WORLD NEUROLOGY...The World Congresses of Neurology and the newsletter World Neurologyareessential in shaping the visibility of the World Federation of Neurology. Both are now in a

The World Congresses of Neurology andthe newsletter World Neurology areessential in shaping the visibility of theWorld Federation of Neurology. Both arenow in a process of change.

For 50 years, WFN has organized aWorld Congress of Neurology everyfourth year. The quadrennial meetingsserve as the most effective venue forpresenting scientific achievementsand interacting with delegates of var-ied backgrounds and perspectives.They are also crucial for the visibilityof the organization. The number ofcongress participants is increasing,and so is the number of contributions.The progress in research in clinical

neurosciences is accelerating, but theinterval of four years between eachcongress also makes it necessary formany neurologists to attend impor-tant conferences on specific parts ofneurology in the years in between theworld congresses.

During the WFN Delegates meeting inBrussels, August 2007, there was a gen-eral agreement to change the frequencyof its World Congresses from quadren-nial to biennial. The World Congress ofNeurology 2009, which will take place inBangkok, October 2009, will be the lastof the quadrennial congresses. The nextWorld Congresses of Neurology will bein 2011, 2013, 2015 etc.

Visit the WFN website at http: / /www.wfneurology.org

V O L U M E 2 3 , N U M B E R 1 , M A R C H 2 0 0 8

T h e N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e W o r l d F e d e r a t i o n o f N e u r o l o g y

W O R L DNEUROLOGY

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Contd. on page 4

19th World Congress of NeurologyInnovation in Neurology

October 24-30, 2009

BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:� Editorial

� WFN Travelling FellowshipReport

� WFN Elections: Call forNominations

� WFN Annual Reports, 2007� Memorial Award for Neurology

Residents-in-Training� Encephalitis—The Broader

Spectrum� Regional News

� Calendar� Obituary: Prof Jens Mielke

and Prof. P.K. Thomas

The venue for the next world congresswas previously decided at the Delegatesmeeting at the previous world congress.Bids were sent in a year in advance, andeach bid was presented to the Delegatesduring their meeting. We can now lookforward to a geographical rotation ofcongress venues. Thus, the 2011 con-gress will take place on the African con-tinent, while in 2013, it will be inEurope, and in 2015 in Latin America.

Up to 2009, much of the organizingwork has been successfully performedby the national neurological society ofthe organizing country. The local organ-izing country established an agreementwith a professional congress organizer(PCO), which has varied from congressto congress.

Each contract written between theorganizing national neurological

The Changing Face of the WorldFederation of Neurology

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDr. Jagjit S. Chopra, # 1153 Sector 33-C,Chandigarh-160 020, India. Tel: +91-172-2661532. Fax: +91-172-2668532. E-mail:[email protected]

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDDr. Johan Aarli, Department of Neurology,University of Bergen, Haukeland Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway. E-mail:[email protected]. Ra’ad A. Shakir, Charing Cross Hospital,Fulham Palace Road, London - W6BRF, UK. E-mail: [email protected]. Mark Hallett, NINDS, NIH Bldg. 10, Rm.5N226, 10 Centre Drive, Msc 1428, Bethesda,MD 20892, USADr. Theodore Munsat, Department ofNeurology, New England Medical Center, Box314, 750 Washington Street, Boston, MA02111, USADr. Robert Lisak, Department of Neurology,University Health Centre, School of Medicine,4201 St. Antonio, Detroit, MI 48201, USADr. William M Carroll, c/o AAN Secretariat, 145Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000,AustraliaDr. Marianne de Visser, Academic MedicalCentre, University of Amsterdam, Dept. ofNeurology, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZAmsterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Roger N. Rosenberg, Chief Editor, Archivesof Neurology, 515 N State Street, Chicago IL60610, USADr. Daniel Truong, The Parkinson’s &Movement Disorders Institute, 9940 TalbertAvenue, Suite 204, Fountain Valley, CA 92708,USAREGIONAL DIRECTORSDr. Ashraf Kurdi (Pan-Arab), JordanDr. Jacques de Reuck, (Pan-European),BelgiumDr. Thomas R. Swift, (North American), USADr. Mario Tolentino Dipp (Latin American), Dominican RepublicProf. Gilbert Avode Dossou (Pan-African),BeninDr. Bhim Sen Singhal (Asian-Oceanian), India

ASSISTANT EDITOR Dr. I.M.S. Sawhney, Department of Neurology,Morriston Hospital, Swansea SA6 6NL, UK;e-mail: [email protected]

WFN ADMINISTRATOR Keith Newton, World Federation of Neurology,12 Chandos Street, London W1G 9DR, UKe-mail: [email protected]

PUBLISHING STAFFPublisher:

Peter F. Bakker ([email protected])Marketing:

Jorinde DirkmaatDesign and Layout:

Desh Deepak KhannaOperational Support:

Annemieke van Es

ADVERTISINGPlease send inquiries about advertising inWorld Neurology to the AdvertisingDepartment, Elsevier Ltd., The Boulevard,Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB,UK. Phone: +44-1865-843 258; Fax: +44-1865-843 976; email: [email protected]

MANUSCRIPTSThe Editor is happy to receive unsolicited

manuscripts or photographs for considera-tion, but cannot accept responsibility for anyloss or damage to such material. Manuscriptsshould be submitted in English, typed onwhite paper using double spacing with mar-gins of at least 3 cm. Authors should submitmaterial on computer disk (Microsoft® Word®or plain ASCII format) whenever possible.Tables and figures should be separated fromthe text and should clearly indicate theauthor’s name. Colour photographs and illus-trations are encouraged.

EDITORIAL STATEMENTAlthough great care is taken to ensure accu -racy, the WFN and Elsevier B.V. cannot be heldliable for any errors or inaccuracies in this pub-lication. Opinions expressed are those of theauthors. Elsevier B.V., the Editor, the WFN orthe Grantor cannot be held responsible for thevalidity of clinical treatments, dosage regi-mens or other medical statements made. Any

dosage referred to should be checked againstthe relevant data sheet for the product.World Neurology, ISSN 0899-9465, is pub-lished by Elsevier B.V., Radarweg 29, 1043 NXAmsterdam, The Netherlands; Phone: +31(20) 485 3358; Fax: +31 (20) 485 3249; e-mail: [email protected]

REPRINTSReprint requests and all correspondenceregarding the journal should be addressed tothe Editor. However, back issues of WorldNeurology can be obtained from the publisher.

CHANGE OF ADDRESSNotice of change of address should be sent to:World Neurology, Editorial Secretariat, 12 ChandosStreet, London W1G 9DR, UK. Fax: +44 20 73234012; e-mail:[email protected]

Printed by Chandika Press (P) Ltd, 126 Industrial Area-1, Chandigarh-160002, India. e-mail: [email protected].

WORLD NEUROLOGY2

W O R L D N E U R O L O G Y, V O L U M E 2 3 , N U M B E R 1 , M A R C H 2 0 0 8


PUBLISHING INFORMATION

T h e N e w s l e tt e r o f t h e Wo r l d Fe d e rat i o n o f N e u r o l o gy

W O R L D

NEUROLOGYV O L U M E 2 3 , N U M B E R 1 , M A R C H 2 0 0 8

CONTENTS

COPYRIGHT © 2008 World Federation of Neurology. All rights reserved.Published by Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, the NetherlandManuscripts accepted for publication become the copyright of the WorldFederation of Neurology (WFN). Before publication a copyright form will be supplied by the Publisher, which must be completed by all authors.

