clinical lecture

The 16th EFNS Congress in Stockholm from 8th to 11th September was terrific, the largest congress we have ever had with 5400 participants and a packed programme of main topic lectures, focussed workshops, oral presentations and poster sessions covering the whole spectrum of neurology. The programme was organised in collaboration with the Movement Disorder Society and by the European Federation of Autonomic Societies. Singling out individual items is invidious but the highlight of every congress is the EFNS clinical lecture, this year eloquently given by Professor Marie-Germaine Bousser from Paris on CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy). She told us about her first family with young onset stroke and migraine and cerebral white matter lesions.

Some of the lessons learned from CADASIL show that: - Patients should not be forced into known categories when the condition is not clear - A descriptive acronym is better than multiple wordings - Family history and examination of family members is important - Once recognised a rare disorder rapidly becomes not so rare - Clinical observations can stimulate basic research - A monogenic condition can be a good model and elucidate polygenic disorders