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France is a country of tradition and innovation: France was a pioneer country in Neurology since the 19th century, with seminal clinical and pathological description of many neurological diseases by Charcot (1825-1893) in Salpêtriere hospital in Paris and his colleagues, illustrated by the famous painting by Brouillet “a clinical lesson at the Salpêtriere”.

Covid-19 has affected over 500,000 people and caused over 21,000 deaths. People from all over the world are making great sacrifices, from social distancing to sustaining economic loss. Healthcare workers are on the frontline, and neurologists are increasingly involved as well.

In these troubled times, our Paper of the Month for April is: Grasselli G, Pesenti A, Cecconi M. Critical care utilization for the Covid-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy: Early experience and forecast during an emergency response.

As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the majority of European Countries, including Italy, neurologists should prepare to manage these cases. As already known, preparation has been challenged by rapidly changing guidelines, inconsistent directives, and a lack of testing capability.

As a society aiming to promote excellence in neurology across Europe, one of the European Academy of Neurology’s greatest assets is undoubtedly the strong support from its National Neurological Society Members. As a region with a wide variety of languages, cultures, jurisdictions and needs, Europe certainly presents some challenges when it comes to coordinated action, but what we all have in common as neurologists is a strong desire to reach for excellence, ensure the best possible patient care and to work together to achieve it.

For March 2020, we have selected: Olanow et al, Apomorphine sublingual film for off episodes in Parkinson’s disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Lancet Neurology; 19: 135-44.

Ireland – Hibernia (“land of winter” according to the Romans) – sits as the last outpost of North-Western Europe before the vast Atlantic Ocean that separates us from North America. Anyone who has visited the Cliffs of Moher (Figure) on the West Coast of Ireland will appreciate the precipitous point at which Europe ends.

It is such a pleasure for me to see how EAN has been continuously growing in terms of members, activities, engagements, promotion, and impact on several important activities inside the European Community.

For February 2020, we have selected: Kleine-Borgmann J, Schmidt K, Hellmann A, Bingel U. Effects of open-label placebo on pain, functional disability, and spine mobility in patients with chronic back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Iceland is a country of 360,000 inhabitants, who are mostly of Icelandic ethnic origin together with 11% of people, who are of eastern European ancestry. There are seven universities in Iceland. The University of Iceland has a faculty of medicine, from which around 48 physicians graduate each year. Medical education consists of seven years: three preclinical years, three clinical years and an internship year. Training mostly takes place in the University Hospital in Reykjavik but also in several local hospitals and primary care clinics outside the main hospital. For specialty training in neurology, physicians have to move abroad, and most go to Scandinavia, or to the United States.

One of the main aims of the European Academy of Neurology is to establish common standards of diagnosis, treatment and care within the various subfields of neurology across Europe. As a region of diverse jurisdictions, languages, markets and healthcare challenges, European neurology needs to establish not only guidelines for the diagnosis and the treatment of neurological disorders, but also in order to maintain and enhance the discipline and practice of neurology.

For January 2020 we have selected Kapur J et al., Randomized Trial of Three Anticonvulsant Medications for Status Epilepticus,

Ukraine is the largest country entirely within Europe with the territory of 603,628 km2. The main part of the territory of Ukraine is located within the East European Plain (up to 95 % of area). There are 25 main administrative regions, and also cities with a special status (such as Kyiv, capital of the country), which are divided, in turn, into districts. The population of Ukraine is more than 42 million.

First of all, I would like to wish you a very happy holiday season and every success in the New Year! As we approach the end of 2019, we can look back on another highly productive year for EAN with yet another successful congress. The number of delegates was an all-time high and we can boast on eminent keynote speakers, and well-attended scientific sessions and teaching courses. As our main mission is to promote excellence in neurology across Europe, we aim to continue this success and hard work into the future. With that in mind, I would like to tell you a little about some recent changes and plans that EAN has in order to support this important mission to the benefit of neurologists and patients throughout Europe.

For December 2019, we have selected: Cree et al., Inebilizumab for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica (N-MOmentum): a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled  phase 2/3 trial Lancet 2019 Epub ahead of print Sept 5.