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The mission of EAN is ‘to promote excellence in neurology across Europe’. Therefore we need you, our colleagues, to become individual EAN members. Membership is not only for your own benefit, but also to accomplish our mission. As an individual member you can play an important role. By standing for election for the position as Delegate in the Assembly of Delegates you can become an influencer.

For August 2018, we have selected: Corvol JC, Artaud F, Cornier-Dequaire F, et al., for the DIGPD Study Group. Longitudinal analysis of impulse control disorders in Parkinson disease. Neurology 2018. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000005816. Impulse control disorders (ICDs) are frequent in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, and can have relevant consequences on social life. Whereas the association between treatment with dopamine agonists (DA) and the onset of ICDs is well known, there is controversy about the relationship with dose and duration of DA therapy.

The roots of clinical neurology can be traced back to Germany. With his ”Lehrbuch der Nervenkrankheiten des Menschen“ (textbook of human nervous diseases) 1840, Moritz Heinrich Romberg (1795 – 1873) established the foundation of clinical neurology as we know it today. His work was the first and for decades the only systematic representation of neurological diseases in Europe and America, bringing him international fame and esteem.

Dear EAN Members, dear Colleagues, The 4th annual Congress of the European Academy of Neurology just held in Lisbon on June 16th - 19th was a spectacular event. More than 6,700 participants from 104 countries attended the meeting which covered the whole range of neurologic disorders in various formats, and offered altogether 42 scientific and 48 educational sessions. Besides several teaching courses and educational activities, the congress also comprised of 20 case-based workshops and interactive sessions, 7 hands-on courses, and 3 career development sessions.

For July 2018, we have selected: Thomalla G, Simonsen CZ, Boutitie G, et al., for the WAKE-UP Investigators. MRI-guided thrombolysis for stroke with unknown time of onset. NEJM May 16, 2018. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1804355. Thrombolysis is currently performed in patients with acute ischemic stroke within a window of 4.5 hours since the symptoms’ onset. In about one third of the patients, the exact time of stroke onset is unknown, like in patients who wake up from sleeping.

oland is located in Central Europe between the Baltic Sea in the north, and the Sudetes and the Carpathian Mountains in the south, the majority of the area laying in the basin of the Vistula and Oder rivers. The country is inhabited by about 38 million people, and in terms of the area, which exceeds 300,000. km2, Poland is classified as 63rd on Earth. Its neighbours are: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.

Portugal is a country with a 900-year history: many remnants of past colonization by Celtics, Romans, and Arabians are still present. Unquestionably, the greater contribution of Portugal to the humanity have been the overseas navigations around the world, namely the discovery of the maritime way to India, the discovery of Brazil and of several Atlantic islands.

The first team of board members is going to retire after the Lisbon congress and the incoming president, Franz Fazekas from Graz, Austria, will take over. He is an outstanding scientist in the field of Stroke and Multiple Sclerosis and has done a marvellous job for our Society during the past 4 years. His many qualities as an Austrian Cosmopolitan are a guarantee for an integrative presidency for the next years of further development of this young Society. It is my privilege to thank him and the outgoing board for an excellent collaboration.

As every year, spring time is high season for preparing for the annual congress - this year the 4th congress of the European Academy of Neurology in Lisbon. It is the annual main event of our Society and we expect around 6000 participants in this special and historically attractive Portuguese capital. The congress has continuously adapted its profile and one of the main goals of our Society is to continuously develop new formats which satisfy the requests of modern neurology and its drivers, the European Neurologists. Our program committee under the leadership of Prof. Boon has excellently realized this request with many new innovations.

For May 2018, we have selected: Kappos L, Bar-Or A, Cree BAC, et al., for the EXPAND Clinical Investigators. Siponimod versus placebo in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (EXPAND): a double-blind, randomized, phase 3 study. Lancet Neurol 2018;391:1263-1273. Secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) is characterized by a previous history of relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) and the continuous progression of disability over the years typically without relapses.

Portugal is a country with a 900-year history: many remnants of past colonization by Celtics, Romans, and Arabians are still present. Unquestionably, the greater contribution of Portugal to the humanity have been the overseas navigations around the world, namely the discovery of the maritime way to India, the discovery of Brazil and of several Atlantic islands.

Education is one of the key elements of the activities of the European Academy of Neurology. While the congress is well known to most of our members and European Neurologists the activities outside the congress are much less known. EAN has a special committee working on education[1] with Prof. Hannah Cock as the chair and the teaching course subcommittee under the leadership of Prof. Claudia Sommer. They are charged to develop an educational program including education for neurologists in training and advanced courses with the emphasis on training for the general neurologist. While the field of Neurology is getting increasingly broader it is of paramount importance to set a common ground for all neurologists which our education committee has carefully developed. For the congress educational programme, a five-year curriculum of the educational content covering all relevant topics has been developed over the past 3 years and parts of this plan are also applied to the educational activities outside the congress.

For April 2018, we have selected: Whelan CD, Altmann A, Botia JA, et al., for the ENIGMA-Epilepsy Working Group. Structural brain abnormalities in the common epilepsies assessed in a worldwide ENIGMA study. Brain 2018;141:391-408. Epilepsy affects 0.6-1.5% of the population worldwide with one-third of patients being resistant to antiepileptic treatment. Nowadays epilepsy is considered a network disorder in which several structural changes are involved.

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a country in Central Europe. The total area of the Slovak territory is 49 036 km2 and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava. However, the Slovak Republic is a young state (established on January 1st, 1993, by the split of Czechoslovakia), indeed it is an old country with rich historical heritage.