President’s Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3WFN Travelling Fellowship Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3WFN Elections: Call for Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3WFN Annual Reports, 2007

Report of First Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Report of Secretary-Treasurer General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Report of Research Committee Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6WFN Education Committee Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Annual Report of the Membership Committee . . . . . . . . . . 8Report of WFN Committee on Public Relations . . . . . . . . . 8Report of Fund Raising Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Annual Report of JNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Annual Report of World Neurology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Encephalitis—The Broader Spectrum: Rare Forms ofEncephalitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Regional News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Elsevier Advertisement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-15Obituary: Prof. Jens Mielke and Prof. P.K. Thomas . . . . . . . 16

I had conveyed my thanks to the mem-bers of Editorial Board of WorldNeurology and the WFN Trustees oncompletion of my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, in the December 2007 issue ofWorld Neurology. New tabloid form ofWorld Neurology was to commence fromMarch 2008 issue under the Editorshipof Mark Hallett. However, for some tech-nical reasons this could not happen. Iwas requested by WFN President JohanAarli to bring out the March 2008 issue,which I accepted with pleasure.

March issue of World Neurology isalways a unique issue because it con-tains the Annual Reports of the previousyear which indeed are a reflection of theWFN activities completed by theTrustees, officials, various WFNCommittees, Research Groups and theEditors of JNS and World Neurology.Readers are requested to go through theAnnual Reports in this issue and realisethe magnitude of WFN undertakings inthe previous year, critically analyze itand send their feedback if any to theWFN Head Office in London.

This issue also carries two sad news,firstly about the demise of Prof. P.K.Thomas who was a neurologist of inter-national fame, researcher of high quality output and an exceptionallygood teacher. He was my personalfriend, an adviser who indeed had theopportunity of visiting our Departmentof Neurology and Research Lab alongwith his wife Anita Harding at

Chandigarh. His demise is a personalloss of many, including myself.

The second was a tragic end of the pre-cious life of Dr Jens Mielke in an aircrash at Harare in Zimbabwe. I had notpersonally met him but there were sev-eral tributes to him on the internet. Hewas one of the light house in neurologyin black Africa, had worked with WHOand WFN on several projects includingepilepsy and other neurological dis-eases. He was a popular man and histragic end is a great loss to the fraterni-ty of already scarce force of neurolo-gists in Africa.

Lastly, I once again would like to thankeveryone with whom I had worked asEditor World Neurology for last 9 yearsand I convey my best wishes to the read-ers of World Neurology.

I also wish to inform the Readers that Ihave been awarded Padma Bhushan, oneof the highest civilian honours given bythe President of India, for my services in Medicine. I am the onlyIndian neurologist to receive this awardso far.

Jagjit S. Chopra, FRCP. PhDEditor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL 3



WFN Travelling Fellowship ReportIn 2007, I was awarded with a WFN Junior Travelling Fellowship. This gave me an oppor tunityto attend the XII Pan-American Congress of Neurology, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republicand attend various presentations given by several recognized international experts. One of myareas of interest always has been Vascular Neurology, and consistent with it, we presented aPoster about the situation of Stroke in the main public hospital in my country, Honduras,where we have a case-fatality rate of 38.5 %, a complex situation that we could analyze andcompare with other neurologists of the region, who were very interested in following theresearch line that we carry out with my professor, Dr. Marco Tulio Medina (Ex-President of theLatin-American Society of Cerebro vascular Disease). Dr. Medina is one of the regional leadersin the study of Stroke Epidemiology and during the Congress he invited us to a work-meetingwith the leaders of the initiative WHO/STEPS-Stroke, Dr. Branka Legetic and Dr ThomasTruelsen, and from our region Dr. Medina, Dr. Pablo Lavados from Chile, among other col-leagues. I remain eternally grateful to the WFN for this award. The experience was very positive.

Dr. Luis César Rodríguez Salinas, Neurologist, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

EDITORIALWFN ELECTIONS 2009In accordance with the Memorandum and

Articles of Association of the World

Federation of Neurology, the election of

three new Officers and one new Trustee

as shown below must take place at the

Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the

Council of Delegates during the Bangkok

World Congress of Neurology, October

24th-30th, 2009.

� President (to take up office w.e.f. 1st

January, 2010)

� First Vice President (to take up office

w.e.f. 1st January, 2010)

� Secretary-Treasurer General (to take

up office w.e.f. 1st January, 2011)

� One Elected Trustee (to take up office

w.e.f. October, 2009)

Candidates for President and First Vice

President will be required to formulate a

statement of their goals and objectives

for the organization, which will be pub-

lished.

If you wish to propose a candidate for any

of these posts, please be in touch with

either your national society or WFN

Delegate (whose name appears on the

WFN website—www.wfneurology.org).

Names of those who are willing to serve

and who receive the official support of

their national society must arrive at the

WFN London headquarters office by 15th

August, 2008 to enable the Nominating

Committee to consider them at a meeting

to be arranged. All submissions received

will be scrutinized by the Nominating

Committee according to the Guidelines

that are published on the WFN website

The names of candidates will be pub-

lished in World Neurology and on the

WFN website at least six months before

the date of the election. Additional nomi-

nations may be submitted by five or more

Delegates at least thirty days before the

AGM.

There will be a degree of overlap

between old and new administrations in

two ways: the term of office of the current

Secretary-Treasurer General will contin-

ue until 31st December, 2010; and two of

the three Elected Trustees already in post

at the time of the Congress will also con-

tinue to hold office—for one and two

years respectively.

society, the PCO and the WorldFederation of Neurology has had its dis-tinctive stamp, but the contracts havealso to a great extent been standardizedsince the general structure of the con-gresses remained the same. Frequentworld congresses leads to a demand fora permanent PCO.

Biennial congresses will present a newchallenge to the World Federation ofNeurology. The World Federation ofNeurology is therefore now in a situa-tion to appoint a core PCO which will bein charge of the world congresses of2011, 2013 and 2015. The planning ofthe World Congress of Neurology inBangkok, 2009 is already far advancedand will continue as before. The new sit-uation will commence after Bangkok.

The WFN newsletter, World Neurology, isnow in its 23rd year. For 22 years, it hasserved as an important news mediumfor neurologists at all levels, and it hasincreased the visibility of neurologistsworldwide. Each issue has broughtinformation about upcoming confer-ences, news from the research groups,

book reviews, biographical data andreports from regional and national neu-rological conferences. During this peri-od, the electronic media have had analmost explosive growth and we are

more and more dependent upon com-munication related to the internet.World Neurology is also available on theinternet, but our readers still prefer theprinted version.

For the last few years, World Neurologyhas been published with a generousgrant from the Japan Foundation forNeuroscience and Mental Health. 2007was the last year of this funding and thenewsletter will now be published in adifferent way. A new Editor-in-Chief isbeing appointed and will take over fromJagjit Chopra in a few months time. Thenew newsletter, in addition to servingas before as a newsletter, will haveimproved scientific content and aims toemphasize new and emerging clinicaland basic neuroscientific reports in theneurological literature. Elsevier will bethe publisher and will provide profes-sional writers and broad editorial sup-port to the new Editor and the EditorialBoard. By an independent but still relat-ed process, WFN will soon have a newwebmaster and the structure of ourwebsite will be reorganized. I hope thatthese changes will prove positive andincrease the visibility of neurology in allparts of the world.

Johan A. AarliPresident, WFN

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN4



(President’s Column contd from page 1)

In 1999, Jagjit Chopra took over asEditor-in-Chief from Frank CliffordRose, who had edited the newsletteralmost since its inception.

The World Federation of Neurology hadestablished its first international jour-nal, which was also called WorldNeurology, in 1960, but the publicationwas discontinued after three years. TheJournal of the Neurological Sciences wasestablished as its successor in 1964.Soon after Richard Masland in 1981hadbeen elected President of the WFN, herealized the importance of a newsletterfor the organization. World Neurologynow appeared as a publication to bringWFN activities to the attention of aninternational audience. For several yearsit was produced, printed and circulated

from Winston-Salem. In 1990, FrankClifford Rose, now Secretary-TreasurerGeneral of the WFN, took over as theEditor-in-Chief, and World Neurologynow appeared as a quarterly publicationand changes were made to the format ofthe newsletter.

