“This year’s Neurology Update Meeting took on a different format to other years, presenting a day on Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), the first of its kind in Ireland. We welcomed many delegates not only from neurological specialties but also psychiatry, psychology, general practice, nursing, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, underscoring the important role of a multidisciplinary approach in optimizing outcomes.
FND has been shown to be the second most common presentation to new neurology clinics and so despite some reservations within the neurology community that patients with FND would be better served solely by our colleagues in psychological medicine, these patients continue to seek our services, urging us to take responsibility to appropriately diagnose and assist in their management.
Each lecture on the day generated much discussion and showcased the remarkable progress of this sub-speciality including our understanding of the role of multiple neural circuits in the pathomechanism of FND, which complement the previously described psychological models and offer possible neurobiological insights for symptom development.
I sincerely hope that this year’s Neurology Update Meeting marks a significant stride towards much needed FND care in Ireland”. – Dr. Aoife Laffan, Meeting Director