The EAN Board and Scientific Committee are pleased to announce the creation of a new Coordinating Panel on Functional Neurological Disorders (FND), and encourage all EAN Individual Members (FEAN, full, corresponding, resident and student individual members) with an interest in this field to apply for this new Panel!
Functional Neurological Disorder is a common reason for patients to seek help from a neurologist. It is a condition that causes impaired quality of life and levels of disability similar to many other neurological disorders, thus health and socio-economic implications associated with FND are equivalently high.
To focus on FND further fosters the much-needed bridge between neurology, psychiatry and rehabilitation which is highly relevant across neurological conditions. Therefore, further clinical and scientifical developments in the field of FND will not only help people with this highly prevalent and disabling disorder but will also provide insights into improving treatment and outcome in people with other long-term neurological conditions. By creating this new Coordinating Panel, the EAN wants to improve knowledge and increase awareness of FND.
From the beginning of September 2023 onwards EAN Individual Members can apply for this new group as Individual Panel Members by completing the respective online application. The Core Group of the new Coordinating Panel on FND, with up to two representatives from each EAN Scientific Panel, will be set up by January 2024 (Call for Application to be sent in November 2023), followed by the Management Group Elections for Coordinating Panels. It is planned to have the new EAN Coordinating Panel on FND in place by March 2024, with its first in-person meeting scheduled at the 10th EAN Congress in Helsinki, Finland, 29 June – 2 July 2024.
In case of any questions regarding this new panel or the application procedure, please reach out to the EAN Scientific Department: scientific@ean.org!