From Number 1, 1999, Jagjit Chopra hasbeen the Editor-in-Chief. Together withthe WFN President, James F. Toole, heredesigned the newsletter based uponthe recommendations of the readershipand external advisors to make it a newsmedium for neurologists at all levels.Since Jagjit took over, printing and dis-tribution has been from India at greatsavings to the WFN. At this time,Elsevier contracted with the WFN to pro-duce the newsletter and solicit

A photograph taken outside the Lord Charles Hotel, Stellenbosch, South Africaon the occasion of the first meeting of the newly-established WFN AfricaCommittee. Back Row (left to right): Chafiq Hicham (Morocco), Melaku Zenebe (Ethiopia),Pierre Bill (South Africa), Keith Newton (UK).Middle Row (left to right): Elly Katabira (Uganda), Mohamed Arezki (Algeria),Amadou Gallo Diop (Senegal), Mark Guttman (Canada), Rajesh Kalaria (UK),Beugre Kouassi (Ivory Coast).Front Row (left to right): Raad Shakir (UK), Johan Aarli (Norway), AlfredNjamnshi (Cameroon), Girish Modi (South Africa), Erastus Amayo (Kenya).

Jagjit Chopra retires as Editor-in-Chief

WFN ANNUAL REPORTS, 2007 5



appropriate advertisements.

During his period as an Editor-in-Chief,World Neurology has developed into apopular and widely read publication.His well-written editorials review thecontents of each article of the issue, putthem into a global perspective with thebackground of his deep insight into howWFN works and of his knowledge ofmodern clinical neurosciences. Theimproved layout settings have facilitat-ed easier reading, fonts are now morelegible and the spacing improved so thenewsletter is easier to read. Jagjit is alsothe newsletter’s own photographer, and

each issue of World Neurology success-fully presents the attendance at impor-tant business meetings of the WFN aswell as important regional meetings.

Because the transactions to establishthe new format of the newsletter weredelayed due to technical problems,Jagjit was willing to continue his editor-ship of World Neurology with one moreissue, for which we owe him our warmthanks. We are all grateful to Jagjit forhis excellent work as an editor of WorldNeurology, and the way he has devel-oped it into an important contact medi-um for bilateral dissemination of news

within the world’s neurological commu-nity. We also look forward to workingtogether with him in the future.

Johan A. AarliPresident, WFN

World Federation of Neurology Annual Reports, 2007Report of First Vice-President

The best time to consider change is notin a crisis, but when things are goingwell. In this spirit, the First Vice-President presented a discussion paperto the annual meeting of delegates inGlasgow in September, 2006. The WorldCongresses of Neurology have been theWorld Federation of Neurology’s (WFN)major activity and source of revenue.The Congresses have been increasinglysuccessful, scientifically, financially andculturally. It was a good time to consider:

1. Whether holding the Congres sesevery four years is too long to haveany sustained impact, particularly ata time when neurological problems,knowledge and the number of neu-rologists are increasing.

2. Whether discontinuity of organiza-tion, fundraising and scientific andeducational programs can beredressed.

3. Whether we can continue to count onindustry so extensively. In somecountries, drug and device compa-nies can no longer sponsor the atten-dance of participants who are notspeakers, and those who are mustobserve strict guidelines. This trendprobably will become worldwide.This should encourage us to searchfor additional sources of funding.

The highly successful Sydney Congress

and the vigorous competition for thenext Congress site by several credibleteams, suggest that the Congressescould be more frequent, geographical-ly distributed and able to offer a pro-ductive blend of continuity and innovation.

The following suggestions were made:1. That the World Congresses of

Neurology move to a two-year cycle. 2. That the WFN contract with an inter-

national organizer to provide conti-nuity and perhaps an infrastructureand

3. That the Scientific ProgramCommittee, the FundraisingCommittee and the Local OrganizingCommittee of the Congress haveagreed proportions of members ofthe Research, Education and FinanceCommittees of the WFN.

Potential advantages include: a) Greaterregional impact of the WFN. b) Diversi fied sources of funding, assome governments and tourist organi-zations are interested in hosting a prestigious international congress andc) Conti nuity in organization, fundrais-ing and research and educational agendas.

Potential disadvantages include: a) De -creased revenue from industry perCongress. b) Perceived lesser prestigeof the Congresses because of theincreased frequency. c) Potential con-flict with regional congresses.

A small proportion of the world’s neu-rologists can travel to wherever theCongresses are held. However, thegreatest impact of the World Congressesof Neurology is on individuals who cannot attend unless the Congress is heldin their region. Congresses bring togeth-er the societies that organize them andoften have other benefits in the form ofgovernment policy regarding neurologi-cal diseases, the education of non-neu-rologists, and in attracting students andtrainees who could become neurologistsor interested in neurological problems.President Johan Aarli became an imme-diate and strong supporter of the dis-cussion paper. When Secretary GeneralRaad Shakir assumed office, he reinvest-ed our resources and was able to assurethe Trustees that the WFN would be ableto carry on even in the worst case sce-nario that one World Congress ofNeurology did not yield any revenues.With additional discussions and contri-butions from the Trustees, especiallyProfessor Werner Hacke, a proposal wasmade to and approved by the delegatesin Brussels in August 2007, during the50th Anniversary of the WFN’s founda-tion. The next World NeurologyCongress will be held in Bangkok,October 24-30, 2009 as scheduled. The2011 Congress will be held in Africa.The 2013 Congress in Europe, jointlywith the European Federation ofNeurological Societies Annual Meeting;an answer and a model for concernsabout regional Congresses conflictingwith World Congresses of Neurology.

WFN ANNUAL REPORTS, 20076



Change for the sake of change is point-less. Continuity without change invitesobsolescence. We have the opportunityto continue the best features of ourWorld Congresses of Neurology whileadapting to and taking advantage of anevolving world. We need continuity andchange.

Vladimir HachinskiFirst Vice-President, WFN

Report of Secretary-Treasurer General

I took over office from RichardGodwin-Austen in Jan 2007.Important issues on restructuring ofthe Secretariat had already been start-ed. The major objective was to sup-port all our activities with the appoint-ment of a management company. Acontract with Concorde Services wasalready being discussed and this wasapproved in March 2007. The CMEprogramme proved to be difficult toadminister and in November Mrs HelenGallagher was specifically appointedto look after the issues of theEducation Committee including CME.

The issue of contributing to the WCN2009 activities with our Thai colleagueswas addressed on a visit to Bangkok inJanuary 2007. The facilities werelooked at and approved. By the end of2007 preparations were well underwayfor the congress.

Financial matters were looked at verycarefully. The WFN investment profilewas discussed with the FinanceCommittee in April 2007 and the invest-ments were changed to Sterling Basehigh interest accounts through theCharities Aid Foundation in the UK. TheWFN is a viable organisation with anincome that is recurrent and is enoughto cover a budget approved by theTrustees. This is crucial as the WFNshould not rely in the future on income

from world congresses to assure its sur-vival.

In the Delegates meeting of August2007, the decision to hold the WCNbiennially was approved. This entailsmajor administrative changes to WCNcontracts and a major role for the WFNin planning and administering futurecongresses. The appointment of a corePCO was therefore imperative. InJanuary 2008, after formal bidding,Kenes International was appointed asWFN core PCO for 3 congresses. It wasalso decided to follow a regional distri-bution of WCNs and following Bangkok,it will be in Africa followed by Europe in2013 and the Americas in 2015.

