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Spain is the fourth-largest country in Europe, with a population of just more than 47 million, and is made up of mainland Spain, occupying the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic islands in the Mediterranean, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa, and the Canary Islands in the north-east Atlantic Ocean. Spain’s capital is Madrid, and the country is divided into 17 autonomous communities, which provide free, universal healthcare to all their inhabitants.

I am happy to share with you that Prof. Franz Fazekas’s health has greatly improved.  We are in regular contact with him and his wife and expect (and wish) further recovery. Unfortunately, his current condition does not allow him to resume his function as President of our Society. As a consequence, the board has decided to ask me to take over his duties from September 1, 2019. To support the board and in accord with our bylaws, Prof. D. Vodusek, who already served in the EAN board, was appointed as member at large (until the next elections in Paris). I am very thankful to the entire board, the office, and particularly to Prof. G. Deuschl for their trust, support and advice in this delicate transition period.

This month’s selected paper is a working group report that addresses a recently described disorder, limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), which is emerging as an important cause of cognitive impairment in the elderly. The group make recommendations for standardised neuropathological evaluation and identify research avenues to better understand this evolving new disease phenotype.

Sweden, population 10 million, is the largest of the Nordic countries. The population is concentrated to the southern large-city areas, including the capital Stockholm (population 2 million) and the cities of Gothenburg and Malmö. Geographically, Sweden is the third largest country in the EU. The northern parts of the country extend above the artic circle, but the climate is relatively mild (average temperature about 0°C in January and 21°C in July) on account of the Gulf Stream carrying warmer Caribbean water to the region.!

It is my pleasure to introduce the backbone of our society, the Scientific Panels, to you in my role as the Scientific Committee Chair. EAN Scientific Panels cover a wide range of subspecialties and play a significant role in the EAN everyday activities. These member-led groups are a perfect opportunity to network with colleagues

For September 2019, we have selected two scientific papers with a common theme: Goadsby et al., Trial of galcanezumab in prevention of episodic cluster headache NEJM 2019; 381: 132-41, and Lipton et al., Rimegepant, an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, for migraine NEJM 2019; 381: 142-9.

Switzerland is a beautiful country in the heart of Europe, stretching east to west from the lake of Constance to the lake of Geneva, and north to south from the river Rhine to the lago maggiore. Switzerland encompasses wonderful sceneries in the Alps, the middle lands and the Jura, which offer all kinds of outdoor activities in summer and winter, but also countless cultural events in his small but also metropolitan cities. Switzerland is a successful example that a multilingual and multicultural country can work. German, French, Italian and Roman are the national languages, and, with a population of 8.42 million inhabitants, Switzerland hosts more than 25% of foreign inhabitants from all over the world, all contributing to a beautiful, colorful and multicultural country, which regardless is deep-rooted in his traditions of independence, liberty, and direct democracy.

The 5th EAN Congress held in Oslo from June 29 to July 2 is now over and it’s time to look back. The Congress was a great success for EAN and for us in the local organising committee in Norway. Number of participants was the highest ever with 6919 registered delegates, and the number of submitted abstracts was all-time high at 2250. Number of applications for the tournament for young investigators was up about 40% for basic and more than 20% for clinical research. These figures illustrate the high and rapidly increasing activity in our society. At the same time, EAN definitely managed to make its mark on the city of Oslo with 24 EAN banners on both sides of Karl Johan, the main street of the city.

For August 2019, we have selected Wilson, Sample et al. Clinical metagenomic sequencing for diagnosis of meningitis and encephalitis. N Eng J Med 2019; 380:24;2327-2340

Our cities are well known for the arts, their history , design and fashion, quality of life, and food. The Mediterranean diet was postulated to be protective against neurodegenerative diseases by Ancel Benjamin Keys (1904 - 2004), a famous American physiologist who decided to live in the Cilento, a beautiful Southern Italian area,  and follow the diet himself. Finally, Italian cities are renowned for the human relationships of their inhabitants.

It is my great pleasure to be invited to introduce myself to you in my new role as editor of EAN Pages, starting at our Congress in Oslo. I am a neurologist based in Sheffield in the UK, running busy general and neuromuscular clinics, with a research interest in motor neuron disease. First of all, I want to thank my predecessor and friend, Professor Elena Moro, for leading us to our current position of strength at EAN Pages.

For July 2019, we have selected a scientific paper: RESTART Collaboration. Effects of antiplatelet therapy after stroke due to intracerebral haemorrhage: a randomised open label trial. Lancet 2019; May 21 [Epub ahead of print]

Norway is located in the western and northern part of Scandinavia, and it is well known for its beautiful scenery with fjords and waterfalls along the coastline, its mountainous wilderness, and for Arctic regions with northern lights in the winter and midnight sun during the summer. Norway is one of Europe's most sparsely populated countries with 5.2 million people in a land area of 385,802 km2. The most densely populated area is around the city of Oslo in the south-east of the country. Oslo, the Norway’s capital, is the fastest-growing capital in Europe.

The last day of the Congress and time to take stock. Kell Morten Myhr summarised the field of multiple sclerosis (MS), which received 205 abstracts. Professor Myhr started his highlights with papers by Persson et al from Lexington reporting longitudinal observational survival data in MS and Stahmann et al from Hanover who reported variable rates of starting disease-modifying therapy. Professor Myhr considered that these papers together pointed toward a need to start MS therapy early. Prognostic blood biomarkers were then considered with vitamin D shown to predict long-term disability (Wesnes et al, Trondheim), whilst neurofilament light chain was associated with development of cognitive impairment in secondary progressive MS (Kuhle et al, Basel).

This plenary symposium captured the overarching theme of the Congress. Professor Vezzani from Milan began by discussing neuroinflammatory pathways as treatment targets and biomarker candidates in epilepsy. There is evidence for oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory responses in various forms of epilepsy, from animal models and surgical resection specimens, with microglial activation, extravasation of albumin, and upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 1-beta.