SP Neuroepidemiology met during recent EAN Congress in Amsterdam. Co-chairs Ettore Beghi and Maura Pugliatti from Italy welcomed members and introduced Dafin Muresanu from Romania, as a new liaison officer between the scientific committee and scientific panel.
Co-chairs reported a summary of the activities performed over the past years by the Panel members and updated on the orientations and goals by the Head Office for Panels, highlighting what the most important tasks for the Panel, such as the production of guidelines.
With this respect, three proposals were discussed and on the following topics: ‘epilepsy and treatment discontinuation’, ‘status epilepticus’, and ‘indications for rehabilitation in neurological disorders’.
A very different issue was also discussed with regard to enhancing the participation of young neurologists, or neurologists in training, as well as patients’ representatives to the activities of the Panel.
A list of activities to undertake at Panel level and/or in collaboration with other Panels/Organizations included the conduction of a survey of care-pathway across European countries, with potential interaction with EAN Head Office in designing a questionnaire-based pilot investigation on epilepsy, and the general attempt to standardize diagnosis and treatment.
The possibility for Panel Members to participate to the Teaching Course on Rare Disease to be held in Cluj Napoca, Romania in September 2017 was reminded.
Lastly, and under specific request by Panel member Prof Anders Christofer Lundqvist from Oslo, Norway, the Panel discussed possible main themes for the EAN Congress to be held in Oslo, Norway in 2019. It was proposed that this EAN Panel indeed supported Neuroepidemiology. A focus on “Epidemiology of common neurological disorders” possibly with a subtitle: “Implications for treatment and health policy” was suggested also based on Norway’s long standing focus on large (population-based and registry-based) epidemiological studies as well as treatment studies through real cohorts of patients. Headache has been a main focus in these studies but there are also studies in other areas of central neurological importance such as stroke and multiple sclerosis. The details of the more specific program are not yet being planned – whereas the main themes need to be laid down early.
The importance of maintaining communications across the Panel throughout the year within these activities was emphasized and recommended.
by Maura Pugliatti,1,2 and Ettore Beghi2,3
1Department of Biomedical and Surgical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Italy
2EAN Scientific Panel Neuroepidemiology, Vienna, Austria
3Department of Neurology, ‘Mario Negri’ Institute, Milan, Italy