In view of the major changes made, theLondon office has to change to accom-modate the vast increase in workinvolved with biennial world congress-es. It was decided to employ more staffin the office and terminate the contractwith Concorde in March 2008. One ofthe major achievements of 2007 was avisit to Shanghai with our PresidentJohan Aarli, where the membership ofthe Chinese Neurological Society wassuccessfully negotiated without affect-ing the independence of any other mem-ber society. The establishing of the TaskForce for Africa and the collaborationwith the EFNS in running teaching pro-grammes in Africa was a main issue ofthe year. A WFN delegation also visitedother countries to give advice on theirneurological training. Ethiopia was vis-ited in December 2007. A meeting withmajor heads of Neurology departmentsfrom all over Africa is scheduled forMarch 2008.

The WFN remains committed to improv-ing world neurology and the Africa driveis a major initiative. The negotiationswith our publisher Elsevier to start pub-lishing World Neurology have been suc-cessful and the first issue is expected inJune 2008.

The activities of the Publications andWebsite committee are in progress torevamp our Website and the outcome ofthis is expected in 2008. Fund-raisingboth for WCN 2009 and for the WFN isin progress through the activities of theFund-raising committee and this has

put the WFN on the map as far as donororganisations are concerned. The WFNrelies on the goodwill and hard work ofall its committees’ chairs and members,and all research groups to push theachievements of the Federation to high-er levels. On behalf of the WFN office Iwould like to thank you all for your con-tributions and continued support.

Raad Shakir FRCPSecretary-Treasurer General

Report of ResearchCommittee Chairman

The Research Committee has beenactive and involved in planning theScientific Program for the WorldCongress of Neurology ( WCN 2009) tobe held in Bangkok, Thailand October24-31, 2009. We have had a planningmeeting at the annual meeting of theAmerican Academy of Neurology inApril 2007 and will have another inApril 2008. I have served as Co-Chair ofthe Scientific Program Committee alongwith Naraporn Prayoonwiwat, MD andNiphon Poungvarin, MD, President ofthe Thai Neurological Society. I repre-sented the Research Committee at ameeting with the Thai NeurologicalSociety Planning Committee for theScientific Program in Bangkok onJanuary 18-19, 2008, where the programwas reviewed and discussions held toprovide an optimal geographic distribu-tion of speakers in addition to selectionof the scientific topics and speakers.The Research Groups of the ResearchCommittee are well represented in theWCN 2009 Scientific Program. The WCN2009 in Bangkok will be an excellent sci-entific meeting with an excellent bal-ance of clinical neurology and relevantneuroscientific topics on the programand with superb speakers from aroundthe world. Nobel Laureate Stanley B.Prusiner, MD, USA will give a PlenaryLecture.




Thailand is a beautiful country and ourThai hosts have planned wonderfulScientific and Educational Programsand social events and so, I do hope youwill make every effort to attend WCN2009. It will be a very memorable expe-rience.

Erik Wolters, MD of the Netherlands, hasbeen elected Chair of the ParkinsonDisease Research Group and we wel-come him and wish him every success inhis new position.

Roger N. Rosenberg, MDUSA

WFN EducationCommittee Report

During the 2007 calendar year our activ-ities were significantly hampered by thecontinued lack of a Program Coordi -nator. This has now been corrected andthe Committee is delighted to haveHelen Gallagher appointed to this posi-tion. We continue to focus our efforts ondeveloping countries and designing pro-grams specifically useful for neurologicpractices in low resource environments.Our continuing philosophy, under guid-ance of the Trustees, is to direct ourefforts and resources to educationalactivities that will have a lasting effecton neurologic care. Thus, we have con-centrated our efforts on the educationalinfrastructure of countries—assistingwith establishing or improving the train-ing of neurology residents, establishingeffective neuroscience courses for med-ical schools, CME/Lifelong Learning andthe training of Clinical Assistants“Where There Is No Neurologist”. Theseefforts have been an outgrowth of previ-ous pilot studies.

CME/Lifelong Learning in NeurologyThe American Academy of Neurologygenerously continues to provide sixexcellent CME courses yearly. The num-ber of WFN CME participants from eligi-

ble developing countries has now grownto 43 with recent additions of neurolo-gists from Ethiopia, Mongolia, Congo,Brazil, Nigeria and Vietnam. We haveparticularly been interested in havingnew members from Asia which is pro-portionately underrepresented in ourprograms. We were thus pleased toreceive an appreciative e-mail from anew WFN Education Coordinator fromVietnam.

The most important development dur-ing the past year has been the availabili-ty of our courses online, which willmake access much easier for many andwill reduce shipping charges for thehard copy format. We await revision ofour website so that all educational mate-rial from the WFN can be available in aconvenient online manner. TheCommittee continues to believe that evi-dence based, effective CME is one of themost important elements in approach-ing the goal of effective clinical care. Onbehalf of the WFN, the EducationCommittee Chairman has accepted aplaque of recognition from theAssociation of Indian Neurologists inAmerica (AINA) for the work the WFNhas done with Prof. Sarosh Katrak inIndia.

WFN Seminars in Clinical NeurologyThis program, under the direction ofJerome “Pete” Engel, and available inboth hard copy and online, continues toproduce books specially designed forneurologists practicing in developingcountries. In addition to volumes onneurourology, epilepsy and dystonia,volumes on stroke, MS and malnutritionhave been added this past year. Othervolumes are in various stages of prepa-ration.

Book Sharing ProgramThis program which has been highlysuccessful was discontinued two yearsago because of the loss of our ProgramManager. We hope to restart it in thefuture.

Neurology training assistance

As a result of the successful pilot studyin Honduras, we have offered help tocountries who do not have a neurologytraining program and wish to do so (ex.

Nicaragua) and to countries who wouldlike an impartial evaluation of an exist-ing program (ex. Guatemala, Ethiopia,Mexico). This provides an importanteducational service for countries that donot have access to such a reviewprocess. Recently, three members of thiscommittee reviewed the training pro-gram at Addis Ababa University inEthiopia at their request. Meetings wereheld with the Ethiopian Minister ofHealth, Dean of the Medical School,Chairman of Neurology and otherMedical School and Hospital officials.Suggestions were made for strengthen-ing specific areas of training.

The program in Honduras, under thedirection of Prof. Marco Medina, contin-ues to flourish. It will celebrate its 10thanniversary next year.

Where there is no NeurologistThis increasingly effective program initi-ated and directed by Gretchen Birbeck inZambia, continues to grow and morerecently has begun to involve Malawi aswell. This effort has initiated a mostproductive Visiting Professor programas summarized in a recent report fromDr. Birbeck.

The WFN Visiting Professors Programremains active and strong in Zambia.In 2007, Dr. Antoine Samman ofLafayette, California joined faculty atthe University of Zambia’s Universityteaching hospital and undertook abroad range of teaching and clinicalresponsibilities. Dr. Samman’s bed-side teaching and second opinion ondifficult cases were especially appre-ciated. In Malawi, Dr. Douglas Postelsof Albuquerque, New Mexico servedas the second Visiting Professor to thePediatrics Department where he deliv-ered lectures to faculty, medical regis-trars, and medical students as well asproviding inpatient and outpatientneurologic consultations. Followinghis visit the Chair of Pediatrics as wellas their Medical EducationCoordinator requested continuingopportunities for Dr. Postels’ assis-tance in future years.

We have recently begun discussionswith the Neurology Department at AddisAbaba University in Ethiopia to further

train a cadre of Psychiatric nurses in themanagement of neurologic problems.

Theodore Munsat Chairman, WFN Education Committee

Annual Report of theMembership Committee

The World Federation of Neurology(WFN) has had an exceptionally goodyear. Six neurological societies (China,Congo, Iran, Libya, Nigeria and Senegal)have found their way to WFN as wasalready reported by President Aarli inhis President’s column in the September2007 issue of World Neurology. This hasonly been possible by the great effortsof individual neurologists who pointedout the benefits of WFN membership infurthering the standard of neurologicalpractice by education and facilitation ofresearch.

