by Professor N. Grigoriadis (on behalf of the Hellenic Neurological Society)
The EAN-Day in Greece took place on 2 June, 2021, organised under the auspices of the EAN, the Hellenic Neurological Society and Professor Nikolaos Grigoriadis, the Head of the Hellenic Neurological Society. It was followed by the 32nd National Conference of the Hellenic Neurological Society, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the beautiful city of Thessaloniki.
Due to COVID restrictions, the event was hybrid, hosting attendees both on-site as well as virtually. However, this was not an obstacle for the event to be a success, with prominent speakers bringing excellent teaching. We were honoured to host three excellent, well-known speakers from different countries, supported by the EAN to give a lecture at this event. The main topics were Multiple Sclerosis, Headache and Neurogenetics. The programme included plenary sessions and interactive workshops presented by experts on the field, that were highly rated by the audience of neurologists and residents in training. During coffee and lunch breaks the participants had the chance to discuss their cases with the speakers and exchange knowledge.
Professor Grigoriadis inaugurated the event with an opening session welcoming all speakers and attendees. Three plenary sessions took place in the morning addressing three different topics. All invited speakers presented a plenary lecture and an interactive workshop with a practical approach to diagnosis and therapeutic aspects. Professor Ludwig Kapposfrom Switzerland gave a talk about ‘Progression in Multiple Sclerosis: Diagnostic tools’. Professor Messoud Ashina from Denmark followed with a talk about ‘Pathophysiology of Migraine and Target molecules’ and Professor Henry Houlden from the UK talked about ‘Common and rare movement disorders: Diagnostic process and treatment management’. Dr Marianthi Breza, the Greek representative in the EAN Residents and Research Fellows Section, presented news on available educational activities and grants from the EAN for young neurologists and resident doctors in training.
After a lunch break, there were interactive workshops where the speakers presented unique and challenging clinical cases or news in therapeutics, followed by a discussion. The following topics were discussed: B cell-targeted therapies in CNS demyelinating diseases (Professor Ludwig Kappos), Therapeutic algorithms in Migraine (Professor Messoud Ashina), and an update in Hereditary Ataxia and Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) (Professor Henry Houlden). The social programme included a visit to the centre of Thessaloniki for the speakers after the scientific programme.
Although COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, the meeting was a great success. This event was the perfect opportunity for clinicians to share their clinical experience, knowledge and ideas. The topics and their practical clinical importance were extremely appreciated by the Audience and participation was very active during the whole day. Many questions arose from the attendees for each of the topics, especially from the residents and the young neurologists.
The Hellenic Neurological Society is very thankful to the EAN and all the speakers for their contribution to the event as well as to all the participants for their interest. Last but not least, the Hellenic Neurological Society is very grateful to Eveline Sipido and Julia Mayer from the EAN Headoffice for their great support and help for the organisation of this scientific event in Thessaloniki, as without them this event couldn’t have been done.
We hope this was only the beginning for more interesting and educational events to be organised in collaboration with EAN and our national Hellenic Neurological Society.
