effect on caregiver strain. It is the hours spent on caregiving activities and sleepless nights that are strongly associated with caregiver burden6.

References:

  1. Collaborators, G.B.D.P.s.D., Global, regional, and national burden of Parkinson’s disease, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol, 2018. 17(11): p. 939-953.
  2. Rocca, W.A., The burden of Parkinson’s disease: a worldwide perspective. Lancet Neurol, 2018. 17(11): p. 928-929.
  3. Papa, SM, et al., Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. Mov Disord, 2020.
  4. Helmich, R.C. and B.R. Bloem, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parkinson’s Disease: Hidden Sorrows and Emerging Opportunities. J Parkinsons Dis, 2020. 10(2): p. 351-354.
  5. Lau, K.-M. and A. Au, Correlates of Informal Caregiver Distress in Parkinson’s Disease: A Meta-Analysis. Clinical Gerontologist, 2011. 34(2): p. 117-131.
  6. Bhimani, R., Understanding the Burden on Caregivers of People with Parkinson’s: A Scoping Review of the Literature. Rehabil Res Pract, 2014. 2014: p. 718527.

Committees of the WFN

Wolfgang Grisold,
Secretary General, WFN

Wolfgang Grisold

Wolfgang Grisold

The committees of the WFN contribute greatly to the work of the WFN. The chairs are appointed by the trustees, and the committee is composed of members of the regions.

The present composition and membership can be seen on the WFN website and are listed in Table 1.

WFN Committees

  • Congress
  • Constitution and bylaws
  • e-communications
  • Education
  • Finance
  • Grants
  • Membership
  • Nominating
  • Public awareness and Advocacy
  • Publications
  • Regional liaison
  • Specialty groups
  • Standards and Evaluation

The task of the committees is to work on specific issues, and within their defined task they are of great value not only for the leadership of the WFN, but to the whole organization. This new column will introduce the committees in the next issues of World Neurology, starting with the Standards and Evaluation Committee in this issue.

Standards and Evaluation Committee

Table 1.

The most recently appointed chair is Prof. László Vécsei, head of Neuroscience Research Group, the department of neurology, University of Szeged, Hungary. He has much experience in educational matters, nationally, within the former European Federation of Neurological societies (EFNS- now EAN) and the Danube group of neurology.

This committee receives applications for meetings and also enduring materials. In the future, there will be an increasing need to endorse also webinars and virtual meetings.

The task of the committee is to scrutinize the event/material for scientific content, quality of speakers, and also make sure that the event is independent from industry or other influences. Once the event or material is endorsed, it is allowed to bear the WFN logo, as a sign of quality, and will be announced on the WFN website.

As Continuing Medical Education (CME)/ Continuous professional development (CPD) is subject to local and national regulations, the recognition of CME /CPD needs to be made locally, by the respective responsible body.

If you are planning a meeting or any other kind of virtual or enduring material, which is in English and of interest for our WFN community, please consider to have your event/material endorsed by the WFN. The WFN is free of charge and meant as a service for neurology. Details on the endorsement process, and also downloadable material for the application are on the WFN website.

Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee

This committee is chaired by Prof. Tissa Wijnerate from Australia. Its aim is to promote and enhance brain health and the visibility of the WFN. It has successfully organized previous World Brain Days. For a summary of 2019, organized with the International Headache Society, see the webinar of World Brain Day 2019.

This year’s World Brain Day is jointly organized with the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. The motto is “Move Together to End Parkinson’s Disease” and will highlight the importance of treating patients with movement disorders and also support careers. See the associated article in this issue.

COVID-19 and the WFN

The WFN has set up website space for the present COVID-19 crisis. We are all concerned about the neurological effects as well as recommendations to handle this crisis.

As guidelines vary in subdisciplines and regions and countries, we have inserted a list of the websites of the global neurology alliance (GNA) as well as the WFN specialty groups. Some of them have specific guidelines and advice on their website, or could be directly asked.

The journals are presently overwhelmed with reports and observations of neurological involvement in COVID-19, and it is difficult to select peer reviewed and high quality articles. The WFN has appointed our three WFN editors (Journal of the Neurological Sciences, John England; eNeurological Sciences, Walter Struhal; and World Neurology, Steven Lewis) to go through suggested articles and give recommendations. You will find these selected articles on our website.

The Specialty Group on the Environment has published a letter in Lancet Neurology, encouraging all societies to establish databases and registries and look at neurological effects of COVID-19 (THELANCETNEUROLOGY-D-20-00339 S1474-4422(20)30148-4.)

