Welcome to Progress in Mind’s live coverage of EAN 2022. This 8th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology – Vienna 2022 – continued into its last day, June 28th. Topics for the symposia, controversy, and special sessions included pathophysiology of migraine cortical spreading depression; gender and diversity in neurology; cognitive deficit and dementia; coma definition and treatment; and major health issues in stroke. The teaching sessions continued, with sessions on the practical aspects of neuromuscular disease assessment; management of Parkinson’s disease; and discussion of rare neurological diseases. The Plenary symposium was dedicated to presenting conference highlights. Here is a summary of today’s (Day 4) highlights from this hybrid in-person and online conference in Vienna.
Controversies and learning points in neurology
On the final day of the conference, symposia, controversy, and special sessions included a number of topics:
- Pathophysiology of migraine cortical spreading depression and therapeutic possibilities for such
- Gender and diversity in neurology, including the impact these may have on long-COVID-19 and the sex/gender balance in clinical trials
- Clinical, digital, and rural facets of neurology, with a focus on rural India
- Cognitive deficit and dementia, with discussions regarding cognitive impairment and falls in frail, elderly patients; cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis (MS); and rehabilitation for the cognitive consequences of stroke
- What’s new with regard to coma definition, biology, and management
- New evidences to tackle major health issues in stroke, such as atrial fibrillation, vascular risk, and post stroke recovery
- To treat, or not, acute symptomatic seizures with antiseizure medication
- The European Brain Council and their role in advocacy in neurology over the last 20 years
Gender and diversity matters must be included in neurology studies, assessment, and treatment
Late breaking presentations and conference highlights
Oral sessions included late breaking news such as a report regarding how gut microbiota composition is associated with disability worsening in MS; advances in drug treatments for myasthenia gravis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; results of a study on ‘awake’ craniotomy for complex cerebral aneurysms and vascular malformations; serological response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in MS; seborrheic dermatitis as a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases; and a new web-based tool for dementia diagnosis.
EAN 2022 highlights and breaking news
The ‘scientific theatre’ lectures included one on outcome and results of the European Brain Research Area (EBRA) Horizon 2020 project and another on national societies for young neurologists. Finally, the Plenary lecture included highlights and breaking news focused on the key conference topics of cerebrovascular diseases, MS, movement disorders, epilepsy, and dementia.
Teaching courses from clinical examination to management
The teaching and ‘hands-on’ courses; case-based and focused workshops; interactive sessions; and career development sessions continued with offerings including:
Learning best practices for clinical examination
- The bedside approach for autonomic complaints: what to do and when to refer to an autonomic lab
- Expeditious approaches to acute vestibular and ocular motor disorders
- Rare neurological diseases with frequent neurological manifestations
- Management of patients with mild cognitive impairment
- Common questions in the intensive care unit and how to answer them
- Clinical examination of neuromuscular diseases for beginners
- Managing Parkinson’s disease: translating evidence to manage the ‘vital 5’ in clinical practice
Alternative study designs and artificial intelligence approaches in neurology
Our correspondent’s highlights from the symposium are meant as a fair representation of the scientific content presented. The views and opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of Lundbeck.