Still, a remaining 96 countries are notrepresented in WFN, distributed overvarious parts of the world: LatinAmerica: 14; Pan-European region: 15;Pan-Arab-region: 4; Pan-African region:38; and Asian-Oceanian region 25. Asthe President stated in his afore-men-tioned column WFN is a Federation ofneurological societies and not of coun-tries. However, it is not an easy task tofind out how many national societieshave not yet affiliated with WFN. A fairnumber of the countries are very smallwith a number of inhabitants not evenexceeding 100,000. It is highly unlikelythat these countries have their ownnational neurological societies. TheMembership Committee will ask theRegional Directors to try and obtain thisinformation. We also expect that theAfrica project will generate enthusiasmto link up with WFN because of the obvi-ous advantages that the EducationalCommittee together with the Taskforceof the African Initiative under the lead-ership of Johan Aarli and Gallo Diop canoffer.

With the mission statement of WFN inmind we have to keep on trying toexpand our membership. That is alsoour task for 2008.

Marianne de Visser, MDChair, Membership Committee

Report of WFNCommittee on PublicRelations

The Committee met in April 2007 dur-ing the meeting of the AmericanAcademy of Neurology’s AnnualMeeting, and on 27 August 2007 duringthe Brussels meeting of the EuropeanFederation of Neurological Societies.

An assessment of the previous work ofthe Committee was carried out at theApril meeting, and a determination wasmade that further projects woulddepend upon the recruitment of new,active members, and upon frequentemail, telephone, and personal meetingsof the group. The Committee alsoagreed that dissemination of the workof the WFN would depend upon specificprojects aimed at the international neu-rological community. The difficulty ofrecruiting new participants to the WFNin the context of its structure as an‘assembly of assemblies’ rather than onewith individual membership was identi-fied as a crucial obstacle. TheCommittee agreed to produce a plat-form presentation describing the WFN’swork, and opportunities to participatein it, for use of senior WFN membersattending international meetings. It alsoagreed to design and construct a new,more attractive exhibition booth to beused at international meetings, to show-case WFN publications and projects.Over the next few months three newmembers were recruited, two fromdeveloping countries and all with theskills needed for the committee’s plans.A draft of the platform presentation anda design for the new booth will be pre-

sented to the committee in session inChicago during the Amercan Academymeeting in April, and a budget for thiswork and other projects identified atthis meeting will be submitted there-after.

A. Kurdi, MD D. Bergen, MD

Report of Fund RaisingCommittee

Twelve months ago the Fund RaisingCommittee made a submission to theAfrica Project Meeting in London andthis was followed by a more detailedpresentation to the Trustees the follow-ing day.

The review identified opportunitieswhich were immediately available to theWFN, particularly with the global phar-maceutical industry, based on the forth-coming fundamental changes to theWFN publication, World Neurology, andthe WFN website. Highlighted also wasthe importance of working in a closecomplementary fashion with the WorldNeurology Foundation, especially toavoid overlap. The development of proj-ects as part of the Africa initiative, inthis regard were seen as essential forthe approach to potential individual andcorporate funders in the US and the restof the world.

At the American Academy of Neurology(AAN) meeting in Boston in April 2007, apresentation was made to potentialsponsors from the pharmaceuticalindustry.

At this presentation one was also givenby Mr Peter Bakker of Elsevier, outliningthe way in which Elsevier and the WFNcould jointly promote sponsors throughWorld Neurology and the website and itslinks. Draft packages for potentialsponsors were presented. At a furthermeeting in London in June, the sponsorship opportunities for the

WFN ANNUAL REPORTS, 20078






pharmaceutical industry were complet-ed after discussions between represen-tatives of Congrex and the Fund RaisingCommittee.

At the European Federation ofNeurological Societies (EFNS) Meeting inBrussels in August 2007, after more dis-cussions with Mr Peter Bakker andanother representative from Elsevier, afurther presentation was given to thepharmaceutical industry. Ms AlisonShamwana of Congrex outlined thesponsorship packages for the 2009World Congress of Neurology, whilst theWFN Fund Raising Committee presentedopportunities to the pharmaceuticalindustry for sponsorship and closer col-laboration with the WFN over one ormore years.

At the European Committee for theTreatment, Research and Investigationof Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) inPrague in October 2007, meetingsbetween representatives of Biogen Idec,Merck Serono, Bayer Schering Pharmaand Teva and Sanofi Aventis were heldby the Chair of the Fund RaisingCommittee and Ms Alison Shamwana.

Subsequent feedback has been positive,both for the sponsorship of the WFN,and also for the World Congress ofNeurology.

For 2008, it is hoped to expand thesesponsorship opportunities, given thatthe publication of World Neurology isabout to change, both for its place ofprinting and the editorship (see reportof the Publications and WebsiteCommittee), which should take advan-tage of the possibility of regionalisationof global advertising. Also during2008/2009, there will be an opportunityto expand other activities of the FundRaising Committee, as well as to hostthe first WFN Global Advisory Boardmeeting at the World Congress ofNeurology

W.M. CarrollChair, WFN Fund Raising Committee

(Note: Members can have details of exist-ing sources of revenue available to WFNand those which should be accessible infuture from the Chairman. These couldnot be printed in this issue because ofspace constraints.

--Editor-in-Chief)

Annual Report ofJournal of theNeurological Sciences

Fourteen volumes, including eleven dou-ble issues, featuring 359 articles and theCumulative Author/Subject Index werepublished. These included oneSupplement 256.S1 (amy) that present-ed “Relapses Matters: The Costs andConsequences of Multiple SclerosisRelapses”. Guest editors were Patricia K.Coyle and Kenneth P. Johnson.

A Special Issue 257.1-2 (June) presented“Proceedings of the Fourth InternationalCongress on Vascular Dementia”,Portugal, October 2005. Guest editorswere Amos D. Korczyn and Natan M.Bornstein. A second Special issue 259.1-2 (August) presented “TreatmentStrategies in Multiple Sclerosis: FromPathophysiology to Clinical Practice”,European Charcot FoundationSymposium, Portugal, November 2005 .Guest editors were O.R. Hommes and M.Friedrichs. A third Special Issue 261.1-2(October) presented “Update inNeurosciences Critical Care”. Guest edi-tors were J. Ricardo Carhuapoma andMark A. Mirski. The final Special Issue261.1-2 (November) presented “Proceed -ings of the Meetings of the Environ -mental Neurology Club” held in Francein December and February under theaegis of the French Society ofNeurology, the University of Metz, andthe Environmental Neurology ResearchGroup of the World Federation ofNeurology (ENRG-WFN). Guest editorswere Gustavo C. Roman, Jacques Reis,Gilles Defer, and Leon D. Prockop.

All submissions to the journal arethrough the Elsevier Electronic System(EES) as is the review process. EES hasaccelerated both the submission rateand the review process. There was a 47%increase in submissions for the year.330 manuscripts were accepted in 2007

Memorial Award for Neurology Residents-in-Training Announced in Memory of Dr. John Newsom-Davis

To commemorate Dr. John Newsom-Davis' life and his dedication to improving the

treatment of patients with myasthenia gravis, MGFA has established The Dr. John

Newsom-Davis Award for Neurology Residents-in-Training (registrars, residents or fellows)

to attend scientific or clinical meetings related to myasthenia gravis.

Dr. Newsom-Davis was a leader in clinical and basic research related to myasthenia

gravis. His death is a major loss to patients with MG, practitioners and researchers. MGFA

is honored to take this step forward towards a "world without MG" by making this new

funding available in Dr. Newsom-Davis' name.

Awards will be given to residents who wish to present their MG related research at a

recognized professional event or gathering, such as the MGFA Annual Scientific Session.

Other considerations may include travel and lodging for a resident to attend a meeting that

might significantly further his or her understanding of MG and related autoimmune dis-

eases.

