[WCN23_Plenary:00]

Presidential Symposium, WFN Medals, and Soriano Plenary Award Lecture

WELCOME WORDS 
Wolfgang Grisold (Austria)

MEDAL FOR SERVICES TO INTERNATIONAL NEUROLOGY
Citation: Gagandeep Singh (India) 
Awardee: Bhimsen Singhal (India)

MEDAL FOR SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENT IN NEUROLOGY
Citation: Raad Shakir (United Kingdom)
Awardee: Avindra Nath (United States of America)

TED MUNSAT AWARD
Citation: Elaine Jones 
Awardee: W. Howlett
Presented by Wolfgang Grisold (Austria) 

INTRODUCTION TO SORIANO AWARD LECTURE
Wolfgang Grisold (Austria)

SORIANO AWARD LECTURE: THE EPIDEMIOLOGY AND BURDEN OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
Valery Feigin (New Zealand)

Background: Accurate, up-to-date, and comparable data on mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) on neurological disorders are crucial for evidence-based health care planning, priority setting and resource allocation. The GBD Study 2021 aims to provide updates on the global, regional and national (204 countries) burden of neurological conditions from 1990 to 2021.

Methods: We estimated global, regional and country-specific mortality, prevalence, YLDs, YLLs, and DALYs for 36 neurological conditions, including cause categories and sequelae that contribute to the brain burden in 204 countries from 1990 to 2020 by GBD regions, age and sex.

Findings: Globally, neurological conditions ranked as the leading cause group of DALYs in 2021 (423 [95% UI 371-482] million) affecting approximately 40% of the world populations (3.29 [3.05-3.54] billion individuals). Although the age-standardised rates of deaths and DALYs of all neurological conditions combined have significantly decreased from 1990 to 2021 (deaths by 31.6% [24.9-36.3], DALYs by 28.7% [25.1-32.6]), age-standardised prevalence did not significantly change (-0.1% [-0.7; 0.8]. The absolute number of deaths, prevalence and DALYs has increased by 10% to 60% over the same time period.

Interpretations: In absolute terms, the burden of neurological conditions increased substantially. As the world’s leading cause group of combined death and disability affecting 40% of the world population, neurological conditions should be the public health priority for all health care policy makers across the globe and implementation and improvement of effective preventative and management strategies of neurological conditions are urgently needed.

INTRODUCTION TO PRESIDENTAL LECTURE
Steven L. Lewis (United States of America)

WORLD FEDERATION OF NEUROLOGY PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
Wolfgang Grisold (Austria)