Document Download: World Neurology: June/July 2020

Published by Ascend Integrated Media LLC, Kansas, USA

From the editors

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

This issue begins with the message from the president of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN), Dr. William Carroll, informing us of the ongoing activities of the WFN and our London office, particularly with regard to communication (including about informing members worldwide about COVID-19 infection), education (including an upcoming eLearning day with AFAN), promotion (especially about World Brain Day which began July 22), the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Council of Delegates to be held September 9, 2020, and the exciting announcement that Prof. Marianne de Visser has now been named a co-opted WFN trustee.

In this issue we are again privileged to have an update on COVID-19 written by Drs. Avindra Nath and B. Jeanne Billioux from the Section of Infections of the Nervous System at the United States National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who describe what is currently known and mostly unknown about the long-term sequelae of COVID-19, currently termed by some afflicted patients as "long-haul COVID."

Dr. John England, in his update as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurological Sciences ( JNS), the official journal of the WFN, provides us with news of the tremendous increase in impact factor of this important journal. Please join us in congratulating Dr. England and his entire editorial team for this wonderful accomplishment. In this issue's history column, Dr. Peter J. Koehler describes 18th century historical thoughts with regard to the relationship between civilization and disease, particularly neurologic disease. WFN secretary-general Wolfgang Grisold provides a detailed report on a conference held at the end of 2019 (and just before the COVID-19 era) in Moscow focusing on multidisciplinary strategies to prevent and combat brain diseases. Also in this issue, Dr. Vladamir Hachinski, past-president of the WFN, reviews the recently published biography on Dr. C. Miller Fisher written by Dr. Louis R. Caplan (a remarkable combination of world-renowned stroke experts in the same sentence). Dr. Chandrashekhar Meshram announces the webinar series on neuroinfectious diseases cosponsored by the Tropical and Geographical Neurology Specialty Group of the WFN in collaboration with the Forum for Indian Neurology Education (FINE) occurring from July to September 2020 and for which all interested neurologists are encouraged to participate

Finally, and importantly, this issue includes the statements from the six candidates for the next open position for elected trustee of the WFN, provided in alphabetical order. We would like to reiterate our wishes to all for safety and health for you, your families, colleagues, and patients. For global neurology-related COVID-19 resources and information, please continue to refer to the new page on our website: https://wfneurology.org/ covid-19-and-world-neurology. Finally, this issue is going to press just as World Brain Day 2020, a collaboration between the WFN and the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society is underway. It began on July 22, 2020 and is extending for weeks thereafter, devoted to raising awareness for and ending Parkinson's Disease. We all look forward to updates from member societies in the next issue(s) of World Neurology. •

Highlights

President's Column

• In the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
  

  By Prof. William Carroll

  Since my last column, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread through most developed countries courtesy of international travel, tourism, and high-density populations. It is now set to decimate less developed countries in South America, Asia, and Africa, consequent upon insufficient resources and less sophisticated public health services.

From the WFN

• Elections: WFN Elected Trustee Candidtae Statements

  Prof. Kailash Bhatia
  Prof. Mustapha El Alaoui-Faris
  Prof. Morris Freedman
  Prof. Beomseok Jeon
  Prof. Chandrashekhar Meshram
  Prof. Mohammad Wasay

• Marianne De Visser Named Co-Opted Trustee

  The WFN welcomes Prof. Marianne de Visser to the position of co-opted trustee.

• WFN/FINE Neuroinfection Series
  By Chandrashekhar Meshram

  Neuroinfections form a large group of disorders commonly seen by neurologists as well as other physicians. Old, new, and emerging infections, their patterns of presentations, and imaging features as well as therapies pose challenges in practice.

• WFN/AFAN e-Learning Day

  The World Federation of Neurology and the African Academy of Neurology are delighted to announce to you their first virtual one-day teaching course, the WFN/AFAN e-Learning Day, which will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2020.

Journal of the Neurological Sciences

• New JNS Metrics Released
  By John D. England, MD
  The widely cited Impact Factor (IF) has risen to 3.115, which is a +17.5% increase compared to 2018. This is an all-time high for the journal's Impact Factor.

From the field

• Long-Haul COVID
  By Avindra Nath and B. Jeanne Billioux

  It is becoming increasingly apparent that many patients who recovered from the acute phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection have persistent symptoms. This includes clouding of mentation, sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance, and autonomic symptoms.

Around the World

• Multidisciplinary Strategies to Prevent and Combat Brain Diseases-Moscow
  

  By Wolfgang Grisold

  An international conference, focusing on "multidisciplinary strategies to prevent and combat brain diseases," took place in Moscow on November 27-28, 2019, and followed the concept of integration and multidisciplinarity.

History

• Diseases of Civilization and Nervous Disorder in the Age of Enlightenment
  

  By Peter J. Koehler

  The relation between civilization and disease has been known for centuries. Researchers found evidence that in the pre-history period, small hunter-gatherer populations tended to be less troubled by disease. With growing population density following the settlement of farmers around 12,000 years ago (in the Neolithic period), and later the start of commercial traveling and increasing mobility, pathogens could spread easier.

Book Review

• C. Miller Fisher: Stroke in the 20th Century
  

  By Louis R. Caplan, Oxford University Press 2020

  "Who was the greatest contributor to the field of stroke in the 20th century?" If you answer the question, you risk displeasing somebody somewhere with a different opinion. On being asked that question after a lecture in Moscow, I answered: "The greatest contributor to the understanding of the common causes of stroke is C. Miller Fisher."

In Memoriam

• Prof. David Strug
  

  By Carlos Ketzoian, Chair of the WFN Specialty Group on Neuroepidemiology

  On June 4, 2020, David Strug, a professor emeritus at Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York, passed away after a long, heroic battle against COVID-19. David was the beloved husband of our dear friend Ruth Ottman, PhD, a professor of epidemiology (in neurology and the Sergievsky Center) at Columbia University in New York.