Document Download: World Neurology - April 2021

Published by Ascend Integrated Media LLC, Kansas, USA

From the editors

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

Welcome to the April 2021 issue of World Neurology. This issue begins with the President's Column, where WFN President William M. Carroll thoroughly reviews the performance of the WFN during the pandemic. Next, Dr. Jose M. Ferro provides an extensive and authoritative update on the status of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, and provides important information on the International Consortium on CVT Registry.

Also in this issue, WFN Vice President Ryuji Kaji informs us of the decision and news that the WCN 2021 will be a fully virtual congress, and he updates us on the planning and fee structure for this important and exciting event, for which a tremendous number of abstracts have been received.

In this issue's column on the WFN Committees and Specialty Groups, WFN Secretary-General Wolfgang Grisold, James L. Bernat, and Tissa Wijeratne report on the many activities of the WFN Public Awareness & Advocacy Committee and the important activities of the newly reconvened Neuroethics Specialty Group chaired by Dr. Bernat.

Tissa Wijeratne, Wolfgang Grisold, Rachel King, and William Carroll announce the topic of this year's World Brain Day (WBD 2021), devoted to the topic of multiple sclerosis and being held jointly with the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF). In this issue's report from the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, Editor-in-Chief John D. England announces the publication of the Special Issue on Tropical Neurology, an issue of importance to neurologists worldwide.

In this issue's WFN Training Center report, Dr. Lawrence Tucker, head of the division of Neurology at the University of Cape Town, reports on the new WFN Training Center at Grote Schuur and Tygerberg Hospitals, and the arrival of the first WFN sponsored trainee from Ghana. In the history column, Peter J. Koehler details the intriguing historical underpinnings of tabes dorsalis and the Romberg test. Dr. Stefan Oberndorfer provides a concise update on cancer therapy and neurotoxicity.

Drs. Chandrashekhar Meshram, JMK Murthy, Nirmal Surya, and U. Meenakshisundaram report on the successful public awareness event held in India in collaboration between the Tropical and Geographical Neurology Specialty Group of the WFN and the Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN) to celebrate the Brain Health initiative to raise awareness for the importance of brain health. Finally, in this issue's Department Visit Report, Dr. Ani-Osheky Ifeyinwa from Nigeria reports on her pre-pandemic visit to the neurology department of the Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey.

Thanks again to all of our readers for your interest in World Neurology. We look forward to continued submissions from neurologists and neurological societies from around the world to inform all neurologists about the many activities, events, and opportunities you create to enhance the field of neurology and neurologic health. •

Highlights

President's Column

• President Praises WFN Performance During the Pandemic
  By Prof. William Carroll, WFN President

  Against the backdrop of what is without a doubt medical history – the vaccination of the world against SARS-Cov-2 virus (COVID-19) – it is appropriate to review our performance.

From WFN

• The Format of World Congress of Neurology 2021 in Rome Finalized
  By Ryuji Kaji, Chair Congress Committee, First Vice President of the WFN

  The Congress Committee met on April 19, and the format of WCN2021 was finalized. Considering the global outlook of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decisions of other international meetings, we had to conclude that WCN2021 shall be held all online.

• Special Issue on Tropical Neurology
  By John D. England, MD

  During the World Congress of Neurology in 2017 in Kyoto, Japan, Profs. Marco Medina, Chandrashekar Meshram, Raad Shakir, and I proposed to publish a special issue on tropical neurology in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences. The selection of topics and authors was coordinated with the Tropical and Geographical Specialty Group of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN).

The WFN Committees and Speciaty Groups

• The WFN Public Awareness & Advocacy Committee and the Neuroethics Specialty Group
  By Wolfgang Grisold, James L. Bernat, and Tissa Wijeratne

  In this edition, we will continue to present one committee and one specialty group, to explain the various activities of the WFN. We introduce the WFN Public Awareness & Advocacy Committee, which has the important agenda to organize World Brain Day, among others, and from the Specialty Groups, the Neuroethics specialty group, which has been newly activated and composed.

Around the World

• Cerebral Venous Thrombosis After Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2
  By By José M. Ferro, MD, PhD

  The public and the global medical community have been exposed since early March 2021, both from the media, the official agencies, and the medical literature, to multiple and often contradictory information, concerning the risk of "uncommon" thrombosis occurring after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Most of the news concerned the vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca and more recently the vaccine from Johnson and Johnson/Janssen.

• Brief Update on Cancer and Neurotoxicity
  By Stefan Oberndorfer, MD, Prof, FEAN

  Cancer is one of the most important conditions in human health, and due to longer life expectation and improved therapies, survival in cancer patients is also increasing. This has several implications in the management of cancer patients as the longer survival changes the "natural" course of many tumors.

• Brain Health Initiative in India
  By Drs. Chandrashekhar Meshram, Jmk Murthy, Nirmal Surya and U. Meenakshisundaram.

  The Tropical and Geographical Neurology Specialty Group of the WFN joined hands with the Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN) to celebrate the Brain Health initiative on Jan. 11, 2021, to raise awareness for the importance of brain health.

World Brain Day 2021

• World Brain Day 2021: Stop Multiple Sclerosis
  By Tissa Wijeratne, Wolfgang Grisold, Rachel King, William Carroll

  A collaboration between the World Federation of Neurology and Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. Please make the World Brain day 2021 campaign Stop Multiple Sclerosis an important priority. The educational and promotional material from the WFN-MSIF collaboration will help you to be the best advocates for your patients with multiple sclerosis and their caregivers.

WFN Training Centres

• Cape Town WFN Training Center: The First Two Years
  By Lawrence Tucker, MB CHB

  In 2019, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg Hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa, were jointly recognized as the only WFN-accredited, anglophone Regional Training Center (RTC) in sub-Saharan Africa; and one of only four such WFN RTCs on the African continent. It comprises the divisions of neurology of the universities of Cape Town (UCT) and Stellenbosch as well as the Neurology Research Group at the newly established UCT Neuroscience Institute.

WFN Department Visit Report

• Selçuk University Hospital: One Year Later
  By Ani-Osheku Ifeyinwa, Nigeria

  In December 2019, I had the utmost privilege to spend four weeks at the neurology department of the Selçuk University in Konya, Turkey. It remains one of the most gratifying moments in my career as a young neurologist. It has been over a year, yet the memories are ever so fresh.

History

• Tabes Dorsalis and the Romberg Test; Historical Aspects
  By Peter J. Koehler

  As probably most neurologists will know, general paralysis of the insane (GPI, also known as general paresis and dementia paralytica) and tabes dorsalis are the two main neurological manifestations of late neurosyphilis.