Applications and selection criteria are available online at www.myasthenia.org/

hp_research.cfm. All applications are subject to review by members of the MGFA

Medical/Scientific Advisory Board with final approval by the MGFA Executive Committee.

Questions may be directed to Janet Golden, chief executive of MGFA, at (800) 541-

5454, or by email at [email protected].

The Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) is the only national volunteer

health agency dedicated solely to the fight against myasthenia gravis.

ENCEPHALITIS—THE BROADER SPECTRUM: RARE FORMS OF ENCEPHALITIS10



and 528 manuscripts were rejected. Thedistribution of manuscripts acceptedby country parallels that of the pasteight years. The top three rankedcountries were Japan (21%), USA(18.5%), and Italy (10%). These threecountries alone accounted for 157 ofall manuscripts accepted in 2006.Geographically, accepted manuscriptswere as follows: Africa 3, Asia 63;Australia/New Zealand 7; Caribbean 1;Eastern Europe 13; Japan 69; MiddleEast 9; Scandinavia 7; South/CentralAmerica/Mexico 12; USA and Canada66; and Western Europe 80. Clinicalresearch still dominates every issueand 9% of all submissions were basic(non-human) research. Ad hoc review-ers were acknowledged in April issue,255.

Changes were made to the editorialboard. H. Moser and K. Poeck, who bothdied, were recognized for their serviceas was C. Ozdemir who was also rotatedoff the board. J.R. Carhuapoma wasinvited to join the board.

A Special Report in volume 258 waspublished by Johan A. Aarli to celebratethe history of the “World Federation ofNeurology 1957-2007”.

Robert P. Lisak, M.D.Editor-in-Chief JNS

Annual Report of WorldNeurology

As usual all the four issues for March,June, September and December, 2007were published and mailed to over25,000 neurologists in more than 100countries of the world as per schedule.Undelivered copies received back arealmost five per cent in spite of repeatedreminders to members to update their

address with the WFN Headquarters inLondon. All the issues contained impor-tant WFN news, travelling fellowshipreports, updates on EducationCommittee programmes in developingcountries, regional news, abstracts ofarticles published in Journal of theNeurological Sciences, short reports andthe calendar which carried the aware-ness of international congresses, neuroupdates, symposia and workshops. TheElsevier Publishers and the ChandikaPress in Chandigarh made tremendousefforts to bring out the four annualissues in time: I am grateful to them andKeith Newton for timely co-ordinationwith me.

Jagjit S. ChopraEditor-in-Chief

The Encephalitis Society started out 15years ago as a fairly modest supportgroup, in response to the very limitedhelp available for people, and their fam-ilies, who had been affected byencephalitis. Since then, it has expandedits activities very substantially and isthe only resource of its kind in theworld, providing evidence-based infor-mation, education and support services.The Society has also supported andfunded a number of research studiesand is currently involved in a large scalecollaborative study of the outcome ofencephalitis with the University of York.The Society organizes an annual semi-nar, which this year had as its topicsome of the less familiar varieties ofencephalitis.

Professor Tom Solomon from the newLiverpool Brain Infection Group(www.liv.ac/braininfections) opened themeeting with a presentation onEncephalitis in the Global Village, whichhighlighted the threat of emergingviruses. He has worked extensively on

Japanese encephalitis in Vietnam and,although still a rarity in the UK, this isactually one of the more importantbrain infections on a worldwide scale.There are anything from 35,000 to50,000 cases each year with a 30% mor-tality and 30% of survivors left with sig-nificant neurological sequelae.

It has a varied neurological profilewhich, as well the more familiar featuresof encephalitis, such as fever, headache,confusion, seizures, raised ICP andcoma, may involve acute movement dis-orders with Parkinsonian mast-likefaces, orofacial dyskinesias, choreoa-thetosis, rigidity and tremor. TheJapanese encephalitis virus can alsoattack anterior horn cells, leading topresentation with a polio-like ascendingflaccid paralysis. Dengue is anothermosquito borne flavivirus which cancross the blood-brain barrier to producean encephalitic illness in a proportion ofinfected patients. Human enterovirus 71(HEV 71) was isolated from the stool ofa child with encephalitis in California in

1969. After sporadic cases and smalloutbreaks of HEV71 infection worldwidein the 1970s and 1980s, there was alarge and severe outbreak in Sarawak in1997 with 34 deaths in 2628 reportedcases. Neurological involvement includ-ed aseptic meningitis, encephalitis andacute flaccid paralysis. Since then therehave been further outbreaks inSoutheast Asia and Australia.

Although these illnesses have tended tobe viewed in this country as exotic rari-ties, the ease and speed of internationaltravel and the effects of climate changeare making awareness of them increas-ingly relevant—a reality brought homeby the appearance of West Nile fever inNew York City.

Fungal infections of the CNS are mostlyfamiliar to us in the UK as somethingseen on a relatively small scale inimmunocompromised patients. How-ever, as Dr William Hope, InfectiousDiseases Physician and Senior ResearchFellow, the University of Manchester

Encephalitis—The Broader Spectrum: Rare Forms ofEncephalitis

REGIONAL NEWS 11



emphasized, they actually represent amajor problem from a global perspec-tive. Cryptococcus neoformans is a lead-ing cause of AIDS-related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa and Aspergillus is amajor source of morbidity and mortali-ty in immunocompromised patients,with an associated mortality of 40-50%.The expenditure on antifungal drugsworldwide is astronomical—billions ofdollars—and rising. Dr Hope’s presenta-tion emphasized that the key to under-standing the pathological process incerebral aspergillosis is the recognitionthat Aspergillus is angiotropic andangioinvasive. He also reviewed theunder-recognized but quite commoncondition of neonatal haematogenouscandida meningoencephalitis, in whichthere is widespread involvement of theCNS with Candida.

The second theme of the meeting wasthe role of the immune system in thepathogenesis of encephalitis. Oxfordhas been a leading centre in the charac-terization of voltage gated potassiumchannel antibody encephalitis andProfessor Angela Vincent from theWeatherall Institute of MolecularMedicine reviewed the work of theirgroup. VGKC antibody-associated limbicencephalitis occurs in both men andwomen. It is an adult-onset conditionseen in people from 30 to over 70 yearsof age, with an acute or sub-acute onsetof memory loss, seizures, personalitychange and occasionally more floridpsychotic features, with high signal inthe hippocampi on MRI. Associatedmalignancies are uncommon and

immunological treatments with intra-venous immunoglobulins and steroidsmay produce significant clinicalimprovement. What was particularlyinteresting is that this seems to be anexpanding phenotype. VGKC antibodiesmay be linked predominantly toseizures or atypical psychosis occurringin isolation, with some indication thatimmunosuppressive treatment may behelpful. There has been a suggestionthat a proportion of patients with adultonset temporal lobe seizures with hip-pocampal sclerosis may actually have ahistory of a previous encephalitic illnesswith evolving MRI changes, raising thepossibility that untreated limbicencephalitis may be a causative factor insome cases. So what started out assomething of a relatively small printcuriosity, may turn out to have muchbroader implications for epileptologyand neuropsychiatry.

Dr Ian Hart, Consultant in Neurologyand Neuroimmunology from the WaltonCentre in Liverpool, developed thetheme of autoimmune encephalitides,dealing with Hashimoto’s encephalitis,Rasmussen’s encephalitis and paraneo-plastic encephalitis. He emphasized thepractical clinical point that while theseare all rare conditions, they are not thatrare and need to be remembered in thedifferential diagnosis. Looking for anti-bodies in the blood is useful and canhelp make the diagnosis. They need tobe thought of sooner rather than later,since immune treatments may be help-ful in individual patients if they can bestarted early enough, before brain cell

death and permanent disability hasdeveloped.