We are also interested in suggestions and opinions concerning our committees. Please contact us via the London office (Jade), or my email at wolfgang.Grisold@wfneurology.org. •

An Open Letter to All Member Societies of the WFN 

Dear Member Society, 

William Carroll, MD

At this time of what we all hope is the peaking of the COVID-19 crisis, I write to assure you that the WFN remains functioning normally with none of the trustees, staff, or executives physically affected. We trust that this continues and ask that if any member society is affected adversely in any way that they think we should be aware of, or that we might be able to assist, then please contact the London Office. 

For those of you who have been following our Facebook or Twitter feeds or the information on the WFN website or in the WFN newsletter, World Neurology, you will have noticed that the WFN had planned this year to ramp up its visibility, the promotion of brain health in parallel with this year’s World Brain Day, to commence the promotion of the 2021 World Congress of Neurology, and pursue and address the inequities of access to quality neurological care. Most of these activities were to combine both physical attendance at major international meetings and new press campaigns.  

With the impact of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of how long this will last, we will be transferring more emphasis of these efforts to the media. The cancellation of the 2020 American Academy of Neurology, the world’s largest neurological meeting, illustrates the likely direction for other major neurological meetings.  

It is paramount that neurological disorders and especially non-communicable neurological disorders do not become subsumed by the COVID-19 crisis and the response to it. In addition to providing our full support for the battle with COVID-19 by governments, their health services, institutions and hospitals, we also owe our patients with neurological disorders our reassurance and our vigilance.  

Most importantly, drug supply chains, access to medicines and pre-emptive information to those receiving neuro-immunological and other treatments, as to where to find the most appropriate and up-to-date information, will be invaluable to patients in jurisdictions where such services are already fragile. Most of the major neurological disease organizations and national and regional neurological organizations have done these preparations or are making them so it may just be a matter of ensuring the information pertinent to certain member societies is available. Fortunately, COVID-19 appears not to be neurotropic, and although there has been some earlier discussion on this in the literature, there has been no firm evidence to change this view.  

In closing, I wish all member societies, their individual members and their families, and above all, our patients, safe passage through this pandemic. 

William Carroll
WFN President

From the Editors

By Steven L. Lewis, MD, Editor, and Walter Struhal, MD, Co-Editor

We would like to welcome all neurologists from around the globe to this issue of World Neurology. First, we would like to wish you, your families, and your patients all the very best of health and safety in this time of the global pandemic.

Steven L. Lewis, MD, Walter Struhal, MD

This issue begins with the important message from the president of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), Dr. William Carroll, to all our member societies and neurologists worldwide, with regard to the COVID-19 crisis. In Dr. Carroll’s adjoining President’s Column, he also reviews the current status of the many activities and plans for the WFN, and in another adjoining column, reports on the recent successes with regard to the WFN’s activities with the World Health Organization (WHO).

It has been a while since a book review has been featured in World Neurology, and we are so pleased that this section has returned with the thoughtful and colorful review by Dr. Mark Hallett (a previous editor of World Neurology) on the book recently published on the history of the National Hospital and the Institute of Neurology at Queen Square written by Drs. Simon Shorvon and Alastair Compston. In addition, Dr. John England, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurological Sciences (JNS), provides his Editor’s Update of an important special issue of JNS devoted to opiate addiction.

Dr. Serefnur Ozturk reports on a recent “In the Region” session at the Turkish Neurological Society Annual Neurology Congress that was focused on Women in Neurology. Dr. R.S. Jain provides his report of the many activities surrounding World Stroke Day that were held in Jaipur, India. Drs. Marina Alpaidze and Gia Tomadze describe the recent activities of the WFNs Special Interest Group on Neurosonology held in Tbilisi Georgia. Drs. Nils Erik Gilhus, Aud Kvalbein, and Anette Storstein report on the structure and many important activities and accomplishments of the Norwegian Brain Council.

This issue also features several reports from trainees who participated in department visits with WFN partner societies and hospitals in Austria, Canada, and Germany, with wonderful descriptions of their experiences and great appreciation to their hosts. In this issue’s History section, curated by Dr. Peter Koehler, Dr. Egle Sakalauskaite-Juodeikiene describes the history and debunking of a fascinating “disease” that had neurologic and multisystem manifestations, and the sociocultural factors and biases that underlied the belief in the existence of this condition at the time.

Finally, this issue announces calls for nominations for the next open position for Elected Trustee of the WFN and the mechanisms for nomination for this important position.

In closing, we would like to reiterate our wishes to all for safety and health for you, your families, colleagues, and patients in this remarkable and trying time. For global neurology-related COVID-19 resources and information, please refer to the new page on our website: wfneurology.org/covid-19-and-world-neurology. Please also be on the lookout for additional links and resources on the WFN website to freely and widely available eLearning materials that will be of increasing importance and relevance in this time of social distancing.

« Previous Page