Document Download: World Neurology - May/June 2017

Published by Ascend Integrated Media LLC, Kansas, USA

From the editors

Steven L. Lewis, MD, Editor, and Walter Struhal, MD, Co-Editor

The issue begins with the important news from WFN President Raad Shakir, who reports on the momentous and exciting decision by the World Health Organization to classify Stroke under the Central Nervous System chapter of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). On the topic of stroke, Dr. Wolfgang Grisold, secretary-general of the WFN, and Dr. Mohammed Wasay, remind us that the topic of World Brain Day 2017 is devoted to stroke awareness, prevention, and management. Dr. William (Bill) Carroll, first vice president of the WFN, and the convener of the Global Neurology Network, provides the background and analysis underlying the need for a global neurology alliance to address the global burden of neurological disease.

Dr. Grisold and Riadh Goulder, MD, provide their report on the recent and highly successful first African Academy of Neurology (AFAN) Conference & 15th Pan Arab Union of Neurological Societies (PAUNS) meeting that was just held in March in Yasmine-Hammamet, Tunisia. Marina Alpaidze, MD, PhD, and Alexander Razumovsky, PhD, FAHA, report on the third WFN neurosonology teaching course that took place in October 2016 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Dr. Mohammad Bassam Hayek, a neurologist in Aleppo, Syria, and the vice president of the Syrian Society for Neuroscience, provides us with an important on-the-scene update on the recent and current state of neurology and neurological care in Syria.

Giordani Rodrigues dos Passos, MD, reports on his recent eye-opening and successful participation in the Canadian/WFN Department Visit Program, where he visited the Montreal Neurological Institute in March. In another successful report from the Rabat/WFN Teaching Visit Program, Dr. Boubacar Maiga reports on his experience from his one-year fellowship in clinical neurophysiology at University Mohamed-V in Rabat, Morocco.

Drs. Jon Stone, Ingrid Hoeritzauer, and Mark Hallett provide us with a brief, up-to-date, and authoritative review of the current thinking with regard to the classification, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of functional neurologic disorders, including an invitation to learn and share more at the third International Conference on Functional Neurological Disorders to be held in September in Edinburgh. In this issue's history column, Dr. M.J. Eadie provides us with a historical view of the emergence of clinical neurology in Australia, and the key neurologic figures who contributed to this rich history.

You also will find the nice reports and descriptions from each of the four candidate city venues for World Congress of Neurology 2021. Each city also will be presenting (for voting by the Council of Delegates) at the upcoming World Congress of Neurology in Kyoto, Japan. Also in this issue is the announcement from the WFN Nominating Committee with regard to the listing of the candidates for WFN leadership and trustee positions to be voted on by the Council of Delegates in Kyoto. (Note: The statements from the candidates for president and vice president will appear in the upcoming [July/August] issue.)

Tissa Wijeratne, MD, provides an intriguing biographical sketch of his pathway and journey from the "jungle" of Sri Lanka to becoming a neurologist. Finally, Dr. Grisold and Robert Schmidhammer, MD, provide a heartfelt obituary for Dr. Hanno Millesi, a renowned peripheral nerve surgeon.

Highlights

• Stroke: Back to Where It Belongs
  By Raad Shakir, MD

  If someone anywhere in the world had a stroke or a TIA in the last 60 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) coding system placed the event under either vascular diseases or episodic symptoms, not in the appropriate central nervous system chapter of ICD-10. This situation started with ICD-7 in 1955 and has continued since. It skews all statistics of neurological diseases produced by the WHO. ICD-10 has been in use since 1990, and a total revamp is long overdue. The information is not only stale and old, but incorrect. Codes such as "slow virus infection" for prion diseases are expected to be used in the 21st century?

• Candidate Nominees Announced

  The WFN Nominating Committee announces the candidates for the WFN elections to be held at the upcoming World Congress of Neurology in Kyoto, Japan.