The meeting ended with a fascinatingpresentation from Professor GavinGiovannoni from Barts and the Londonon Encephalitis Lethargica, which incontemporary neurology is defined asan acute or sub-acute encephalitis withat least three of the constellation ofbasal ganglia involvement, oculogyriccrises, ophthalmoplegia, obsessive-com-pulsive behavior, akinetic mutism, cen-tral respiratory irregularities and som-nolence or inversion of the sleep-wakingcycle. There is evidence of an inflamma-tory process in the basal ganglia, brain-stem and hypothalamus and it lookslike it may be one of a spectrum ofautoimmune CNS disorders, character-ized by anti-basal ganglia antibodiesassociated with recent streptocococcalinfection.

The encouraging message from thisseminar is that the future for encephali-tis research in the UK looks bright, withthe very active involvement of severaldifferent research groups of interna-tional standing. It’s doubly encouragingthat the Encephalitis Society is able toconvene meetings like this one, to makesure that the practical benefits from thisnew knowledge will reach a wide audi-ence as quickly as possible, helpingimprove the care of people withencephalitis both in this country and ona more global scale.

Drs Steve White and Eva EastonEncephalitis Society

The sixth Congress ofthe InternationalSociety for theAmelioration of theQuality of Life inChronic NeurologicalConditionsMarseille, FranceJanuary 26-30 2008.

The sixth International Congress of theImprovement of the Quality of Life inChronic Neurological Conditions wasorganized by the International Society

for the amelioration of the quality of lifefor chronic neurological patients. Thecongress was held in Palais du Faro, inMarseille, France from 26th to 30th ofJanuary 2008. Honorary President of thecongress was Prof. Dr, Dr hc mult FranzGerstenbrand and President Prof. DrStavros J.Baloyannis.

The congress was mostly focused onDementia, Parkinson’s disease, Epilepsyand MS. The international scientificcommittee in collaboration with theorganizing committee prepared anexciting scientific program especially

targeted on new concepts in the patho-genetic background of chronic diseaseand the transfer of new data fromresearch into clinical practice forimproving the beneficial contribution tothe patients. Outstanding speakers wereinvited from many countries in order toimpart their knowledge, experience andpersonal view on the rapidly expandedfields of genetics, pathophysiology, neu-ropathology, neuroimmunology, neuro-radiology, neuropharmacology, thera-peutics, radiating at the same time theirenthusiasm for the research, the ethics and the devotion to the

REGIONAL NEWS

REGIONAL NEWS12



crucial field of chronic neurological dis-eases. A special effort was made by theOrganizing Committee in order to pro-mote young neuroscientists to partici-pate with platform presentations andposters on the main topics of the con-gress as well as with free communica-tions.

The congress was attended by 200 dele-gates from 12 countries. Leading scien-tists in the field of dementia, epilepsy,multiple sclerosis, neuropathology, neu-roradiology, neurochemistry, neuroim-munology, and medical ethics gave lec-tures and presented platform andposter presentations. The scientific con-tributions of the congress included 20plenary lectures, 11 oral communica-tions, 40 posters and one round table.

The opening ceremony was held in thePapal Palace in Avignon, where an excel-lent performance of Chamber Music bytalented young artists was held in theConclavium of the Palace.

The main lecture was released by Prof.Gerstenbrand entitled “The right andthe ethical obligation for care in sever-est and hopeless NeurologicalConditions” which attracted muchattention of the audiences and stimulat-ed long and very fruitful discussion .

The round table on the End of the Lifewas chaired by Prof. Gerstenbrand, withspeakers Profs F. Gerstenbrand(Austria), K. Jellinger (Germany), A.Korczyn (Israel), P.Kalvach (Czech Rep)and S.J. Baloyannis (Greece). Many

aspects from the medical, economical,social and spiritual points of view werediscussed and involved the participationof audiences who posed many crucialquestions.

All the contributions lectures, oral pre-sentations and posters were excellentand mostly focused on the basicresearch, clinical investigation, diagnos-tic procedures and treatment and man-agement of patients suffering fromchronic neurological disease, with thegoal of ameliorating the quality of life ofthe patients and to throwing light, hopeand perspective on their expectations. Aspecial basic paper concerning End ofLife Discussion in Apallic Syndrome/Vegetative State with the ethical andreligious resonance of the OrthodoxChurch is in preparation.

The effort for the amelioration of thequality of life in chronic neurologicaldiseases is in fact the third way or thethird leg of Neurology, besides the treat-ment of Acute Neurological Conditionsand Neurorehabilitation. TheInternational Society for theAmelioration of the Quality of Life isunder the auspices, support and bless-ings of His All Holiness, the EcumenicalPatriarch of the Orthodox ChurchBartholomew and is based on a strongethical, humanitarian and ecumenicalphilosophical background.

S.J. Baloyannis

43rd Turkish NeurologyCongress held in Antalya 10-15 November, 2007

The first two days of the program weredevoted to courses on the main topics.In the opening session, the President of

the Turkish Neurological Society (TND),Prof. Aksel Siva, summarized the activi-ties of TND and discussed current prob-lems of practicing physicians and acad-emicians. WFN President Prof. JohanAarli was the guest of honor and deliv-ered a talk entitled "Oh, East isEast..Neurology and Psychiatry" inwhich he discussed how the two special-ities were related.

Invited speakers: Stephan Pulst(Genetics of Spino cerebellar ataxias),Soheyl Noachtar (New classification ofepilepsy), Fernando Cendes (New imag-ing techniques in epilepsy), Umberto DeGilermo (Pathology of AIDS in the Brain),Mesoud Ashina (Experimental models ofheadache and migraine), Ahmet Hoke(Peripheral neuropathies and nerveregeneration in humans: new insightsand novel therapies), Ergun Uc (Drivingability in Parkinson’s disease), CigdemDogulu (Clinic Genomic Approach inNeurology), and Deniz Kirik (Stem cellsand Parkinson’s disease) made greatcontributions to the Congress with theirenlightening discussions on differentaspects of Neurology.

Two sessions were held on “Neurologyin the Region” with the representativesof neighboring countries fromAzerbaycan, Greece, Gurcistan, Israel,Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia and Syria.Common concerns on treatment of cere-brovascular diseases and problems ofneuro-intensive care were discussed andfeature activities were planned.

The program included 76 oral and 354poster presentations. In addition to sci-entific issues, the problems that neurol-ogists face in private practice and oblig-atory service, ethical issues, and phar-macovigilance were the topics of discus-sion in separate sessions.

43 candidates participat-ed in the 3rd NationalBoard examination ofNeurology which tookplace during the last dayof the Meeting.

Tulay Kansu, M.D.,FAANVice President, TurkishNeurological Society

Prof. Dr. Franz Gerstenbrand andProf. Dr Stavros J.Baloyannis.

3rd National Congressof Indian StrokeAssociation

8-10th Feb. 2008, Amritsar

The 3rd National Congress of the IndianStroke Association was held under theaegis of the World Stroke Organization.This was organized by Dr. Ashok Uppal,Director Uppal Neuro Hospital,Amritsar. The meeting was attended byrenowned international neurologists:Prof G.A. Donnan, President W.S.O.; Prof.J.P. Mohr; Prof Charles P. Warlow; ProfGian Luigi Lenzi from Italy; Prof T.Ramachandran, Vice-President WorldStroke Foundation, Dr Aneesh B.Singhal, Dr Majaz Moonis, Dr Jose ISuarez and Dr Vineeta Singh, all fromUSA. Then almost all of our topmostnational faculty and stroke specialistsgave their valuable deliberations. TheConference was an academic and cultur-al bonanza. The overall standard of themeeting was excellent. In all there were20 sessions covering a range of stroke-related topics, from Basic Science,Epidemiology, the Stroke burden inIndia, and Stroke Prevention to Stroke

Imaging, all types of Thrombolysis,Neurosurgery, Endovascular Interven -tions, Stroke Rehabilitation and otherrelevant topics related to developingcountries.

