Document Download: World Neurology - July/August 2017

Published by Ascend Integrated Media LLC, Kansas, USA

From the editors

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

We are very pleased to introduce the July/August 2017 issue of World Neurology, and just ahead of the World Congress of Neurology. Fittingly, WFN President Prof. Raad Shakir opens this issue with his column highlighting the importance of world congresses, and an invitation to readers to attend the World Congress of Neurology to be held September 16-21, 2017, in Kyoto Japan.

Among the many diverse contributions in this issue, Prof. Ahmed Abdelalim provides his announcement of the new stroke unit at Cairo University, and Prof. Peter Wolf and Prof. Alla B. Guekht describe the 25-year history of Russian-German Neurologic Collaboration. Professors Chandrashekhar Meshram and Gagandeep Singh report on the successful International Tropical Neurology Conference that was held in Mumbai, India, in March.

Prof. John D. England, chair of the WFN Task Force on Zika, reports on the meeting held in in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in June to discuss in general the current situation on Zika virus. Professor Wolfgang Grisold reports on the 13th Congress of the Peripheral Nerve Society that took place in Sitges, Spain, July 8-13, 2017. Prof. William Howlett, Prof. Marieke Dekker, and Prof. Sarah Urasa report on the Practical Neurology course recently held in Moshi, Tanzania. This issue also features reports from WFN Junior Travelling Fellowship awardees from Nigeria and Cairo, as well as a report from the recent recipient of the WFN-Turkish Neurological Society Department Visit Program. Prof. Struhal also provides his heartfelt obituary on Franz Gerstenbrand, an icon of Austrian neurology.

Finally, and importantly, this issue includes the statements from the candidates for WFN President (Prof. William M. Carroll and Prof. Wolfgang Grisold) and WFN First Vice-President (Prof. Ryuji Kaji and Prof. Renato J. Verdugo), for all WFN delegates to review prior to voting at the Council of Delegates meeting in Kyoto.

Highlights

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

• The Need for World Congresses
  By Raad Shakir

  Reasons for attending and participating in congresses vary. There are those who like to travel and meet neurologists from other parts of the world, which they will never do even if they visited their countries. There are others who are attracted by the lure of the big names of speakers, the organizing associations, and the attractiveness of the cities. For world congresses, the attendees come in the thousands because the meetings transcend national, regional, or specialty categories. This means that there is something for everyone.

FROM THE WFN

• Zika Virus Update: Report of the WFN Task Force
  By John D. England, MD

  Government and health officials met June 20-23 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to discuss the current global situation regarding the Zika virus and the current situation in the Americas.

• Report of the Department Visit Program to Turkey
  By Dr. Leonard Ngarka

  I was delighted when I received the news of my selection for the WFN-Turkish department visit program in October 2016. It didn't actually take place until Feb. 18, 2017, due to visa procedures. I am grateful to Prof. Alfred Njamnshi and Prof. Serefnur Öztürk, as well as Burak Tokdemir, who facilitated my visa acquisition.

• A Report on a Visit to Sleep 2017 in Boston
  By Oluwatosin Olorunmoteni

  I am delighted to present my report on Sleep 2017. I had the privilege of attending this meeting through the sponsorship provided by the WFN as a recipient of a Junior Traveling Fellowship Award.

• A Report from the International Congress on Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders
  By Wael Ibrahim

  The 21st International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders was held June 4-8 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The congress was organized by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

FROM THE FIELD

• Filling the Gap: Report of the International Tropical Neurology Conference
  By Chandrashekhar Meshram and Gagandeep Singh

  Tropical neurology is a pertinent subspecialty of neurology. However, in the past, it did not receive the attention it deserved. In the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), tropical neurology was introduced as one of the major themes during the World Congress of Neurology in New Delhi in 1989.

• Update on the Kasralainy Stroke Unit at Cairo University
  By Prof. Ahmed Abdelalim

  Egypt has the 15th largest population in the world, with approximately one-quarter of its citizens clustered in its capital, Cairo. Stroke medicine in Egypt has been facing many difficulties with implementation due to the economic problems and an inadequate number of stroke neurologists.

• 25 Years of Russian-German Neurological Cooperation
  By Profs. Peter Wolf and Alla B. Guekht

  A meeting on Diseases of the Nervous System — Mechanisms and Treatment was held April 6-7 in Moscow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Association for Promotion of German-Russian Cooperation in Neurology.

• Peripheral Nerve Society Meeting in Sitges, Spain

  The 13th Congress of the Peripheral Nerve Society (PNS) took place July 8-13, in Sitges, Spain. The PNS hosts annual congresses, and the next Congress will be in July 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2019, it will take place in Genoa, Italy.

• Practical Neurology in Moshi, Tanzania Initiative Aims to Train 200 Neurologists
  By William P. Howlett, Marieke Dekker, and Sarah Urasa (KCMC)

  In August 2015, the African Academy of Neurology (AfAN) was formed in Dakar, Senegal, and became the final regional member of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN). This membership is proving to be an important stimulus to neurology education and training in Africa.

IN MEMORIAM

• In Memoriam: Prof. Franz Gerstenbrand (1924-2017)

  We have the sad duty of sharing the news of the passing of Prof. Franz Gerstenbrand.

HISTORY OF NEUROLOGY

• Eponymous Women in Neurology
  By Peter J. Koehler

  The term eponym is derived from the Greek words epi- "sur" and onima "name." It is hardly possible to imagine daily life without eponyms, although we are not always aware of using them. Just think of diesel engine, pasteurized milk, degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius, to name a few.

WFN ELECTIONS - Candidate Statements

• President: William (Bill) M. Carroll, MB BS, MD
• President: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Grisold
• First Vice President: Ryuji Kaji, MD, PhD
• First Vice President: Prof. Renato J. Verdugo, MD