Botulinum Toxin Guided Injection Workshop for Cervical and Other Focal Dystonias
The recent Botulinum Toxin Guided Injection Workshop for Cervical and Other Focal Dystonias which was held on June 12-13, 2026 in The Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare, Dublin, was directed by Dr. Anhar Hassan.
Please see below her report of the meeting.
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It was an honour to welcome neurologists from 18 countries to this 2-day intensive hands-on program to improve physician skills treating focal dystonia with botulinum toxin. The course combined didactic lectures, small-group hands-on practical sessions of live patient examinations, small group ultrasound training, and panel discussions. Day 1 focused on cervical dystonia, and Day 2 focused on craniofacial, upper limb and lower limb dystonias.
This was a joint collaboration with the European Section of the International Movement Disorders Society (MDS), the Dublin Neurological Institute, and the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare at the Mater Hospital, with generous supports from sponsors Abbvie, Ispen, Merz, Ambu and Medray.
The expert faculty included Professor Alberto Albanese and Professor Anna Castagna from Milan, Professor Marie-Helene Marion from London/Paris, and Professor Jorg Wissel from Berlin, and local faculty Professor Richard Walsh, Dr Conor Fearon, Dr Anna Whelehan, Dr Fiona Molloy and Professor Anhar Hassan who was course director.
Professor David Burn, President of the MDS, joined via Zoom, in conjunction with Professor Timothy Lynch to provide welcome addresses highlighting the MDS, history of Irish neurology and highlights of Dublin.
The attendees came from Ireland, the UK, Uzbekistan, Austria, Italy, Moldova, Serbia, Spain, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, and Canada. It was highly competitive for the 40 places, with over 150 applications from 52 countries.
A special thankyou to Tamsyn Reed and Paige Spaude from MDS administration, Clodagh O’Keeffe and Federica Ruggieri from DNI for their efforts in helping make the course a success.