The Opening event of the meeting, dedi-cated to Clinical Neurology relevant toStroke, was nicely discussed by Prof.Charles P. Warlow and Dr. R.S. Wadia.Then a “Stroke Quiz”, conducted by DrPadma and Dr Khurana, kept the resi-dents on their toes. The PresidentialOration by Dr G. Arjun Das highlightedthe evolution of Stroke ManagementServices in our country. Prof. GeoffreyA. Donnan emphasised the importance

of time for the treatment and manage-ment of thrombolysis in the setting of aStroke Unit. He further explained howthe use of telemedicine can increase thenumber of patients who can receive thistherapy. During the Dr. Baldev SinghSession, Prof. J.S. Chopra, Prof. P.M.Dalal, Prof. S. Prabhakar and Dr. GourieDevi discussed the stroke epidemic inthe context of our country and said suchConferences will go a long way inimproving stroke care in India and othercountries. The highlights also includedChallenging Thrombolytic Cases whichevoked a great debate from the panel-lists. Scientific sessions provided manyother presentations of extremely highstandards and were all very well attend-ed. All in all this 3rd National Congressof the Indian Stroke Association wasgreatly appreciated and the role ofyoung Dr Salil Uppal in coordinating thewhole Conference was also very com-mendable.

Dr G.A. Donnan wrote from Melbourne,“I enjoyed the event enormously and Iwas most impressed by the enthusiasmand high standards achieved”. Dr J.P.Mohr wrote from USA, “In the tightspace of 4 days you, your family andstaff treated the participants to a well-organized, thorough, and informativemeeting. Dr. Subash Kaul fromHyderabad even mentioned that “the3rd Indian Stroke Association confer-ence was not just a great Conference buta milestone for the Indian StrokeAssociation”.

On behalf of the Organizing CommitteeI gratefully and humbly acknowledgethe active participation and apprecia-tion.

Dr. Ashok UppalUppal Neuro HospitalAmritsar, India.

CALENDAR 13



CALENDAR200818th Meeting of the EuropeanNeurological SocietyJune 7 - 11, 2008

Nice, France

www.akm.ch/ens2008

3rd International Conference onIntracranial Atherosclerosis June 18 - 20, 2008

Seoul, South Korea

www.icas2008.or.kr/main/

6th European ALS Congress June 20 - 22, 2008

Munich, Germany

www.imm.fm.ul.pt/alscongress/

1st International EpilepsyColloquium June 22 - 25, 2008

Munich, Germany

www.akmcongress.com/

epilepsie2008/

12th Congress of the MovementDisorder Society June 22 - 26, 2008

Chicago, IL, USA

www.movementdisorders.org/

congress/congress08/

15th International Meeting onAdvanced Spine Techniques(IMAST) July 08 - 11, 2008

Hong Kong, China

www.imastonline.com/

ICAD 2008—InternationalConference on Alzheimer'sDisease July 26 - 31, 2008

Chicago, IL, USA

www.alz.org/icad/

12th World Congress on PainAugust 17-22, 2008

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

www.iasp-pain.org/worldcongress

12th Congress of theEuropean Federation ofNeurological SocietiesAugust 23-26, 2008

Madrid, Spain

www.kenes.com/efns2008

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become relevant to the clinician.

OBITUARY16



Professor Jens Mielke died recently in atragic plane crash near Harare,Zimbabwe. He had taught clinical neu-rology and bioethics to undergraduateand graduate medical students at theCollege of Health Sciences of theUniversity of Zimbabwe in Harare since1995. His interest in bioethics led to

his association with the Joint Centre for Bioethics at theUniversity of Toronto, where he completed a Master’s degreein bioethics in 2002 during a sabbatical. A neurologist andinternist by training, he has a background in epilepsy andHIV medicine research, with more recent publications in pri-ority setting and research ethics in an African setting. He wasa founder member of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctorsfor Human Rights and a visiting lecturer to the University ofCape Town Bioethics Center Research Ethics programme.

Jens K.H. Mielke, MBChB, DA, MRCP completed graduatetraining in the University of Toronto MHSC program fundedby a Fogarty International Grant while on sabbatical from hisposition as a senior lecturer in the Department of Medicineat the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. In 1999, he moti-vated for and initiated a course in clinical ethics for under-graduate medical students, heading a curriculum committeefor the purpose. In 2000, the Faculty of Medicine at theUniversity of Zimbabwe asked him to co-ordinate a faculty-wide ethics curriculum committee for the purpose of design-ing a combined ethics curriculum. The CommonwealthMedical Association engaged him in 1999, to conduct train-ing seminars and to write a trainers’ manual, for continuingmedical education of health professionals in medical ethicsand human rights. He was the chair of the ZimbabweBiomedical Research Institute Review Board.

After a year in Montreal, Canada as a junior faculty member,PK returned in 1962 to London to stay, except when he wastraveling, and that was frequent. Appointment as ConsultantNeurologist came quickly, first at the Royal Free Hospital(1962-1991) and then the National Hospital, Queen Square(1963-1991), and then as Professor of Neurology in 1974 (inthe University of London at the Royal Free Hospital and atthe National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery). Heestablished the neurology training program at the Royal FreeHospital. After mandatory retirement in 1991, he continuedas active and productive as ever in Honorary status for thenext ten years.

From his medical student days on, PK was an avid investiga-tor. In his five plus decades of study, principally of periph-eral nerve, he used the techniques of clinical observation,morphology (particularly electron microscopy), electrophysi-ology, genetics and anything else that came to hand. Fromthis effort, PK and colleagues produced a remarkable oeuvre,that includes near 300 original articles, 75 reviews, numer-ous editorials and over 100 chapters in books. Perhaps themost well-known of his publishing efforts are the four edi-tions of the two-volume opus, “Peripheral Neuropathy” , edit-ed by P.J.Dyck, P.K.Thomas and others.

Another highly visible aspect of PK’s career was his work asa journal editor. He served the maximum term as the editorof three separate journals including Chief Editor of Brainand of the Journal of Anatomy. In addition, he served on nofewer than ten journal editorial boards. He was seldom seenwithout a manuscript in hand that he was either writing orreviewing.

In early 1986, PK, Anita Harding and GS were the primemovers in launching the European Neurological Society (ENS)

as an individual membership organization. This stirredmuch controversy with some of the European national soci-eties of neurology. PK and his colleagues were undeterred.The first ENS meeting was held in Nice in 1988 with PK as thefirst President. He gave the presidential lecture on“Consciousness and causality”, which was both remarkableand far from his usual field of expertise. PK remainedinvolved in the selection and editing of abstracts and in theteaching programme until 2000.

Many honors were conferred upon PK. These include the titleof Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997, eightHonorary Memberships in national neurological organiza-tions around the world, and an Honorary Doctorate awardedby the Military Medical Academy, Lodz, Poland.

From a personal standpoint, PK’s life was not always easy. Helost to fatal illnesses both of his first two wives, MaryThomas, the mother of his two sons, and Prof. Anita Harding.They died much too young. His third marriage to Dr. SamPonsford occurred just a year before his serious stroke. Shecared for him lovingly through the next seven years, makingit possible for PK to remain active as co-editor with Dr. PeterJ. Dyck to the completion of the fourth edition of their two-volume opus, “Peripheral Neuropathy”. PK is survived by hiswidow, Dr. Sam Ponsford, by one step-son, by one survivingbrother, by his two sons, Adrian and Nicholas, and six grand-children.

Many of us have lost a dear friend, and the world of neurology has lost a true hero.

Arthur K. Asbury, MD, FRCP Gerard Said, MD, FRCP

Professor Jens Mielke

Professor P.K. Thomas

Documents

WORLD NEUROLOGY...The World Congresses of Neurology and the newsletter World Neurologyareessential in shaping the visibility of the World Federation of Neurology. Both are now in a