20 October 2021

Neurology Update Meeting October 2021: Report

NUM 2021 Feedback Form
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NUM 2021 Programme

	Meeting Programme
8.30	Meeting opens for logging in
9.00	Welcome & Introduction	Dr. John McConville Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, Belfast.
	Session I Chairpersons:	Dr. Eavan McGovern and Dr. Mark McCarron
9.10 - 10.00	Update in Neurophysiology	Dr. John McHugh Consultant and Clinical Lead in Clinical Neurophysiology, CHI - Crumlin
10.00 - 10.50	Sporadic Inclusion Body Myopathy	Dr. Stefen Brady, Specialist Neuromuscular Consultant, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford
11.00 - 11.50	Update in Epilepsy	Dr. Danny Costello, Consultant Neurologist, Department of Neurology, Cork University Hospital.
11.50 - 12.30	Postural abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease	Dr. Karen Doherty, Consultant Neurologist, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast
	Lunch
	Session II Chairpersons:	Dr. Siobhan Hutchinson and Dr. Justin Kinsella
14.00 - 15.00	Acute vertigo and dizziness - diagnostic workup and therapeutic decisions.	Professor Andreas Zwergal, Director of the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, University of Munich.
15.00 - 15.40	Acute Central Nervous System Vasculopathies	Dr. Ferghal McVerry, Consultant Neurologist, Altnagelvin Hospital
15.50 - 16.30	The Advent of Disease Modifying Therapies for Alzheimer’s Disease	Dr. Seán O’Dowd, Consultant Neurologist, Tallaght University Hospital
16.40	Closing Remarks	Dr. John McConville

Guest Speakers

Prof Andreas Zwergal

Andreas Zwergal is the Director of the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ) and Associate Professor for Neuro-otology at the Department of Neurology at the University of Munich.

Since 2014 he is the scientific coordinator of a European Network Initiative for interdisciplinary research in vestibular disorders called DIZZYNET.

This network includes 80 member from 22 European countries and has started common projects on standardization of methods and databanking.

His research activity is committed to translational research on the pathophysiology and treatment of vestibular disorders using a variety of methods from neurophysiology, neuropsychology and multimodal imaging in vestibular animal models and patient cohort with acute and chronic peripheral and central vestibulopathies. His group has further delineated processes of vestibular compensation and plasticity after acute vestibular damage, the structure of ascending vestibular projections, the consequences
of bilateral vestibular damage for higher vestibular function. The group has received funding from the BMBF and several national and international agencies. His education includes a degree in Medicine (2000-2006), PhD dissertation on the molecular mechanisms of immunological tolerance (Technical University Munich, 2005), a postgraduate training at the Cornell University, New York (2006). Later he continued his training as a resident of Neurology at the University of Munich (2006-2014) and received his specialization in Neurology in 2014. He has been clinical supervisor in neurotology and vascular neurology in the DSGZ from 2014. In the DSGZ, he has led a Young Scientist Group (2009-2014) and Senior Scientist Group (2014-2019). He has a specific expertise in clinical neuro-otology, movement disorders and cognitive neurology. He contributed scientifically to a wide-range of studies in translational and clinical neurotology and neurology. He is author of 95 papers at PubMed with a cumulative impact factor of > 300 and a H-index of 28 (Google Scholar). He has received several research prizes (including the European Investigator Ward by the EAN and young scientist award from the Barany-Society) and is listed in the top 10 experts worldwide in the field of vestibular disease by the Expertscape platform.

Dr Stefen Brady

Dr Stefen Brady joined the Oxford Rare Mitochodrial Disorders Service 2019. He studied Medicine at Trinity Medical School in Dublin and trained as a Neurology Specialist in Yorkshire.

The 20^th Annual Neurology Update Meeting took place on Friday, October 15th as a virtual event under the directorship of Dr John McConville.

Dr. John McConville, consultant neurologist at Ulster Hospital and Director of the Neurology Update Meeting, welcomed all delegates to the second virtual Neurology Update Meeting and 20th annual Neurology Update Meeting.

The current virtual meeting format facilitates considerably wider attendance at the meeting not only from delegates in centres across Ireland but indeed from countries across the globe, which is very much welcome. Dr. McConville noted nonetheless that most delegates missed the valuable face to face interaction enjoyed at the more usual in person meeting experience, which it is hoped will be possible in 2022.

He thanked each of the speakers for their willing participation in the meeting and for the considerable investment of their time in preparing their lectures and in sharing the essential lessons of their field of expertise with others.

Dr. McConville acknowledged the vital support of industry sponsors in enabling the IICN to continue to host this annual educational meeting for neurologists and the wider medical community. He encouraged delegates to visit the sponsor digital booths in which information relating to new product developments may be discovered. Dr McConville introduced the chairpersons of the morning session, Dr. Eavan McGovern and Dr. Mark McCarron.

Morning Session

The morning programme consisted of four lectures, each of which was followed by a lively and interesting question and answer session. Update in Neurophysiology (Dr. John McHugh), Sporadic Inclusion Body Myopathy (Dr. Stefen Brady), Update in Epilepsy (Dr. Danny Costello) and Postural abnormalities in Parkinson’s Disease (Dr. Karen Doherty), presented updates in these complex neurological conditions. Expert overviews, new developments and new treatment options were presented in a format accessible to the non specialist.

Afternoon session

The meeting continued following the lunch break, the afternoon session being chaired by Dr. Siobhan Hutchinson and Dr. Justin Kinsella. Professor Andreas Zwergal’s lecture on Acute Vertigo and Dizziness combined instructive expertise with highly practical advice for understanding, classifying and managing acute vertiginous presentations. Dr Ferghal McVerry and DrSean O’Dowd explored complexities, ambiguities and controversies in acute central nervous system vasculopathies and in new disease modifying drug therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. McConville brought the meeting to a conclusion, thanking his medical colleagues who provided a most interesting day through their lectures, chairing of sessions and delegate participation in the meeting. He also thanked the IICN support staff for their contribution to the meeting organisation.
He reminded delegates of the forthcoming IICN and other neuroscience meetings including the Registrar’s Prize in Clinical Neuroscience on November 12th and referred delegates to the IICN website for further information.

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