• The Need for a Global Neurology Alliance
  By W. (Bill) M. Carroll, MB, BS, MD, FRACP, FRCP(E)

  Recently, there has been an explosion of health awareness recognized by individuals, nations, and the global community. The decade of the brain was followed by the human genome project, accompanied by the near eradication of malaria and polio. Yet, we now stand at the threshold of even more rapid advances on many fronts.

• World Brain Day 2017: Stroke Is a Brain Attack: Prevent It and Treat It
  

  By Mohammed Wasay, MD, and Wolfgang Grisold, MD

  This year's World Brain Day commemorates the foundation of the WFN. The prior World Brain Day topics were aimed at epilepsy and dementia, and now it is aimed at stroke. We are partnering this time with the World Stroke Organization (WSO), which puts great global effort into the prevention and treatment of stroke.

• The State of Neurology in Aleppo
  

  By Dr. Mohammad Bassam Hayek

  A workshop about epilepsy was presented during a training course funded by the World Health Organization.

• Hanno Millesi, March 24, 1927-April 28, 2017
  

  By Robert Schmidhammer, MD, and Wolfgang Grisold, MD

  University Professor Dr. Hanno Millesi, a doyen of modern nerve surgery, died April 28, 2017, in Vienna, Austria. He was 90.

• WFN NSRG Examines Clinical Applications
  

  By Marina Alpaidze, MD, PhD, and Alexander Razumovsky, PhD, FAHA

  On Oct. 22, 2016, the Georgian Chapter of the WFN NSRG successfully conducted its third regional meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia. The meeting included participants from the neighboring country of Azerbaijan. The one-day course was designed for individuals who are interested in performing and interpreting neurosonology studies.

• WFN and the Canadian Neurological Society Provide a Learning Opportunity
  

  By Giordani Rodrigues dos Passos, MD

  One month after completing my neurology residency in Brazil, I had the opportunity in March to participate in the Canadian Department Visit Program, during which I served as an observer at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI).

• Fellowship in Morocco Productive for Mali Neurologist
  

  By Dr. Boubacar Maiga

  My training took place every week, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. I performed all of the neurophysiological explorations under the supervision of Prof. Ouazzani. In the department, I had the same activities as the Moroccan residents in neurology and neurophysiology.

• The Emergence of Clinical Neurology in Australia
  

  By M. J. Eadie

  In Northern Hemisphere countries, from about 1860 onward, the specialty of clinical neurology emerged after increasing numbers of medical graduates focused their interests and restricted their clinical practices to the study and management of organic disease of the nervous system. A similar process occurred in Australia, but lagged by some four decades so that the specialty of clinical neurology there became firmly established only by the mid-20th century.

• The Journey of One Neurologist from Sri Lanka to Melbourne
  

  By Tissa Wijeratne, MD

  Born and raised in what I describe as "the jungle," my life started in one of the remotest parts of Sri Lanka: a village called Kirioruwa-Bandarawela in the central mountainous area. Electricity, hot water, television, and telephone were all miles away from us at the time.

• AFAN-PAUNS Congress: Two Societies Achieve a Milestone of Joint Regional Meetings
  

  By Riadh Gouider, MD, and Wolfgang Grisold, MD

  The first African Academy of Neurology (AFAN) conference and the 15th Pan Arab Union of Neurological Societies (PAUNS) meeting provided a unique opportunity for both societies to meet on the same premises and hold their first joint congress. More than 500 delegates attended; they represented 52 nationalities from five continents.

• World Congress of Neurology 2021

  Four European cities are bidding to host the World Congress of Neurology 2021, an international conference focused on advancing the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. In this issue, World Neurology publishes four articles written by neurology organizations and professionals about why WCN 2021 should take place in Copenhagen, London, Marseille, or Rome.

  • Copenhagen by Prof. Gunhild Waldemar and Jesper Erdal
  • London by members of the Association of British Neurologists (ABN)
  • Marseille by Prof. Gilles Edan, Prof. Jean-Marc Leger and Prof. Jean-Philippe Azulay
  • Rome by The Italian Society of Neurology (SIN)